War in Ukraine affects foreign real estate market

The aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine also affects the foreign real estate market in Europe and the world. How do the war on our eastern border and the new situation in foreign policy affect and will affect the behavior of investors? After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, interest in countries that, due to their geographic location or neutrality, can be considered safe for the foreign real estate market, has increased significantly.

"After the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, there was a shock that meant a decline in purchases of foreign real estate. In 2021, however, the trend turned and we witnessed a sharp increase in interest in real estate abroad," Jan Rejcha, president of Rellox, which has been specializing in foreign real estate since 2004, said.

There were several reasons for this trend. In addition to striving for a safe investment "in a brick", it was also a way to spend a holiday by the sea or in the mountains in a safe place on your property. While in the case of the coronavirus, the real estate market reacted with an increase in demand almost a year apart, the Russian invasion of Ukraine brought a faster response. The increase in interest was felt after just a few weeks.

High demand for real estate in Austria, Croatia, and Spain is a standard, but interest continues to grow double-digit month by month. In the case of Austria by 68 percent, in Croatia, it is 72 percent, and in Spain 45 percent.

An obvious link with the war in Ukraine can be seen with real estate in Switzerland, where interest increased by 210 percent. On the other hand, in the case of Italy, the increase is smaller (168 percent).

(WBJ)