EU candidacy set to boost Albania property demand, says expert

Following the European Union’s announcement that Albania has at last cleared the first step towards full membership, the property market is set to benefit, say overseas property experts
Now Albania has cleared the first hurdle towards EU membership at the fourth time of trying, its property market is set to benefit, overseas property experts believe.

The European Union announced that Albania has been granted European Union candidacy status, which is the first step towards full EU membership in the coming years.

The decision by the General Affairs Council was announced on the Twitter social media site by EU Enlargement Commissioner, Stefan Fuele, following a meeting in Luxembourg, saying in note form: “Albania congratulations on candidate status just agreed by Ministers: acknowledgement of reform efforts, encouragement for more.”

Albania’s Balkan neighbours, Croatia and Bulgaria, have already been granted EU membership and Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia have candidacy status. Britain and France initially opposed the move due to fears of corruption and organised crime.

Property experts believe the decision will provide a boost for Albania’s economy, help promote political stability and advance its fight against crime and corruption.

Peter Walshe, Marketing Director for Albania’s first high-end resort, Lalzit Bay Resort & Spa, says, “What fantastic news that Albania has today been officially recognised as a candidate for the EU. It does, however, come as no surprise to me as there have been prodigious efforts made in recent times to achieve this longed-for goal, with the country making great leaps forward.

“This announcement will certainly pave the way for a bright future for beautiful Albania, bringing much-deserved recognition within the wider European community and encouraging more people to discover all that this hidden gem has to offer.”

Lalzit Bay Resort & Spa offers studio, one or two-bedroom apartments and three or four-bedroom villas with private pools. One-bed 32square metre Garden Studio apartments that come with a balcony cost from around ?35,000 (£28,000) and two-bed apartments are on offer in the summer at £48,000 (?60,000) according to the resort website.

EU accession is an important milestone for South Eastern European countries, the recent SEE Property Forum in Belgrade, which was organised by Budapest based Portfolio Group in partnership with RICS, was told.

The EU membership means stability and investor trust for the countries that already joined and offers an immense opportunity to those who are on the road to joining, the 150-plus delegates heard.

The real estate markets of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Montenegro are currently underdeveloped, the proportion of modern real estate is surprisingly low.

Philip Evans, the CEO of TriGranit Management Corporation says, “We see opportunities in all emerging markets of the region, but we are mostly active in the SEE countries as consultants. These countries still count as “highly emerging”, but excellent unique opportunities may show up anywhere,” the Balkans News website reports.

“We can talk about modern retail properties in Tirana approximately since 2005, and the capital city of Albania still has as little as 115,000 square metress of up to date retail space available. The supply of modern office spaces is even lower, only amounting to 63,000 square meters while 1 million people are living in Tirana,” says Stela Dhami, Managing Director of Colliers Albania.

http://www.opp-connect.com/24/06/2014/eu-candidacy-set-to-boost-albania-property-demand-says-expert/