Albania Property Market Overview

Albania’s property market is being billed as one of Europe’s last undiscovered markets. In a curious way it has a huge amount of potential though is not without its risks and uncertainties.

Albania has long been known as one of Europe’s poorest countries, matters which have not been helped by government failures and economic collapse in the 1990’s in part due the unravelling of a pyramid savings scheme.

This legacy has left the country with a long way to go to approach anywhere near western European standards. Albania’s infrastructure is a mess, the capital Tirana still has problems with electricity, this will take many years and a lot of money to sort out.

Whilst there is healthy population growth in the country emigration is still a desire held by most Albanians to improve their lives.

Reform and economic improvements are taking place with the help of EU and US money and expertise. This is slowly improving the general outlook of the country.

The recent lack of a fully functioning economy and country has meant only those involved in crime could afford a new home. This however is starting to change as companies start to invest in Albania to take advantage of the cheap and relatively well skilled workforce.

There is not a fully functioning property market in Albania though property prices are very low and will undoubtedly increase substantially over the next few years.

Mortgages are theoretically available to foreigners.

Land title issues still abound and support services for investors are still at a fledgling stage. There are a lot of uncertainties around how much demand there will be for both rentals and resales.

Returns could be high but not without risks and hassle.

Most people looking to invest either choose the capital Tirana or the coast.

Prices in Tirana range from 500-1000 euros/sqm for new build property, and is the place where clearly there will be the strongest fundamentals to support a property market. Currently it is only the wealthy who can afford new property and thus the properties are targeting the higher end of the market currently.

Albania also has a beautiful coastline, some of which has already been spoilt by random and over building, perhaps a place to buy land but not an investment property.

Albania makes an interesting proposition, there is clearly a lot of potential but also many risks and uncertainties too, we recommend you take care with your diligence. Whilst there are still markets else where in Europe offering larger returns for lower risk we will watch from the sidelines until there is a compelling reason to invest there.