The Best Countries To Buy Property In

As you transition from your teenage years to young adulthood, you’ll be told that getting on the property ladder is one of the most important but difficult steps you’ll take on your journey. That’s often true, but it’s not true in every case. To be more specific, it’s not true in every territory. While trying to deal with the intricacies of the housing market can be a nightmare in the United States of America and many European countries, it’s far easier elsewhere. If you were to tell the residents of countries with settled housing markets that getting on the property ladder was difficult, they would be extremely confused!

The biggest obstacles that most people come across when attempting to buy property are either inflated prices or credit score issues. Nobody wants to pay $200K for a house that’s worth half that. Nobody enjoys being told they “can’t afford” a mortgage when they haven’t missed a rent payment in five years. All too often, the process of buying a house reminds you of playing the online slots at Rose Slots for New Zealand players. In fact, there’s an online slots game called “Prime Property” that’s based on this very idea. You pay your money, and you invest your time along with it, but you’re never sure of the end result. If everything lines up favourably you’ll get your house, but if it doesn’t, you’re a loser. We accept this when we’re playing online slots because it’s all part of the entertainment, but there’s no reason to put up with it when doing something as important as buying a house!

If you’re willing to up sticks and move abroad, you might find there are better options out there for you than staying closer to home. Alternatively, you might encounter less red tape abroad if you’re buying for investment or rental purposes than you do domestically. Based on everything we know about the market in mid-2021, here are the best countries in the world to buy property in.

Turkey

Turkey has a few things going for it, and we don’t just mean the weather. The average size of a three-bedroomed home in Turkey barely exceeds $150,000. That’s great for a starter home and even better if you’re a foreign investor seeking income from rentals. Buying a property in Turkey does more than just get you Turkish property, though. It also makes you a citizen of Turkey. Nobody knows quite how long the government will continue to package citizenship with foreign investment or home purchases, but it might make sense to take advantage of the offer while it’s still there if it interests you.

Greece

Buying a property in Greece gives you a backdoor into every European Union nation should you want it – and all you have to do is spend at least three hundred thousand dollars on the property. That can be one property or several. Given the relatively low cost of Greek property, you should get quite a lot of real estate from your cash. It’s only a few years since Greece had one of the worst recessions outside of wartime that any European nation has ever endured. The economy is recovering, but there are still bargains to be had when it comes to property. Your Greek citizenship gets you freedom of movement across all EU member states and a minimum of five years’ residency, which will automatically be renewed after those five years so long as you still own your Greek property. For investors, having EU citizenship makes buying property elsewhere in the EU a little easier.

Serbia

Forget what you think you’ve seen on the news. Serbia is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Belgrade is a truly stunning place to live, and yet the cost of buying a home there is less than many people spend on their cars. Amazingly, you can buy a perfectly good house in the capital city of Serbia for the equivalent of thirty thousand dollars. If you think that sounds crazy, consider the fact that you can get a reasonable apartment for around five thousand dollars. Increase your budget to fifty thousand dollars, and you’ll be offered a house that would probably be considered a mansion in the USA. Investors could get a whole street for less than they’d pay for the average American house.

Croatia

Croatia is an increasingly popular vacation destination. Not everyone’s realised that Croatia has some of the world’s greatest beaches yet, but word is slowly spreading. If you haven’t been to this hidden gem of a European country on vacation yet, do so in the near future. When you do, you might not want to come home at the end of your stay. We have good news for you if you ever find yourself in that situation. You’re more than welcome to turn your vacation into a permanent stay if you’re willing to spend an average of sixty thousand dollars on a brand new house. Those of you who are happy to settle for something a little older and more rustic can shave twenty thousand off the top of that.

Colombia

We’re very aware that every recommendation we’ve made thus far has been in Europe, so let’s head elsewhere in search of inspiration. You’ll find it in Colombia. The capital city Bogota sometimes gets negative press, but many of the country’s other major cities have become favourites of digital nomads. The current theme of the Colombian government is “innovation and change,” and that spirit is reflected in city centres. The economy is booming, and GDP is improving, but Colombian property is still a bargain. The per-square-meter cost of a home is a mere $1,400 even in the middle of cities, with an average rental yield of over 6.5%. Property investors haven’t spent much time looking at Colombia in the past but based on these figures, they really ought to start.

Buying a home is a major commitment, even if you never intend to live in it. Once you’ve acquired a home, you’ll probably have it for years. Why pay more for it than you need to? Pay less, get more, and perhaps even get European citizenship as part of the deal. The market awaits you!