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'Tigerish' Slovakia challenging China

Jaimie Kanwar

Slovakia is a 'tiger economy' at the heart of Central and Eastern Europe...

GDP growth rates have been challenging those of China over the last few years and the economy shows no sign of slowing down.

Slovakia has a flat tax rate of 19%, this and other economic reforms have helped attract a huge amount of investment into Slovakia, creating jobs and boosting the economy.

The property market, in the lead up to the EU, was very strong, but has since not performed to the same standard as the wider economy. Growth rates have been around 10% per annum on average over the last three years. The lack of stellar growth has been partly due to an oversupply of property in the city.

The rental market also has been very weak with yields down to around 2–4%. Finance for foreigners is good but not great. Typically 70% LTV mortgages are obtainable with 25-year terms and interest rates typical to most EU countries 5–6%.

Overall, Slovakia is underpinned by very strong fundamentals, which would suggest this will eventually filter into the property market. When it does - expect prices to take off substantially.