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| Embassy Visits: NAR Midyear Meetings 2009 Wednesday, May 13, 2009 Embassy of Austria | Embassy of Denmark | Embassy of Korea | Embassy of Turkey | Download Generic Embassy Visit Press Release for 2009 (PDF)>> Notes from the Embassy of Austria Andreas Somogyi, Economic Counselor Austria is currently the 4th richest country in the European Union. The economic strengths of the country include tourism, machinery production, and environmental protection. The country boasts a large agricultural and forestry sector that utilizes 80% of the country’s land. The agriculture sector is made up of 190,000 businesses, most are family owned. The Industrial sector is also mainly comprised of small businesses, ¾ of the companies have less than 10 employees. While Austria has been hit by the economic downturn, their recession is not as severe as some other countries. They are anticipating a 4% decline, mainly due to a decrease in exports and market exaggeration. 42% of the population owns their own home, and there are 3.5 million total private housing units. Zoning is considered a major issue in Austria. There will be a real estate expo in Vienna in July—Real Vienna: www.realvienna.at/en www.austria.org: Embassy Website
The real estate industry has experienced some difficulties in recent years. In 2001, the Danish government implemented a tax freeze for property taxes, making them interest-only in order to relieve the tax crunch. Denmark does not allow 2nd home purchases by non-Danish citizens. This was originally enacted in order to prevent Germans from buying 2nd homes in Denmark. Only Danish citizens and foreigners that reside in Denmark may purchase a residence there.
Notes from the Embassy of Korea Mr. TaeHee Woo, Commerce Counselor Mr. Byung Chol Moon, Commercial Attaché There is approximately 90% home ownership rate in Korea. A buyer may obtain a mortgage for up to 70% depending upon their qualifications. Notes from the Embassy of Turkey Mr. Kadir Bal, Chief Economic Counselor Mrs. Ayse Gul Barkcin, Commercial Division Mrs. Nursel Durucakoglu, UNAL Commercial Division The NAR group was provided an overview of the demographics of Turkey, including how it relates to the property market. Turkey is home to 7 million persons, 70% of whom are between 14 and 60, so it is a very young country. Its economy has experienced a 3% - 3.5% growth thus far in 2009. Turkey’s rate of inflation in 2008 was 9%. Foreign direct investment jumped from roughly $1 billion in 2002 to 23 billion in 2007. In 2008 Turkey exported $136 billion in goods and imported $25-30 billion. There are 18,000 foreign companies currently investing in Turkey. There are no restrictions on foreign investment. Average home prices are increasing, although the rate of growth has slowed with current economic crisis. There remains, however, greater demand than supply Foreigners seeking homes in Turkey typically are interested in the south and west coasts. Many Europeans are buying second/holiday homes here. Newspapers are currently the largest source of information on available housing, although there are increasing Internet sources. Buyers often have no representation, so buy at their own risk. Buyers pay a small percent of purchase price in tax at the time of purchase. No tax is paid at time of sale if the property has been held for five years or more. This is true for both primary and investment properties. Mortgages typically require 50% down with a 12-14% interest rate. The central bank rate is currently 9.75% and developers will often provide financing more closely tied to central bank rate. In 1999 new standards were implemented regarding earthquakes and structural stability. At same time, energy efficiency standards were also introduced, largely in areas of increased insulation and wind farms. A very detailed, English language guide to “Buying Property in Turkey,” is available for free download at http://www.turkisheconomy.org.uk/buying_property.html.
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