Much has been written and said about the fact that real estate in Latvia catastrophically lost its popularity. But in the last two months, things are even worse than shortly before the end of 2015. The local real estate market experts say that this market is not collapsing, and rapidly swoops down. And out of this negative situation not yet in sight.
As always, the figures are very eloquent. For example, by the end of 2015, foreigners applying for obtaining the residence permit (permit) in Latvia in 2015 was acquired only 273 of the property. And this, in turn, is 8.2 times less than in 2014. However, if you compare the amount spent on the purchase of real estate money, the fall was slightly smaller — “only” 5.4 times.
Program under which foreign real estate investors in Latvia granted residence permit, working for a long time — from 1 July 2010. At the moment, to claim it is possible according to the four official reasons. However, the most popular — and so it was with the first days of the relevant amendments to the law of Latvia “On immigration” — to buy real estate.
Before the second round of global financial crisis, this program worked very successfully. Even last year, this method of obtaining investor visas has chosen almost 69 percent of foreign citizens who have filed a petition to grant to them and their families Latvian residence permit. In 2014 the proportion of these amounted to 89, and in 2013 was 81 percent.
But the thing is that the main buyers of apartments and houses in Latvia were citizens of Russia. But after the ruble weakened against the dollar and the Euro, our compatriots have lost interest in housing on the shores of the Baltic sea. It turns out that according to statistics, Management on Affairs of citizenship and migration result in 273 buy further obtaining a residence permit was the worst annual rate of transactions during the period amendments to the law “On immigration”. As local experts say the real estate market in 2014 was purchased 2250 objects in 2013 — 1556, in 2012 — 1013 and 2011 — 669.
But in January and February of this year, foreign buyers purchased with the purpose of obtaining a residence permit for 12 apartments and houses. And if it goes further, then 2016 will be for the Latvian real estate market real collapse and the flight into the abyss. Russians market is almost gone, but replacing them is still not found.
According to the specialist in the sale and purchase of foreign real estate Olga Petrova, the geography of shopping in Latvia is quite narrow. Ahead of Jurmala, Babite followed by edge, literally on the heels of his comes Garlinski edge, a bit of housing get in ādaži, Cesis and Ozolnieki regions.
“If to speak about the applicants residence, the championship still belongs to the Russians, followed by Ukrainians, the Chinese, the Kazakhs and the people of Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Egypt,” — said the expert.
But the latest figures clearly indicate that the demand for Latvian real estate falls not by leaps and bounds. And if it goes further, in the following year few people want to buy houses and apartments in this Baltic country.
However, the Latvian authorities in some sense are to blame. Specialist in the sale and purchase of foreign real estate Baturina Maria notices that the number of applications for initial residence permit in Latvia after raising the necessary investment from 143 thousand to 250 thousand euros has fallen by more than 40 times. And then there’s the crisis. In General, real estate Latvia was on the brink of the abyss, and now that old old joke, made a “big step forward”.
