Real Estate & Editors' Choice News in Estonia from Propertyshowrooms.com

Estonia highest placed Baltic State for economic freedom

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Estonia has placed 14th in the World Economic Freedom rankings, making it the highest placed of the Baltic States.

Compiled and published each year by the Wall Street Journal and the Heritage Foundation, the country has climbed two places from its position last year.

The news may be of interest to those looking to buy property in Estonia, with it making improvements in terms of its monetary and labour freedoms.

However, the index did note that relatively high government expenditure in the country was hampering further progress from being made.

"Public finance management would benefit from longer-term budget balancing goals, clearer co-ordination between central and local governments, and better targeting of social benefits," the publication says.

Hong Kong placed first in the index, which measures freedoms ranging from property rights to corruption, followed by Singapore and Australia.

Meanwhile, Estonia became the 17th country to adopt the euro currency on January 1st 2011 after it received final approval from EU finance ministers earlier last year.

Eastern Europe 'rising in popularity'

Sat, 9 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Eastern Europe is becoming a more popular place to go on holiday, it has been stated.

Francesca Ecsery, the global sales director at cheapflights.co.uk, said the region is increasingly favoured partly because most of its member states lie outside the eurozone and are therefore cheaper for Britons than many traditional places to take a break.

The Baltic states are among these new localities she noted, remarking: "Culture-rich Latvia and Estonia offer an abundance of striking, centuries-old architecture and picturesque coastlines."

She also mentioned that the latter has many medieval castles.

Those keen on investing in tourist rental property may wish to consider buying in Estonia because of such attractions, as the discovery of them by British tourists could help popularise the country as an overseas holiday hotspot.

Estonia may also be boosted by eurozone membership soon, with Reuters columnist Paul Taylor recently predicting in an article for the New York Times that it will be the first Baltic country to join the eurozone.

Estonia 'in eurozone by 2011'

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Estonia could soon adopt the euro as its national currency, a member of the European Commission has said.

Commissioner for monetary affairs Joaquin Almunia commented that the Baltic country's aim of adopting the euro by the start of 2011 is achievable.

Discussing the level of public debt cuts, he disagreed with those who said these have been occurring too slowly, stating: "I believe that the government is doing what it needs to be doing."

He said to "overreact" in monetary policy matters would lead to the country not achieving the growth it needs.

The prospect of Estonia joining the eurozone swiftly may encourage those thinking of buying property there, as the move may help increase confidence in its economic stability.

In turn, this could encourage more investment and help increase property prices.

Last month, Estonia's central bank Eesti Pank issued a statement saying that the economic prospects were improving, with the rate of decline in industrial output and exports slowing, Bloomberg reported.

Central bank sees brighter future for Estonia

Wed, 20 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Estonian economy is starting to improve, according to its central bank.

Although the country has suffered a significant economic decline in the recession, Eesti Pank emailed a statement commenting that the industrial output levels and export markets are now declining by less than at the start of 2009, reports Bloomberg.

It continued: "The overall volume of services exports has not contracted significantly compared with last year, also the confidence indicators have improved a bit."

Such news may suggest that the contraction in the Baltic country is starting to ease, which may mean that those who invest there now can pick up bargain properties that will enjoy growth as the economy gradually turns round.

In March this year the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) noted that there had been a large rise in affordability in the Estonia property market.

The Rics European Housing Review 2009 revealed a 23 per cent price fall in the country in 2008.