Latvia

The crisis continues in Latvia, and there is no sign of recovery yet. From the viewpoint of property investment, the bare facts are depressing. Gross rental yields on apartments in the centre of Riga are quite poor, ranging from 3.71% to 4.48%. It would be hard to be enthusiastic about property investment at these levels.

Rental yields are, however, considerably better on suburban apartments. The contrast is clear: suburban apartment yields average 5.47%, while city centre apartment yields average 4.05%.

People often write in to ask, when will buying investment property in the Baltics be attractive again? We can only say, this is not the stuff of which property recoveries are made. Not yet, anyway. So hold off on property investment. The usual pattern is that economic activity begins to rise, leading to rising rents, and then property investors begin to regain confidence. Happy days for property investment are a long way off in the Baltics.

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