Best places for international investment

No such thing as a no-brainer market. If there was, everyone would be buying there and prices would never drop.

 

A major European capital city that has had. 50-70% price drop with shortage of rental property and yields of 10% + , combined with the aus at a record high vs euro is a no brainer market .

So much so that Chinese American and expats flooded in to pick up unbelievable deals

The big problem is that in those situations the banks are closed for business so not matter how good the deal is , you have to have cash .

It was as obvious as the nose on your face but most people couldn’t capitalise on it and if they did it was for 1 house , the incredible bargains on the prime property, banks , pubs, elite houses etc were for the big boys only .

Same old story the rich get richer and they make most of their money in recessions .

 

That’s not what a no brainer means...

 

I suggest considering classic European countries like Germany and the Netherlands. Very low interest rates atm (1.7% for 10 years), positive CF from day 1 and solid economic and political prospects makes an attractive offering.
Note - I own a property in the Netherlands.

 

Are you Dutch or an EU citizen? I thought there were restrictions on property ownership there, that's why i ask.

 

Neither. To my understanding, you don't need to be EU citizen to purchase property in the Netherlands. In fact, many of my expat colleagues have also purchased properties here. In saying that, one of the key risks here is that tenants have quite a fair bit of power and it's not so easy to evict a difficult tenant.
Hope this helps.

 

Sure...

 

Maybe get closer to the answer of “where” by knocking some possibles off the list by applying some filters ...
I have bought property overseas and some of the examples are based on what I’ve seen first hand.

- foreign ownership restrictions. Eg Viet Nam has some pretty tight control on what foreigners can buy - limited to apartments which are in oversupply (makes Sydney OTP look as safe as houses).
- clear titles. Eg Cambodia has “hard” and “soft” titles. “Soft” title means someone can come with a claim at any time ... think upheaval in that country during the Khmer Rouge. I have personally seen families moved on at the point of machine gun with no notice.
- freehold vs leasehold. Eg, in Viet Nam land is technically leasehold ... and the government can take it back at any time at a fraction of its value.
- demographics. Japan, Taiwan, countries like this have upside down age pyramids ... pretty easy to forecast long term demand.
- currency risk. Would you want to own a property in say Venezuela where you can watch your investment evaporate as the currency devalues?
- punitive foreign taxes ... eg stamp duties in parts of Australia for foreigners.
- tax treaties. Wouldn’t it be a sting in the tail to have to pay local taxes and then Australian taxes because of a lack of a double tax treaty.

It actually makes Aussie real estate look pretty attractive. For an Australian tax resident no punitive taxes, clear freehold titles, net positive immigration. No currency risk, taxes as clear as the current government in power. Overseas investing can be a white knuckle ride.