The last time we published the numbers on price growth for the deals we have offered to our members it was good news almost right across the board.

That was back in March 2007.

Now we can report back with a more comprehensive breakdown of the performance of the developments you have invested in through us.

And this time, it is largely great news.

A few words of warning beforehand though.

Just like last time, there are a few things you need to be aware of when looking at Returns on Investment, average market prices and the like.

Many of you will have read this before, but it's important that you bear this in mind!

Measuring performance

With new builds (off-plan deals), it is notoriously difficult to find an appropriate measure of real growth before they are completed - because the real proof of growth is the prices that units fetch when they are completed and start to come onto the secondary market.

Once completed units are being sold on the open market, then we can see clearly what profits are achievable - a direct measure of market value.

But there is another, slightly imperfect (but still very effective), measure that we can make before construction is complete.

During the construction phase of a development, we use the developer's prices.

This is by no means a certain reflection of value, and it's important to bear in mind what phase the construction of the development is in and what phase the sale of units is in.

Towards the latter stages of construction the developer will be keen to sell, as the construction phase nears its end. So this will often hold down prices.

Even more importantly, once the developer has sold all but the last few units - often the least desirable units will be left - he will no longer market the development, nor update his prices.

So, prices for these units will generally represent BELOW market value for the development as a whole - but it is extremely difficult to estimate how far below.

What we can say then is that the data that follows really compares our (most desirable units), with what are often essentially the least desirable (the last remaining) units.

So it is possible that any price increase could be said to indicate a MINIMUM price increase.

You can view the current performance by city:

Poland

• Gliwice
• Katowice
• Krakow
• Lodz
• Poznan
• Swinoujscie
• Warsaw
• Wroclaw

Romania

• Bucharest
• Constanta

Czech Republic

• Brno
• Prague

Cyprus

• Southern Cyprus

Slovak Republic

• Bratislava
• Trnava

Latvia

• Riga

Values are in local currency or Euro.

Polish prices quoted are black finish, exc VAT, parking, kitchens, storage & internal area. All other prices quoted are white finish, exc VAT, parking, kitchens, storage & internal area.

NB. We have only included developments launched to our clients more than six months ago (up to July 06).

(Please note: The individual unit prices Property Secrets has used for comparison are correct at the time of posting. But they are subject to increase or decrease due to market conditions.)

What are we seeing?

Property Secrets Chief Analyst Simon Tweddle explains what these figures show and what we can expect in the future.

Poland: The stellar growth in Poland continued into the first part of 2007. Prices in the major cities have slowed considerably, though still leaving those who have invested in Poland over the last 1-3 years with some amazing returns. The growth in the smaller Polish cities have started to take over the mantle of being the highest growth areas having lagged the major cities until now.

Slovak Republic: There has been a very small pick up in prices in Slovakia. The economic fundamentals of the Slovak Republic still look good. We expect a similar growth rate to continue in the next quarter until the end of the year, with 2008 potentially finally seeing an increased growth rate.

Romania: The signs that indicated strong growth was about to arrive in Romania proved right. Growth in our Romanian carefully selected deals has been very high indeed and we expect this to continue throughout 2008.

Czech Republic: After very moderate growth over the last from 2004 to 2006, the last quarter of 2006 saw the first signs of an increased growth rate. Last time we predicted this strong growth rate would increase and it has actually exceeded our expectations. The real price growth could be even higher than our conservative data suggests.

Latvia: The Latvian market continues to under-perform due to an overheated market with high prices and an economy that is in danger of imploding. The high prices and economic risk means there is not the scope for increases in prices in the near future.

Cyprus: Growth in Cyprus continues to be modest. Seeing this growth continue will be difficult in the short term due to a flood of foreign investors. The medium term outlook is positive.

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