Hi - just came across these two news items – these guys obviously know what they are talking about because they’ve spent a small fortune on research.

If you want to follow the money, then these two property investors have pinpointed locations which they believe will make money.

The Dubai property developer Fortune Group has carried out a two-year study of market conditions in the Romanian property market. Based on those findings, it has just announced investment of €2bn in Romanian housing and shopping projects. One project is for housing, shops, a five-star hotel and spar in the Black Sea area. The second project is in Transylvania’s mountain region for a residential complex, with golf courses and ski slopes.

That makes the research very valuable – this investor is prepared to stake €2bn on its findings. Even if we don’t know its exact contents, we still know where the investment is being made and what it is being used for.

And this tells us a lot about the Romanian property market. The research has shown there is a definate housing need in the Black Sea area, especially in the high-end luxury market.

Investment in Romania by Middle East companies reached €4bn in 2007 - that figure is expected to increase to €10bn in 2009-2010.

AFI Europe Group, part of the Tel Aviv-listed Africa Israel Investments, has announced two more projects in Romania, taking its total investment in the country to around €1bn.

It is investing €500m in a 3,000 unit housing development and 25,000sqm shopping mall on the site of an old plant in Bucharest. It will also convert a former industrial site in Ploiesti, in south east Romania, into a shopping mall with further plans for an office development and housing.

These projects show there is a housing shortgage by identifying areas for large scale residential projects.

The fact that both these announcements include shopping centres also highlights those areas in Romania where consummerism is on the increase. These are areas to watch for property investors as they are indications that there is growing wealth among the local population.

Tracking these major investments provides valuable leads for property investors.
If you know of any more major property investment projects then let us know.