A curiosity... Kiev is (according to the new Ukraine report - available on this site) more expensive than Bucharest... Which is the opposite of what you might intuitively expect and is no doubt down to speculation, controlled market factors, high levels of black money etc... Which, I believe, goes some way to showing that 'inter-city' comparisons are of limited value or potentially dangerous - unless you can demonstrate that the cities are on a similar track - as per Krakow and Barcelona for instance. Cheers Neil Cheers Neil

Thanks for an interesting article. They say it takes a generation to change a mindset and its still less than 20 years sincethe terrible times of Ceausescu. My feelings from my visit is that nearly everyone is desperate to move away from those times now and out of the old buildings. They want to become part of a modern EU but it's difficult for us to really understand what they have been through in the past and how this will effect their decisions now. Anyway why I'm selling my UK flats to invest in Romania as I believe there is far more profit to be made there so I hope Simon is right!

Hi Loretta, You have not asked advice on this, but I though to put these points on the table regarding selling the UK to raise money for the CEE. If your intention is to raise money for CEE property investments, I think remortgaging your UK asset might be more interesting option than selling. By remortgating: 1) You will not pay CG of the money raised. 2) You will enjoy both growths in the Romania and in the UK (if you believe UK is a good long term bet as I do.). 3) Avoid selling cost (lawyers, deeds, Estate Agents, etc) Good luck, Erico

Simon, thanks for an interesting article. I would query your comments re locals releasing locked in equity in Panelaks. How much are these properties really worth and who wants to live there? Aren't they reaching the end of their useful lives? I guess the answer may be that there are always people on the bottom rung of the ladder and these are all they can afford but I would be iterested in your comments. One other thing - yes mortgage lending will take off but I feel it may be slower than you suggest. Also, how switched on do you think ordinary Romanians are to the sort of calculations you have outlined? Huw

Hi Erico Thanks for your comments. I'm always happy to receive advice. You make very good comments but when I looked at the numbers for the two flats in Reading with regards to rental yield and the amount I could raise for remortgage I decided against against this option. My thought is that the UK property market has peaked for a little while - but who knows - wish I had a crystal ball! Also I'm lucky that while I'm living in Guernsey I don't have to pay CGT - another reason I decided to sell. Loretta

Well done Simon - the article is bang on the money - having lived and worked through the Latvian boom and understanding the pschology of a people desperate to increase their quality of life post-communism, I feel Romania hold great promise. As for Ukraine - Kiev is overpriced and will need to correct, but secondary cities and selected satellite cities around Kiev still hold potential, depending on what you are buying and where. For those of you thinking about this market, tread with care - its a property market in its infancy and corruption is rife even by Eatern bloc standards. A