CITY FOCUS - BRATISLAVA

Bratislava – the Slovakian capital will soon benefit from the “Vienna factor” when a new highway is completed.

The Slovakian capital is slowly emerging onto the overseas property market and is quickly becoming a hotspot, writes Shane McGinley.

Bratislava offers low prices and has been enjoying a steady growth rate of around 15% a year for good quality centrally located properties. The city will soon also receive a boost when a new highway linking it to Vienna is completed. This effect known as the ‘Vienna factor’ is expected to have an impact on property prices in the most sought-after areas of Bratislava, when the highway is finished in 2007.

Low Cost Of Living

Not only are properties much more affordable in Bratislava, the cost of living in Austria is also a lot higher than in nearby Slovakia, there fore once the highway is complete Austrians will be able to enjoy good incomes from jobs in Vienna and capitalise on the low cost of living in Bratislava.

“Once the Austrian part of the highway is completed, commuting time between the two capitals will be down to just 30 minutes. Yet property prices in Vienna are more than double the prices in Bratislava, and the difference is even steeper for the top end properties, where it can be as much as five times higher,” said Petra Gajdosikova, Managing Director of Slovakia Investment Property.

Property Prices

Apartments are priced at about €1,800/ m2 and the most sought after areas are the city centre and the village of Zahorska Bystrica, where the price of property is on the rise; however it is also possible to get apartments in districts such as Nove mesto, Ruzinov, Karlova Ves, Dubravka, Raca or Petrzalka.

C ontact: A list of real estate agencies can be found at www.greenpages.sk/catg_real.html or www.bratislavaguide.com.