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What Is It Like in Other Parts of the World ?

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This summer I had an opportunity to see real estate in two countries, and now that the summer is over and I look back at my experiences, I wanted to reflect on what I saw. In US we pay a lot of attention to real estate – for many it’s our biggest investment. We are happy when our investment is going up, complain when we can’t afford the home of our dreams, worry about interest rates, predictions of the economy, etc.

It was interesting to have a little glimpse into what real estate is for others in the world. I was in Kiev, Ukraine and Israel and this is what I found so different.

Not Quite Private. In Ukraine, the private real estate ownership is there, but some things are very strange. For example, apartments are privately owned, but the buildings belong to the government. Not surprisingly, the conditions of the common areas are awful: dirt and filth on the staircases, the exterior is crumbling and deteriorating. A piece of the balcony fell within inches of my head. Many of these apartments cost $500,000.

Luxury? We rented what is considered the absolute “luxury” apartment. It had 2 bathrooms -one of the few available in the city - most apartments have only 1 bathroom. On the other hand, we saw summerhouses the size of Versailles behind huge walls in the suburbs.

Affordability. Land is in big demand by the new moguls. I spoke to a man who told me that his parents sold their farmland, so he and his family can buy an apartment in the city. Without such help, he could never afford to buy.

Small Spaces/ Big Places. I also visited Israel. I saw middle class houses with living/dining rooms for family activities and small bedrooms – for sleeping. We did not see Family Rooms, Libraries, Huge kitchens, and big yards. What was so interesting is that no matter how small the house – limitless parties and guests were accommodated. Many places saw significant price declines, but it was not the topic on peoples mind.

I am back and the US housing market is on every ones mind. My summer experience, is putting things for me in a different perspective.

Posted by Faina Sechzer - Princeton, Montgomery, Hopewell, NJ Real Estate Expert on 09/18/2007 06:54 PM

Comments (18)

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18 Comments on What Is It Like in Other Parts of the World ?

SEP

2007

I really enjoyed your post on real estate in other parts of the world! I just returned to the states from a trip to Mexico, and it is so refreshing to get another perspective. It's nice to hear from globally thinking agents like yourself!

Jacqueline - it was an eye opening experience. I traveled a lot in my life for business and pleasure, but this was the first time I had the inside look, which is different then what the tourists usually see. It made me look differently at what we have here at home. Thanks for stopping by at my blog.

It's a great idea to go see homes and how real estate works in other parts of the world whenever you're traveling. A couple years ago we went to see some condos while visiting St. Thomas. Most are part of resort-condos with a management company that rents them out for a large percentage of the your rental income, but even with their cut, most investors are making a profit because of the desirability of the condo locations on the island.

I think the greatest difference between the American market and those of other countries is this: Can land be owned outright? Countries that have some sort of long term lease arrangement will have a vastly different housing situation.

Faina, Very interesting post and perspective...we are so such self absorbed Americans, a so focused on our "local" market it is interesting to read about your experiences this summer. Thanks for sharing!

FAINA: It's funny, but we never tend to think about real estate around the world here. It's like we know that it somewhere it exists, but not within our reach. I guess because we are inundated with the U.S. housing market and hear very little about what is going on overseas. Interesting post.

Brian - St. Thomas is beautiful. What you are saying makes me want to have that waterfront view. Thanks for making us know more about the world.

Chuck - I never even thought about land ownership in that way. I think in Ukraine and Israel you can own land.

Nancy - I agree. Sometimes examining other places gives us a better idea about our own.

Adam - it was good to be a bit more then a tourist. Living and looking at other places in the world, make our "problems" here look very different.

SEP

2007

Faina- I inherited my family's land in Latvia after the fall of the iron curtain. I lived in many different countries. All over Russia it is just as you described that they outside is owned by the government and is horrendous. This is a great post. It is good for agents to know what is going on around the world. Katerina

Faina, Travelling and experiencing life in another country certainly allows us to appreciate more the things we take for granted here.

Katerina - My grandmother is from Lithuania, but what ever they owned is long, long gone. I also have relatives in Riga. I was in Talin last year and at least on the outside, things seemed to be OK. I thought that they were more prepared for capitalism, although there is corruption like in most former Soviet empire.

So, Fran, are you another one of those agents who cannot go to a city without checking out Sunday Opens? This was really interesting. Thanks.

Marie -what you say is so true. Surprisingly, I did not hear a lot of moaning and complaining. People just do what they have to do to survive.

Patricia - In Kiev we were renting an apartment and visited the places where I used to live. In Israel - we stayed with relatives and visited a lot of their fiends. I did not have time to go to Open Houses. I am not even sure if they do them in these countries.

Faina- Latvia kept really good records. My family owned a lot of land there. I am sure we have lost most of it. We did salvage the ownership. A lot of Russians live in Latvia. Many Latvians move to UK for jobs and work. My mother was born in Riga. We are planning a visit as soon as Tristan is a little older. Talk about corruption. We are in court now to save our property. I should write a post about real estate in Latvia! WOW! They have mobs that go around forging wills on property who's owners live in the U.S. My mother was a famous poet and singer in the Latvian community. She died very young; she did not even get to see the fall of the iron curtain. Her poetry got smuggled into Latvia underground during communism. I have a story about all of that. Katerina

SEP

2007

Katerina - I see we have more than the AR connection. I heard countless stories of people even being murdered to get the ownership of real estate. I had a big family contingent in Riga, but lost track of all of them. I left Soviet Union 30 years ago, and this year was my first visit back to Kiev - I wanted to find my Mom's grave.( She died when we were kids). Surprisingly, the grave was intact after all these years. All in all, it was a sad trip, but I wanted my two teenage boys to see where I come from.

Faina- WOW,that is so great that you took your boys to see where you came from! I am glad you left. The main parts of Russia are still depressing and the people have a hard time coping with democracy. Most of my family ran away to a refugee camp in Germany by boat from Jurmala, ( outside of Riga). In those days you could not just come to America like you can now. I am first born American on my mother's side of our family. Katerina

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