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Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.

He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.

In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.

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• Slovakia 2000
  
• Slovakia 2003
  
• Slovakia 2004
  
• Slovakia 2006
  
• Slovakia 2006, 2
  
• Slovakia 2007
  
• Slovakia 2008
  
• Slovakia 2008, 2
  

In international plan 2004 was a good year for Slovakia. The country joined two important pan-European security and economic organizations, EU and NATO. It has made serious commitments to smooth the business environment and guarantee the investors rights in line with the West European standards. Given the low price levels, especially on the real estate market compared to those in the other EU countries, it's of no surprise that Bratislava attracts more and more new investors. If the EU membership plays a role of insurance policy in the economic sphere, the NATO will be equally important security policy no matter what are the events to come to the east of the Slovak borders.

Some months ago the Slovak real estate market was liberalized and the foreign citizens are now not required to establish local corporations in order to buy real estate. Under the new law any foreigner may purchase real estate in Slovakia, an exception made only for the agricultural land. Another good news for potential foreign investors is that the deadline for confiscated properties to be reclaimed has long past, and there is only slightest reason for fear that specific property (this concerns only the old properties) could be reclaimed by its former owner.

Another good news is that unlike some other countries in East Central and South-East Europe in Slovakia the individual foreign investors can apply for mortgage loan. In general the banks can finance up to 70% of the price with annual interest rates starting at 6%. The loan maturity depends on the individual bank, but usual it's no longer than 25-30 years. Regarding the mortgage loans, the European citizens with temporary Slovak residency have priority. The other nationals can also apply for loans but their applications are considered on individual case-by-case base.

The real estate market in Slovakia has shown signs of strength in the last years. The average prices have gone from $700-800/sq.m in early 2000 to $1,200-1,300/sq.m in mid-2004. The luxury properties have increased in value from $1,300/sq.m to $2,000/sq.m.

Slovakia Country Profile:

• Area: 48,845 sq km
• Population: 5.5 million (July 2004 est.)
• Ethnic groups: Slovak 85.7%, Hungarian 10.6%, Roma 1.6% (the 1992 census figures underreport the Gypsy/Romany community, which is about 500,000)
• Languages: Slovak (official), Hungarian
• GDP per capita: purchasing power parity $13,300 (2003 est.)
• Distribution of family income - Gini index: 26.3 (1996)
• Unemployment rate: 15.2% (2003 est.)
• Main trading partners: Germany Czech Republic, Russia, Austria.
• Internet users: 1,375,800 (2003)

(Source: CIA - The World Factbook 2004)

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See also the directory of companies providing real estate services in, and general real estate information of Slovakia.