Major Middle East developers are investing in Tunisia which property analysts believe is the new emerging market set to make an impact in the next five years.
The property market is very new. Foreign ownership of residential property was only allowed three years ago. Prices are low, just like they were in Morocco five years ago.
Those investing vast sums of money include United Arab Emirate's Sama Holding (a subsidiary of Dubai Holding) with a $14 billion mixed development project and Dubai-based Emaar have investment projects totaling $1.9 billion.
Official figures are promising. The International Monetary Fund describes Tunisia as having a stable and growing economy with 5.5% GDP growth predicted for 2008 and 5.9% for 2009. Unemployment is dropping and inflation is in check.
Tourism figures are also encouraging. The World Travel and Tourism Council forecast an annual increase of 4.3% between 2009 and 2018. However, growth may actually be considerably higher since tourism rose by 4.8% during the first half of 2008 with the second 6 months expected to produce similar results.
Although it is much smaller and has fewer natural resources than its neighbors it has overcome the type of poverty related problems from which Libya and Algeria suffer. The economy is growing and the government is investing in education, tourism and business. It is ranked first in economic competitiveness among African countries according to the World Economic Forum. The Republic of Tunisia (pop 10.1 million) is considered as one of the most stable countries in the Arab region. For the past decade it has been a shining example to other African and Middle Eastern nations on how to grow and prosper as a developing nation. In 2007, the World Economic Forum ranked the country as the number 1 most competitive African economy (29th in the world) with also the highest ranking out of all the countries in the Arab speaking world. Comparing other nations in the region, Morocco ranked 64th while Egypt came in 77th out of 131. In the same report, Italy was placed in 42nd position, 13 places below Tunisia. GDP per capita is around US$8,800.
'Tunisia's property market may just be in its early stages but with its strong economy and tourist sector, large-scale property investment by Middle East developers and low-entry prices, Tunisia looks well set to become one of the most interesting emerging markets,' said Simon Jones, market analyst at http://www.internationalhotproperty.co.uk/. Tunisia is an ideal link between Africa, Middle East and Europe. In the capital Tunis, Middle East Investors are currently investing over $10bn in projects such as Tunis Financial centre and Tunis Sports City based on the popular concepts from Dubai itself. Further south, they are investing $2bn in a picturesque coastal region creating an artificial marina, a world class golf course, exclusive residential properties and a number of luxury 5-star hotels. Other factors that make Tunisia property so attractive is the low cost entry level currently around 1000 Euros per square meter for 5 star front line premier located developments, The new state of the art International airport (biggest in Africa), dynamic economy, stable government, exceptionally high tourist levels that are continually increasing and not to forget Dubai investors moving into Tunisia should make give Tunisia every chance of the being the next big thing in International property.
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