Dirty money from Russia bid up property prices and spoil the reputation of Jurmala
Posted on Oct 7, 2012
Jurmala, Latvias resort on the Baltic Sea, the once popular Soviet party functionaries flooded wealthy Russians. Now Russian tourists prefer to just relax here and have your own property is best house on the shore of the Baltic Sea.
Interest in the new EU member exhibit and Europeans, German newspaper Handelsblatt (full text articles online Inopressa.ru). As a result, real estate prices here soared to dizzying heights. At the same time, according to local real estate agents, money that come here, do not always have a legal background, which spoils the reputation of the resort.
Local realtors are flourishing demand is any real property. For example, a small wooden house in the best condition, with an area of only 80 square meters can be sold for 1 million euros. The main location of the site.
With a royal scale business here are buyers from Russia, local residents said. “Today, most of our customers from Russia,” said Solvita Quil, Latvian realtor.
Together with the Russian come to Jurmala big money. Russian King of Pop Philip built a house a few years ago, which is now for sale for 4.6 million euro. “The buyer must exist,” says Quil, acknowledging, however, that the real estate prices in Jurmala reached such heights that make you think, even the very wealthy buyers from Russia.
However, there is a certain class of customers to whom the astronomical prices are not an obstacle. Most often it is business people who prefer not to talk about the origin of the money.
Bankers in Riga believe in buying real estate in Jurmala involving dirty money. “Sometimes the person concerned a single stroke raises its offer of 1 million euros,” said one German banker, who asked to remain anonymous due to the nature theme.
Quite naturally, up to a point, local authorities have little interest in the origin of the money. “We are not interested in the sources of income of those who buy our property. Important that they pay tax on land,” – said vice-mayor of Jurmala Mr Tampa.
However, big money can not make a difference. According to the newspaper, now shakes Jurmala major corruption scandal, with all the necessary attributes: bribes received by local politicians from the consultant, telephone tapping, vote-buying. Unfolding struggle for control over the real estate market the resort.
It all starts to go beyond the limit. So even interested in the flow of investment, local authorities are beginning to lose composure. “These scandals inhibit the development of the city, many investors they could ever scare” – says Deputy Mayor Tampa. He hopes that the scam, which is now before the Court, will soon become history.
However, these scandals and high prices are not afraid of new property buyers from the UK and the U.S., who come here, attracted by the news reports of a summer paradise of Jurmala, which make the BBC and CNN.
All this leads to a constant increase in prices. According to the Estonian real estate agency Ober-Haus, is active in all the Baltic countries and offers summer houses not only in Jurmala, but around the Baltic coast, the price per square meter in a single-family home ranges from 700 to 1,500 euros.
However, according to Qilu such prices in Jurmala, not at all. “The price per square meter of the simple house of Soviet times here starts at $ 1,800,” she says, and emphasizes that the price of real estate on the coast has grown to 4 euros per square meter.