Tunisia – Dubai of the Mediterranean?

Tunisia does not trip off the tongue for overseas property investment and is currently mightily overshadowed by near neighbours Morocco and Egypt in the property press, however with the presence of major Middle East property investors, mainly from Dubai and other UAE nations, the country is set to make a big impact. Property prices are low, even as low as Morocco was five years ago, and the country feels exotic yet European, affordable yet upper-class and will appeal to a broad spectrum of end users. The bonus is that unlike some far-flung destinations, a property in Tunisia is both a future income generator as well as being close enough to actually hop on a plane and enjoy the wonderful beaches and culture,

North Africa’s smallest nation, Tunisia, has a Mediterranean-facing coastline and lies directly south of Italy’s Sardinia tucked between Algeria on the west and Libya to the east. Thanks to a sharp right-angle turn on its shoreline, Tunisia has 1,400km of coastline and it is this asset, together with its strategic location, which has propelled the nation on to the global stage and attracted considerable foreign investment, particularly from the Middle East.

A colourful hotchpotch of architecture from Roman ruins to nineteenth century French colonial boulevards and a patchwork of landscapes from cork oak forests through to olive groves, vineyards and mile-upon-mile of undulating Sahara desert, Tunisia more than makes up for its size in terms of diversity. The sandy beaches front an impressive infrastructure of luxurious hotels, modern international airports, chic boutiques and jet-set marinas whilst the barren south has long-been the chosen setting for blockbusting films including Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Monty Python’s Life of Brian and Minghella’s The English Patient.

Life in Tunisia is very relaxed, tolerant and open. Women’s rights are better catered to than anywhere else in the Arabic world allowing western-style clothing, participation in sport and no barriers to taking part in business or Government at a senior level. Alcohol is freely available and widely drunk by locals and tourists alike.

As tourism becomes more important, leisure facilities are springing up at a significant rate, particularly around the honeypot resorts of Hammamet and Monastir, and Tunisia now boasts six golf courses, two of which have 27-holes, international diving centres and plenty of yachting clubs. Two significant projects currently underway, Mediterranean Gate ‘Century’ City and Tunis Sports City, both funded by Dubai investment at 25 billion USD and 5 billion USD respectively, will bring further golf courses and marinas, world-class sporting academies, Olympic grade facilities, business and leisure hubs as well as thousands of residential units and hotel beds.

While buying a property in Tunisia may not be the obvious choice, expect nothing short of positive global headlines and economic fortune from Tunisia over the coming years, and your investment will be rewarded in spades.

Dubai or not Dubai?

Dubai as a property Investment Destination

There seems to be some debate on whether or Dubai remains one of the top 5 Hotspots for Property investment at the moment.It has been suggested that due to the property boom Dubai is currently experiencing the volume of new units coming onto the market in such a short space of time will shortly cause Dubai property prices to plummet.

Other arguments start with the worry that buying an apartment in an artificial city in the desert is extremely unfriendly to the environment, let alone the cost of air conditioning and water desallination!Then there is the recent escalation of warnings of terrorist threat to "High", meaning the most serious of four terrorism risk levels which the Foreign Office uses in its warnings, the others being "general", "underlying" and "low". But that threat is with us wherever we travel.Wherever you invest in property there will be considerations, other than the annual return.

Clearly, investing in any market carries no 100% guarantee, but it seems thart Dubai is still experiencing an extremely favorable upward appreciation in the property values, which are showing no sign of a downturn at the moment. There are at least 100,000 UK citizens resident in the UAE and more than one million Britons travel there every year, so it has not lost its appeal just yet.