Property investment in Tallinn, Estonia: Guide to purchasing real estate with old-world charm
The small Baltic nation is punching well above its weight. With a highly educated population, established tech scene, and consistently strong property market, exciting times lay ahead for Estonia and its capital.
Combining its rich history and culture with well-developed goods, labour, financial and tech markets, Estonia’s capital, the Baltic city of Tallinn, has been a long- standing staple on the European map. Having risen to prominence as a major trade hub, due to its strategic geographic location, Tallinn’s 21st century transformation into one of Europe’s premier destinations for working and living has made the city a desirable choice for property investment among international buyers. Now ranked second among 43 European countries and eighth among the total of 178 countries in the 2015 Index of Economic Freedom, Tallinn offers a unique combination of world-class living standards and old world charm, with its Old Town recognised as one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
As a consequence of continued development and international interest in the residential properties in Tallinn, the city’s residential prices have seen significant rises since 2011, continuing the upward trend in the more recent years and rising by 8.46% in 2014 and 8.07% in 2015. With strong property rises over the last several years, Tallinn’s housing market is cooling down in relative terms in 2016. However, the city continues to offer good yields for properties in desirable locations. More and more developments can be seen rising up around central areas of the city in response to the continued demand.
“In city centre locations, value is added because of a long-built community, rather than just premises”, says Ander Soorumaa, Marketing Manager and Board Member at Rotermann City development. “The city centre is developing faster than ever and there has never been such an amount of developments in the heart of the city. Most developments will be complete in 1-2 years from today”.
Other residential locations have also seen price increases due to the popularity of the areas. The most dramatic increases topping 227% since 2009 in areas like Pohja-Tallinn, which experienced a boom in property prices due to the popularity of the settlement Kalamaja.
With the city seeing an unprecedented rise in popularity in the recent years, the residential property market is likely to experience continuous growth in the foreseeable future. With Rotermann City paving the way, new developments promise a newly transformed city with a foundation of building a strong local community along the way. Accordingly, to Soorumaa, Rotermann City is the model for future development in Tallinn. Soorumaa says, “The main advantage of Rotermann City is the extensively built community that no one else seems to have the guts to undertake. We are building a community that belongs to our family; for others, real estate is mostly just business.”
R18, Rotermann City
Hailed as one of the most elite, upcoming developments in Tallinn’s exclusive Rotermann City, R18 offers the historic authenticity and proximity of the city’s Old Town and the comforts of a contemporary urban setting located closely to Tallinn’s hippest restaurants and shops. R18 provides a secure, pedestrian-friendly district, with all of the parking located underground and streets of Rotermann City offering a completely car-free environment. The apartments are modern and luxurious, with clean architectural forms and neutral colour palette providing an ideal starting point for customisation according to the individual owners’ interior décor preferences.
Price: from EUR 3,300 per square metre up to EUR 5,300 per square metre (USD 3,700 – USD 6,000).
Merivalja 43, Baltic Sotheby’s International Realty
Located in the exclusive suburban area of Merivalja, Tallinn, the beautiful villa was built in 1998 by Estonian architect Meelis Press and designed to accommodate two families. The villa features a large swimming pool and a sauna complex, set on a large plot of land surrounded by nature to create a sense of privacy from the outside world. Fully renovated in 2011, the villa accommodates a large kitchen, living and dining room on the first storey and bedrooms and bathrooms on the second storey. The spacious courtyard is fully equipped for summer get-togethers with family and friends and features a kitchen with an electric cooker and a fireplace.
Price: EUR 1,700,000 (USD 1.91 million).
Text by Olha Romaniuk
This article was first published in Palace Magazine 17
