RSS
The Economy of Austria is a mixture of capitalism, socialism, and communism 
maintaining a high standard of living with GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita of approx. 33,000 USD (United States Dollar). Real estate plays a critical role in driving the economy of Austria and deals with many entities such as real estate financing, commercial real estate investment and domestic real estate investment.
Borrowing loans for construction, development or renovation of real estates come under the purview of real estate financing, while commercial real estate investment is concerned with the construction and development of commercial structures like bridges, malls, supermarkets, parks, restaurants, hotels, cinemas, multiplexes, warehouse etc. Domestic real estate investment primarily deals with the purchasing, selling or renting of house or buildings of domestic use.
The real estate industry in Austria involves a host of key persons such as real estate appraisers, real estate agents, real estate attorneys and real estate brokers in the first and real estate promoters, buyers and sellers also play their significant role in the industry. Due to the high demand and the prospect of the industry, the construction cost of real estate is very high in Austria. The close relation with the member countries of the European Union also proves one of the reasons for the high cost and demand in real estate sector. The government of Austria is also trying to improve the economy through the policy of privatization especially in service sectors apart from the effort to maintain a competitive global market in cooperation with other member countries of European Union.
Inspired by the success of German closed-end real estate funds, the country's lawmakers announced
Austrian Real Estate Investment Fund Act giving an opportunity to the Austrian fund management companies to structure, market and offer real estate investment funds. In 2010 the Austrian investment volume was more than doubled compared to 2009. In total, about EUR 1.02 billion was invested in real estate from January to June 2010 in Austria. This trend is also seen in the Central & Eastern Europemreal estate markets, where ca. EUR 1.7 billion was invested in H1 2010 – almost three tomes compared to the volume in 2009.
In the second quarter 2010 real estate investors started to see Austria as an attractive as the country’s investment turnover reached ca. EUR 820 million against ca. EUR 200 million in the first quarter 2010. Therefore, Austria’s investment volume increased by ca. 310% and represents the highest increase in Europe. The real estate transactions, office buildings still hold the first rank with ca. 55%, ca. 12% was invested in residential buildings and in each retail and mixed-used properties ca. 5% of the investment volume was invested.
“In the first half-year 2010 investors invested again in larger properties which can be seen in transactions like IZD Tower, Forum Schönbrunn, IBM Headquarter and ShangriLa Hotel. This also reflects a European trend as also in other European countries investment transaction with larger volumes increasing again”, says Dr Andreas Ridder, Managing Director of CB Richard Ellis Austria and responsible for the CEE region.
All in all, the real estate industry is booming well in Austria and it is one of the wealthiest and most
stable countries of the EU member countries adopting a free market economy with a strong emphasis on social factors favoring the less privileged of the country. Apart from real estate, the primary industries of Austria are foodstuffs and luxury commodities, mechanical engineering and steel construction, chemicals and vehicle manufacturing.
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