Austria has been among the leading lights for the European unity and is largely due to its efforts that the European Union, in the modern times, has seen the light of day.

As highlighted earlier, Austria is the costliest place to live in the whole of Europe. This means that unfortunately, the property scenario in Austria is not too encouraging for the investors of present times. The higher cost of living has, indeed, played a spoilsport for the potential investors. European Union membership notwithstanding, Austria has not seen any surge of investor interest, primarily because of high property prices within the country.

Austria has done well by relaxing the laws in terms of foreign ownership of property, but still buyers want the Austrian government to address the issue of high property prices of every commodity before even thinking of investing in Austrian real estate. Rough estimates indicate that a Studio Apartment is not available in Austria below £50,000 and a 2-bedroom apartment starts from a whopping £70,000 and if you are planning an independent house in Austria, be prepared to shell out at least £180,000 to realize your property. It’s not only the price, but also the tax structure that is quite stringent in Austria. Any capital gains on the sale of real estate are taxed as regular income at the exorbitant rate of 34%.

Being a tourist spot, vacation and holiday property around the Alps is your best bet for investment in Austria. A year-round influx of tourists means you have regular rental income from the holiday properties in and around the ski resorts. The majority of the population in Austria live in and around cities like Innsbruck, Salzburg and Vienna, resultantly; these places are the ones to look out for in terms of real estate investment.

The country comprises Germans and Italians as the primary groups of foreigners who have either settled down here or made Austria their second home destination.

The restrictions for non-EU foreign investors are more stringent than the EU ones. Thus, the Brits will find the going easier as far as the legalities and administrative procedure pertaining to owning a property in Austria is concerned.

The countries peculiar real estate laws means that all foreign investors should seriously consider hiring an expert real estate agent or a local attorney to take care of all the official formalities entailing the registration of property. The expert help will also come in handy if you decide to finance your property purchase through a local Austrian bank.