Azernews.Az

BAKU – Foreign nationals purchased 1,110 properties in Azerbaijan in 2010, with 90 percent of them being apartments and houses, according to the State Committee on Property Issues.

Expatriates bought 833 apartments and 183 private homes last year. Another type of properties sought by the expatriates is land plots and non-residential space. They bought 55 land plots and 27 non-residential areas in the country last year.

Moreover, foreign citizens bought five summer houses, five non-residential buildings and two enterprise facilities.

According to the Committee’s State Real Estate Register Service, expatriates are mostly interested in properties in Baku, with as much as 70 percent of foreign-owned real estate registered in the capital. Foreign nationals purchased 765 properties in Baku in 2010. Another city where they tend to buy real estate is Sumgayit, 30 km north of Baku, with 68 foreign-owned properties reported there last year. Also, more than 50 properties were bought in Ganja and Khachmaz. Expatriates also purchase real estate in the Jalilabad and Yevlakh regions.

The types of properties vary depending on the region. In Baku, Ganja and Sumgayit, the country’s biggest cities, apartments sell the most, while in Jalilabad expatriates prefer to buy land plots and in Khachmaz, Zagatala and Tovuz they buy private houses.

Azerbaijan’s real estate market is of interest for citizens of numerous countries, including Britain, Pakistan, Turkey, Spain, UAE, Germany, Japan and South Korea.

According to real estate agents, most foreign nationals purchasing property in Baku use it as dwelling space or for work. Also, some buy property for commercial purposes, such as leasing and sale, or use it as an office.

Well-to-do expatriates seek properties mainly in the center of Baku, in such locations as the so-called Malakan Garden, the Fountain Square, the Hyatt Regency hotel area, the seaside park (boulevard), the so-called Torgovaya Street, and properties located around the US embassy. Some prefer villas near the Narimanov and Ganjlik subway stations or locations away from the city center, such as Badamdar and the Mardakan settlement.