International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analyticsWednesday, 10.03.2010, 19:16
YIT Ehitus to build two highrise towers in Riga
09.03.2010YIT Ehitus, Estonian subsidiary of Scandinavian construction giant YIT, signed a 40 million euro contract in Latvia to build two 120-metre-high round buildings for a company Towers Construction Management, LETA/BBN reports.
Keyword tags: Construction, Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Latvia, Legislation, LIVE RIGA, Real Estate
Swedbank: real estate developers in Estonia are launching new residential projects thanks to low prices
09.03.2010During the past few months, several real estate developing companies have launched new residential construction projects as construction prices are low and the real estate market in Tallinn has started showing first signs of stabilisation, reported Swedbank Estonia at the real estate conference for the bank’s customers and developers, writes LETA/Äripäev.ee.
Merko Ehitus eyes acquisitions in Baltic road construction
08.03.2010Merko Ehitus, the largest listed Baltic builder, has its "eyes open" for acquisitions in neighboring Latvia and Lithuania, where companies are reeling from a regional slump, Chief Executive Officer Tiit Roben said. Merko, which earned more than 90% of 2009 revenue from building projects, also wants to boost its share of the Baltic road construction market, Roben said in an e-mailed response to Bloomberg questions today.
Corruption Prevention Bureau director's wife LVL 1.5 mln in debt
08.03.2010After assuming his new office, Corruption Prevention Bureau chief Normans Vilnitis, when declaring his property, indicated that he had more than EUR 200,000 (LVL 140,000) of debt; however, the TV3 magazine show "Nothing Personal" has established that his wife's debts are at least ten times higher.
In February Estonian apartments market grew by more than a third
08.03.2010According to the Estonian Land Board data, 684 transactions with apartments were conducted in Estonia in February 2010, which was by more than a third more than the 489 in January, LETA/Postimees Online reports.
Pindi: prices of flats in Estonia fell by 1.2% in February
The Pindi index that reflects the weighed average price of a square metre in purchase and sale contracts involving flats in all county centres as well as in Kohtla-Järve and in Narva fell by 1.2% in February 2010 in comparison to the previous month, writes LETA/Postimees Online.
Tallinn’s main post office sold to Swedes
The landmark building in central Tallinn that has been the main post office of Tallinn for three decades was finally sold to the Swedish company Promethean for 128 million kroons on Thursday, LETA/Eesti Päevaleht writes.
City Service generated profit of 24.485 mln litas in 2009
Lithuania-based property management company City Service in 2009 operated with 125.919 million litas consolidated sales, compared to 140.937 million litas in 2008, City Service reported to NASDAQ OMX Vilnius. The company generated profit of 24.485 million litas in 2009, compared to 23.244 million litas in 2008. City Service net profit totaled 13.649 million litas in 2009, which was more than 8.62 million litas registered in 2008.
Construction costs in Latvia rose by 2.5% in January 2010
Compared to the December 2009, construction costs in Latvia in January 2010 rose on average by 2.5%, according to the data of the Central Statistical Bureau. Labour remuneration of workers increased by 9.0%, prices of building materials – by 1.2%, maintenance and operational costs of machinery and equipment – by 0.1%. Compared to January 2009, construction costs in January 2010 on average diminished by 10.1%.
Temporary residence permits for large-scale investors to available from July in Latvia
Saeima today passed amendments to the Law on Immigration to grant temporary residence permits to large-scale investors in Latvia. After a long debate, the bill was passed with 48 votes in favor; 42 Saeima members voted against the bill.
IMF advises Latvia to increase assessed real estate valuations
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is advising Latvia to also increase its assessed property valuations, according to the newspaper Biznes&Baltija. The IMF's technical mission has established that the assessed value of property in Latvia's major cities is lower than the market value. Bearing in mind the planned increase in real estate tax, the IMF is also pressing for an adjustment of assessed valuations for real estate.
Ober-Hausi Kinnisvara: Estonian developers have to learn from property market collapse
Estonia's real estate developers made three major mistakes during the boom years – first of all, they forgot that real estate development was like any other business that had its ups and downs, LETA/BBN wrote, referring to article of Ober-Hausi Kinnisvara CEO Tarmo Kase in real estate portal City24.
Magomed Gurbanov also does not wish to purchase Skrunda in Latvia
Azerbaijani citizen Magomed Gurbanov, the second highest bidder at the auction of the real estate garrison town "Mezaine" in Skrunda Region's Ranki County (southwestern Latvia), also does not wish to purchase the property, as the business portal Nozare.lv was informed by the Latvian Privatization Agency's representative, Anete Fridensteina-Bridina.
Riga Deputy Mayor defends himself and property in Jurmala
Riga Deputy Mayor Ainars Slesers (Latvia's First Party/Latvia's Way) informs in a statement to the mass media that he will be as sparing as possible when it comes to pine trees growing on his property in Jurmala.
IMF demands from Latvia increase of property tax to 1.5% of assessed value
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked Latvia to increase its property tax from the current 0.1-0.3% to 1.5% of the registered value, according to the Biznes&Baltija newspaper. This means that the tax for a three-room apartment in the suburbs of Riga would be around LVL 200 a year.
Closer cooperation model for the Baltics and the EU 
