Most Germans live in rented apartments, and these days Germany is becoming one of the most popular destinations for foreign real estate investors. So why are Germans so keen on buying and not renting?

The rate of homeownership in Germany is the lowest in the European Union: Only 53% of Germans in 2012 owned their own homes, whereas in the UK, for example, this figure reaches 70%, in Italy 72%, and in the U.S. 65%. Berlin leads the rest of Germany in the percentage of apartment rentals, at 90% of residents. In Hamburg, the figure is 80%.

Experts say that there are many factors that explain Germans? reluctance to buy their own homes. First, the German rental market is regulated by the government, which protects tenants? rights. Under existing legislation, rents are set by contract for a long time and can rise no more than once a year; the owner must give the tenant a minimum of three months? notice of a planned increase.  Furthermore, since 2013, it has been prohibited to raise the cost of rental housing by more than 15% over a three-years period, instead of the 20% that was allowed by the previous legislation.

A psychological factor also affects Germans? preferences: the historical aversion to the risk associated with a mortgage or loan to buy property. Moreover, the German banks themselves tend to be extremely conservative in their lending practices and require a voluminous package of documents on income and property to confirm the applicant?s ability to pay. At the same time, mortgage rates in Germany are actually quite low and in some cases may be 2.5% per annum for a 10- or 15-year loan. However, buyers are required to make a cash down payment of at least 20% of the price of the residence; and in fact, the down payment often ranges from 30% to 40%, and obviously not everyone can afford this amount. 

After 12 years, the group of countries known as the BRIC remains one of the main drivers of growth in the developing sector. The pace has slowed somewhat in recent years though, and experts are pointing to a new group of potential leaders, known as the MIST. Are Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, and Turkey really able to overtake the BRIC? Or was the new acronym created to attract the attention of foreign investors to these countries, in hopes of increasing investment flows there, as occurred with the BRIC after 2001?

To those living in developed countries, slavery seems a thing of the past, even if it was still around in the century before last. But the fact is that about 30 million people worldwide live in modern slavery, with nearly half of them (14 million) in India. Putting emotions aside, one could say this is a very profitable business. The Walk Free Foundation estimates that slave labor generates $32 billion in profits annually for people and organizations.

Created in 2011, today the Eurasian Customs Union (ECU) is the largest economic platform in the former Soviet Union. Made up of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus, the ECU is a common customs territory with total annual external trade of $939.3 billion and internal trade of $68.6 billion. The ECU’s main objective is to intensify economic relations and strengthen the overall position of Customs Union members on the world stage. The ECU faces some major challenges in the near future, including prospects for expansion, which is directly dependent on its economic attractiveness and ability to offer favorable terms to all participants.

During the fall of 2013, the People’s Republic of China announced a massive economic project called “The New Silk Road.” Beijing has given formal recognition to a trend dating back to the 1990s to include Central Asian countries in the orbit of the Chinese economy. Now this trend has gained a clear and concrete form through this ambitious project, which brings together China, the countries of Central Asia, and possibly Central Europe.

The term “Silk Road,” which is borrowed from ancient and medieval history, was already used by then-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2011. The Washington project proposed the creation of trade and transport links extending from the steppes of Central Asia to the southernmost tip of India. The main objective of this American project was to bring Afghanistan into a sustainable regional economic network, which the concept’s authors believed would have a positive impact on the stability of the whole region. The American project encountered several problems associated with the ongoing political instability in Afghanistan, as well as the project’s high price tag and the inability to compete with Chinese proposals.

Analysts at World Economic Journal have taken the advice of Goldman Sachs’s Jim O’Neill in replacing Korea with Nigeria in the new grouping of developing economies. They have also evaluated the most important macroeconomic performance indicators of these countries.
The current statistics are relentless: According to 2012 results, the economic growth of the four BRIC countries stalled, and in 2013 the situation did not improve. To judge from forecasts, the opportunities are very limited. This means that investors are beginning to withdraw their assets, from both funds and the countries themselves.