Ukraine, the second largest country in East Europe, with an area of 603,628 kilometers, is bordered by the Russian federations on the north-eastern and eastern sides, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland on the western side, Belarus on the north-west and Moldova and Romania on the south-western side. A large number of international real estate investors are aware of the rapid development of Ukraine Real Estate.

The prices of in Ukraine, particularly in cities like Kiev have escalated to a great extent over the last few years. Due to this, the buyers who purchased in Ukraine in the early 1990s for a small price of few thousand dollars and now extremely happy as they have witnessed a sharp rise in the value of their property up to 40 percent every year. Add the revenue that you received from Ukraine rentals and you have a wonderfully profitable asset in your hands.

A number of international investors made their decision to enter into the Ukrainian property market following the Orange Revolution which showed everyone that Ukraine has extremely strong democratic as well as European leanings which is most likely to continue in the same way in future.

Obtaining in Ukraine is quite simple and convenient. The appreciation of property rates started during early 90s after the economy of Ukraine hit rock bottom and was more prominent in larger cities like Kiev, Lviv, Odessa and Dnepropetrovsk. Following this, the prices of the resort areas in Crimea began escalating. At present, the price of Ukraine in the city of Yalta is even higher than the capital city of Kiev. In the late 1990s, the prices of property in the different vacation areas of the country began to rise.

Property values in the country are not expected to halt their growth any time in the near future. According to the international real estate analysts, the main causes behind the growth of prices of Ukraine real estate include:

• The low level of per capital housing during the time of Soviet Union.
• During the soviet times, the people were not allowed to move to bigger cities. However, now that they are allowed, the demand for property is also increasing, leading to price rise.
• The concentration of capital as well as opportunities in the big cities is leading to migration of people and hence, rising prices.
• The rising income in the resort areas and major cities.
• The lack of other alternatives of investments also results in rise in price of properties.
• The mistrust of bank due to the loss they suffered during banking crisis and inflation in 1990s has resulted in rise in prices of Ukraine.

This boom has occurred in the country even though the rate of interest is quite high. As and when the interest rates become lower, the demand for Ukraine is likely to rise even further. So now is the perfect time for international investors to invest in real estate in Ukraine.

Soft commodities are widely believed to be the investment of the future and a must-have in any self-discerning portfolio. Recent studies and statistics show that if you invest in soft commodities via agricultural land in Ukraine you are on to be a winner.

Farmland in Ukraine is one of the world’s most fertile and has the potential to become one of the most productive. New technology and better farming techniques are being introduced with excellent results. The ever-increasing yields from land mean that Ukraine is now among global leaders in grain sales. In 2009, Ukraine became the market leader in Spain, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt and Saudi, and also entered the Far Eastern markets of Japan and Korea for the first time.

Ukraine farmland has several advantages in a very competitive industry. Along with more effective farming methods, Ukraine has reduced freight prices. In addition, the devaluation of the Hryvnia currency has increased profitability.

Agricultural land in Ukraine is currently under-exploited. However, as the pressure for more food rises globally, more land in Ukraine is being farmed. Just a decade ago one million hectares were under crops. In 2009, Ukraine farmed 4.2 million hectares, a massive increase of 420%. Likewise, farms are getting bigger – the average farm size grew from just 28 hectares to 101 between 1999 and 2009. Reflecting this growth in agriculture are the production volumes from Ukraine land. These saw a year-on-year increase of 5% in January this year.

The rich and fertile soil found throughout Ukraine produces grains (corn, barley and wheat) and sunflower. Together with Argentina and Russia, Ukraine forms part of the so-called Sunflower Triangle. The increased quality of Ukraine sunflower crops plus a consistent export level of an average of 1.76 million tonnes over the last three years ensure that Ukraine is a leader in the sunflower industry.

But all this is just the tip of the iceberg. According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Ukraine has huge potential in agriculture, a potential that will gradually be realised over the next ten years. The recent USDA ‘Agricultural Projections to 2019′ report finds that Ukraine along with Russia and Kazakhstan will become major agricultural players by 2020.

The report says that traditional exporters such as Australia, the EU and US will “remain important in global trade in the coming decade. But countries that are making significant investments in their agricultural sectors and increasingly pursuing policies to encourage agricultural production, including Ukraine and Kazakhstan, are expected to have an increasing presence in export markets for basic agricultural commodities”.

The report highlights corn exports from the Former Soviet Union, which are predicted to rise to 8.4 million tonnes by 2019. The bulk of these exports will come from Ukraine where “favourable resource endowments, wider use of hybrid seed, and greater investment in agriculture, stimulate corn production”.

Barley is also hugely important crop for Ukraine, which together with Russia, has an almost 50% share of the world’s barley trade. According to USDA, “Ukraine became the world’s largest barley exporter in 2009 and is projected to remain so throughout the projection period (2019)”. With farming productivity increasing annually, the future for investment in Ukraine land is very bright.