Things are good in Slovakia at the moment, reports Martin Jurecko of MCL, who starts his provision of The Buzz by referring to recent celebrations related to the 100th anniversary of Czechoslovakia’s First Republic, including a national holiday on October 30th.
“Apart from that,” Jurecko says, "we have big municipal elections coming up on November 10 in Bratislava and many other Slovakian cities.” He concedes that, while the results are “important of course to me as a citizen and as somebody who was born in [Bratislava],” the candidate platforms are sufficiently similar that the overall effect on business is likely to be small. “Still,” he says, "we have clients who are developers, and effects to zoning and planning departments in town halls can affect them.”
The most significant recent developments in Slovakia’s legislation involved amendments to the Slovakian Cadestral Code that went into effect on October 1, changing the competencies of the cadestral authorities. Even there, however, Jurecko notes that he and his colleagues “are not seeing any dramatic effects at the moment.”
It’s suggested to Jurecko that some observers have, in recent months, described a growing bubble in Slovakia’s real estate market. He agrees. "All our clients worry that the market may be overheated, and that signs of a pending recession are starting to come up. Obviously nobody knows how or when or why it’s going to come — it’s crystal balling,” he says. "Still, investors are starting to be more careful and cautious, and developers and bankers all say the recession should be around the corner.” At the moment, of course, “everything’s going well — the economy is doing well,” but that may not matter, as the bursting of the bubble may be caused by developments outside of Slovakia. “It also depends on external factors. You don’t know what’s going to happen with China, and the trade war with the US and EU, for instance."
Ultimately, other than needing to keep a cautious eye on the real estate market, Jurecko says, "it’s business as usual” in Slovakia, with things "pretty stable.” According to him, “business is good. I can’t complain. Knock on wood. We are happy and optimistic.”
