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Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.

He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.

In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.

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The conventional wisdom says that the prosperity of the state goes hand in hand with the prosperity of its own people. The years of economic expansion mean bigger salaries and the periods of economic decline are associated with bigger unemployment. Sometimes, however, things go differently.

Let's look at the tiny former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia. The official statistic shows that after a period of deep economic crisis (1992-1995), the country has recovered and now it reports GDP increase of some 2-3 percent annually. If you ask people in Macedonia how they feel economically speaking, they will say that now they feel much worse than 5 or 6 years ago. This only seems like a paradox (in Eastern Europe every paradox has its own logic explanation). In fact, there hasn't been a period in living memory of the Macedonians more prosperous than this which officially was claimed to be an economic crisis between 1992 and 1995. With few exceptions every Macedonian citizen in the country of 2 million was engaged in a constant smuggling of goods to Yugoslavia which was put under UN economic and weapons embargo.

The big sharks smuggled oil and gasoline in industrial quantities, the smaller ones - in smaller quantities, the small fishes - food and cigarettes. The result was that within a year after the embargo was imposed (1992) on the streets of the Macedonian capital of Skopje the cars like Mercedes, BMW and other prestigious trade names outnumbered the old and small Yugoslav bone-shakers called Zastava (border patrol).

In 1995 came the peace agreements from Dayton, Ohio, and the big smuggling from and through the Macedonian territory came to an end. Official statistic shows that the national economy went upward but the ordinary Macedonians lost the unique chance to make big money simply by crossing the Yugoslav border which passes 15 miles north of the Skopje.

After reaching peaks during the Bosnian war (1992-1995), the prices on the real estate market in Macedonia went down. In the capital of Skopje (one third of the entire population lives in the capital) you can find a house for $400 per sq.meter (1 sq.meter=10 sq.feet). In the downtown the prices may reach $1000 per sq.meter and in the luxurious hilly area of Vodno they easily attain $2500-$3000 per sq.meter. (Warning: If you are foreigner, don't even try to settle in Vodno, not because it is too expansive. Traditionally this residential area has been settled by the former communist political and military elite so you and your family risk to be put under constant surveillance by the local secret services). If you want to buy a condominium in the capital (residential real estate market in Macedonia is concentrated mostly in the capital city), you can find some for only $400 per sq.meter. In the more prestigious areas the prices can reach $700-$800 per sq.meter. For offices and retail spaces in Skopje prices are higher - between $1000 and $3000 per sq.meter. The vacant lots can be bought for $25-50 a sq.meter.

If you want to buy some vacation property or to settle out of the capital after your retirement, the Medieval town of Ohrid is right for you. It's situated on the coast of the Ohrid lake near the border with Albania. In the pure air, surrounded by 1000-years-old Orthodox monasteries you can freely meditate and think on the origins of the Universe for only $500 to $1000 per sq.meter. If you consider this as too expensive for you, then you can simply rent a house for $5-10 per sq.meter a month. If you are only passing by this really extraordinary ancient town, you can find a nice hotel for $25-30 per night for 2-beds room.

In the capital Skopje the rents for houses for residential purposes vary between $4 and $12 per sq.meter monthly. The condominiums can be rented from $3 to $7 per sq.meter per month. Twice as expensive are the rents for offices and retail spaces. If you are on business trip to Skopje never accept to stay at the hotel in the city center. The most of the hotels are old, with poor services which cost at least $50-60 per night. Instead of this simply choose between one of the small family hotels not too far from the city center. The services are better quality, the prices are as low as $15 per night for single room and the transport links to the center are frequent and convenient.

Before starting looking at the real estate market offers, you have to regulate your residence in Macedonia because only the local citizens and persons (or legal entities) that have regulated their residence can purchase a real estate.

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See also the directory of companies providing real estate services in, and general real estate information of Macedonia.