The real estate market in Azerbaijan has been attracting foreigners for a long time thanks to the long-standing oil business. But the actual market itself did not open very much until recently, with the independence of the country and subsequent liberalisations of a number of laws. Land that was once state owned was given back to the residents and was allowed to be freely traded, and as of just a few years ago, the privatisation of Azeri farmland was around 95 percent complete, though statistics for other forms of land and housing was not so favourable. The Azerbaijani government introduced a number of laws in recent years, including one in 2005, all of which encouraging foreign investors to put their money into the country by guaranteeing investment safety and offering preferential treatment. These moves have seen a pick up in the market that doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.

As part of a former Communist state, Azerbaijan is prone to the same pitfalls as any other former Soviet country – all land titles should be checked in detail by more than one independent party to ensure legality of ownership, as reclamations can be lost and confused over time.