Croatia is the EU’s fastest in real estate prices increase. In the first quarter, the price of apartments and houses in Croatia increased by about 14% compared to the same period last year and about 73.6% compared to the same period in 2015, says Euractiv. Details.

Real estate prices in Croatia continued to rise this year, increasing significantly after Croatia entered the visa-free Schengen and euro area. While commercial property prices continued to rise exponentially, residential property prices rose significantly, by 2%, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (DZS) published on Wednesday.

However, despite the differences in prices between Zagreb, the Adriatic and other parts of the country, the rise in residential property prices over time increases, with DZS data indicating a 73.6% increase from the first quarter of 2015 to the same period this year.

This trend, also visible in other parts of Europe, probably prompted the European Central Bank (ECB) to promise a sharp drop in residential property prices for Croatia and other members of the Eurozone.

However, real estate experts warned that the period of increase in property prices in Croatia is over:

— The rise in property prices has obviously come to an end. Real estate price correction may be expected later this year or early next year, especially for secondary real estate. However, prices and the market will not collapse, — said the vice-president of the Real Estate Business Association EURACTIV.

Despite this, available data also show that real estate growth in Croatia slowed down, while in Zagreb it almost stopped, warned Vujovic:

— On the market, we already have a big gap between the expectations of buyers and sellers of real estate. The prices that sellers ask for are high, and buyers are, in principle, no longer willing to pay them. Many of them are also waiting for further developments in the real estate market, especially after the ECB warning, — he said.

He also points out that there is a growing difference between the sales prices requested by the sellers and the prices ultimately paid by the buyers, noting that the difference varies from 5 to 20 per cent depending on the area where the property is sold.

Nevertheless, the sale price for a residential square meter remains high, especially in Zagreb — prices range from 3,000 euros/sq.m. for new construction to about 2,600 euros/sq.m. for secondary apartments.

On the other hand, prices vary from one part of the coast to another.

For example, in the Dubrovnik area, the requested price of housing is currently about EUR 3,700 per square meter, while the prices in Istria are more than EUR 3,000/sq.m., Vujovic added.