According to the Tax Office, foreign investors purchased 25% fewer properties in Croatia in 2023 compared to the previous year, which highlights a significant shift in market dynamics. The number of foreign home buyers this year is 7,400, in 2022 9515.
Investors from abroad prefer houses and apartments along the picturesque Adriatic coast. Some foreigners use this property for personal recreation, and many rent it out.
The main buyers of housing in Croatia from among non-residents are citizens of Germany, Slovenia, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. These investors are attracted by the prospect of both making a profit from investments through resale and a stable income stream from renting out their property.
The cautious position of foreign buyers this year can be explained, first of all, by the economic uncertainty in their home countries. The continued rise in real estate prices in Croatia further reinforces this uncertainty. Over the past eight years, from 2015 to the present, housing prices in various regions of the country have doubled. In the first half of 2023, the average prices for new apartments in Zagreb exceeded 2,600 euros per square meter. Similar price trends are observed on the Adriatic coast.Nevertheless, real estate in Kvarner, Istria, Dalmatia, as well as in the capital of the country, is still relatively more affordable than in many cities of Western Europe.
The coming months will show whether the caution shown by foreign buyers is a temporary adjustment or a sign of a more stable trend.Source: The Dubrovnik Times