[REVISION HISTORY]

Balkan housing prices surge as sales volumes decline

Updated 6 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-09-15 18:51 UTC → 2026-09-16 02:33 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Housing prices in the Western Balkans continue to outpace incomes, characterized by rising values despite declining transaction volumes. In Croatia, a divergence persists as property prices rise while sales decline. Lana Mihaljinec Knežević of the Croatian Chamber of Economy (HGK) noted that average prices have increased, though she cautioned that averages do not fully reflect the market due to significant regional disparities. High prices are most prominent in coastal tourist hubs such as Dubrovnik, Rovinj, and Opatija, followed by Zagreb. The decline in sales is attributed to a chronic lack of supply, specifically a shortage of new mid-range and affordable housing, alongside a depleted stock of used properties. In Serbia, the market value rose 8.1 percent in Q2 2026 compared to Q2 2025, reaching approximately €2.2 billion, according to the Republic Geodetic Authority (RGZ). However, the total number of sales contracts fell by 5.4 percent to 30,495. Apartments remain the dominant sector, accounting for €1.3 billion (62 percent) of the total value, with Belgrade alone seeing €742 million spent on apartments. By the first half of 2026, the total Serbian market value reached €4.2 billion, a 10.1 percent increase year-on-year. In North Macedonia, the real estate market saw moderate growth in the first half of 2026. Total sales value reached 625.7 million euros, a 21.3 percent increase from the 516 million euros recorded in the first half of 2025, based on 16,126 transactions. Apartments led transaction values at 289.1 million euros. In the Centar Municipality, apartment prices reached approximately 3,360 euros per square meter, while total monthly rental payments increased by 29.4 percent. High-profile sales in Skopje included a 50-square-meter apartment in Centar for 168,000 euros and a business premises in Aerodrom for approximately 6.8 million euros. Regional affordability remains a critical issue. ~~In Montenegro, new-build apartments in Podgorica can cost over 117 average monthly salaries.~~

Versions

Only revisions since CLSTR began indexing content versions appear here. Select a version to see what changed compared to the one before it.