In 11 months of 2020, 4346 building permits were issued for residential buildings, which means the construction of more than 12,800 apartments

While the consequences of the earthquake in Banja are still being remedied, the Zagreb earthquake also affected the real estate market. Prices for square meters of new construction are rising significantly, and the demand for apartments in the city center has significantly weakened, reports RTL.

In 2020, apartments throughout Zagreb were bought or sold for an average of 1808 euros per square meter. We note that this is the average realized price that includes new construction, which in practice is often more expensive, and apartments in older buildings that are somewhat more affordable. At the same time, this means that compared to 2019, the average square meter of an apartment in Zagreb has risen by about eight percent.

At the level of the whole of Croatia, the average realized price per square meter is slightly cheaper at 1630 euros, which is six percent more expensive than in 2019. This average includes a square meter of an apartment of 700 euros in a Slavonian municipality, but also a square meter of five thousand euros in, for example, Split.

Decline in transactions

That, despite the more expensive prices per square meter, the Croatian real estate market is actually declining, is best shown by these data for Zagreb: 10,000 transactions are performed in the capital every year, ie the sale of apartments.

It is estimated that there were 16 percent fewer of them in 2020, primarily due to the pandemic and the economic downturn it brought, but also due to the earthquake. In some parts of Zagreb affected by the earthquake, such as the city center - traffic fell by more than 50 percent.

Turning new buildings

Therefore, buyers are increasingly turning to new construction, so we combed the advertisements and prices of apartments in the more sought-after Zagreb neighborhoods and made sure that they are far above the official average. The first is Trešnjevka, where 113,000 euros are required for a 42-square-meter apartment in a new building, or about 2,700 euros per square meter.

A new apartment on Jarun of 78 square meters, the seller costs 220 thousand euros or 2820 per square meter. On the other side of the city, in the settlement of Ravnice, 100 square meters are for sale for 240 thousand euros or 2376 per square meter. So these are the asking prices, maybe skilled buyers negotiate them and something cheaper.

If you were wondering how many buildings and apartments are built in Croatia per year, we have added up this data by months. The Central Bureau of Statistics says that in the 11 months of 2020, 4,346 building permits were issued for residential buildings, which means the construction of more than 12,800 apartments in the same year. Their average size is 93 square meters. We know, it sounds like a lot to us, but it's statistics, and you know what they sometimes say about statistics, reports RTL.

Source: Net.hr