In Croatia, during 2009, a total of 8,434 buildings were completed, which is 15 percent less than the previous year, and the number of completed apartments decreased by 26 percent, with 18,740 apartments completed last year, according to data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics.
Of the total number of buildings, 6,733 or 80 percent are residential, and 1,701 or 20 percent are non-residential, while the total area of all completed buildings is 3.92 million square meters, which is 19 percent less than in 2008. Among non-residential buildings, the majority are industrial buildings and warehouses, totaling 263. A total of 216 buildings for transport and communications were completed, and 199 for wholesale and retail trade. The highest number of buildings – 977 – was completed in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. In the City of Zagreb, 922 buildings were completed last year, and in Zagreb County, 668. During the past year, a total of 18,740 new apartments were completed with an average usable area of 83.4 square meters.
The majority of apartments (93 percent) were built as new construction, 6 percent through extensions or renovations of existing buildings, and 1 percent through the conversion of non-residential space into apartments. According to data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, more than half of the completed apartments last year were built by individuals who were investors in the construction of 9,600 apartments. Other legal entities invested in the construction of 8,485 apartments last year, or 45.3 percent of the total completed apartments, while state authorities and local government invested in the construction of 655 apartments. Statisticians note that last year, 89 apartments were completed under the 2009 Family House Reconstruction Program (apartments destroyed in the Homeland War). Data on the equipment of the apartments show that all 18,740 apartments completed last year had water supply, sewage, kitchen, toilet, and bathroom, and just over half of them, or 9,748 apartments, also had central heating. By counties, the most apartments were completed in the City of Zagreb (4,923), followed by Split-Dalmatia (2,553) and Primorje-Gorski Kotar County (2,363). (H)
