Strong Quarterly Increase in Residential Property Prices

Residential property prices in Croatia increased by 3.7 percent in the second quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter, significantly faster than in the first quarter when the quarterly growth was 0.1 percent, according to data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS).

In the second quarter, the annual growth rate of residential property prices also accelerated to 4.3 percent, while in the first quarter, these prices fell by 0.4 percent compared to the same period last year.

According to DZS data, new residential properties increased in price by an average of 4.1 percent in the second quarter compared to the first, and by 0.9 percent compared to the second quarter of last year.

Existing residential properties recorded an average price increase of 3.6 percent compared to the first quarter, while prices rose by 4.9 percent compared to the second quarter of last year.

In the second quarter compared to the first, residential property prices increased on average by two percent in Zagreb, by 4.2 percent in the Adriatic region, and by 5.7 percent in other areas.

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Compared to the second quarter of last year, residential property prices recorded an average increase of 2.8 percent in Zagreb, 6.2 percent in the Adriatic region, and 0.4 percent in other areas.

Thus, residential property prices in Croatia are in line with trends in the European market.

In the EU, residential property prices increased by 4.4 percent year-on-year

A report from Eurostat, published on Wednesday, showed that in the second quarter of this year, prices measured by the residential property price index in the EU as a whole increased by 4.4 percent compared to the same period last year, after rising by 4.3 percent year-on-year in the previous quarter.

In the 19-member Eurozone, prices increased by 3.8 percent year-on-year, as in the previous quarter.

Among EU countries, the most pronounced price increase in the second quarter year-on-year was recorded in the Czech Republic, at 13.3 percent. Only Ireland and Lithuania followed with double-digit growth rates, where prices increased by 10.6 and 10.2 percent year-on-year, respectively.

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A decline in prices year-on-year was recorded only in Italy, by 0.2 percent, the report showed.

On a quarterly basis, however, in the second quarter, residential property prices in the EU increased by 1.8 percent, after a 0.5 percent increase in the first quarter of 2017.

Residential property prices increased the most on a quarterly basis in Latvia, by 6.1 percent, followed by Slovakia and Romania, with price increases of 5.6 and 4.9 percent, respectively. A price decline was recorded only in Hungary, by 1.5 percent, and in Belgium by 0.7 percent.

In the 19-member Eurozone, residential property prices increased by 1.5 percent on a quarterly basis, after a 0.3 percent increase in the first quarter of this year, according to the Eurostat report.