For the first time this year, the requested prices of real estate have recorded a decline, according to an analysis by Bazaar Analytics, a site that tracks and analyzes real estate prices published on several real estate portals in Croatia. According to Bazaar Analytics, the average requested price at the national level recorded a decline of 2.7 percent in July
The decline in requested prices is visible in almost all counties, and advertised prices have also fallen in the largest real estate market – Zagreb. Compared to June, the requested prices of houses and apartments in Zagreb are down 2.51 percent, with a significantly larger decline in advertised prices of houses (7.7 percent) than apartments (0.25 percent). The average price per square meter of a house in Zagreb in July was 1644 euros, while for an apartment it was 2989 euros. An identical decline in apartment prices is visible in the Zagreb County, while the requested prices of houses are down 5.22 percent, averaging 1095 euros per square meter for houses in that county.
Most coastal counties are also recording a decline – the requested prices of apartments and houses are down 4.04 percent in Primorje-Gorski Kotar, 3.74 percent in Dubrovnik-Neretva, 2.01 percent in Istria, and 0.92 in Šibenik-Knin, while Split-Dalmatia and Zadar continue to see a slight increase in prices (noting that in all mentioned counties, the requested prices of houses have fallen, from 5.4 percent in Zadar to as high as 11.38 percent in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, and apartment prices have only increased in Split-Dalmatia and Šibenik-Knin counties).
Soon a Comparison of Rental Prices
Ivan Vladimir Sokol, an economics student who founded Bazaar Analytics with a friend, notes that this is only the first month in which a decline has been recorded and that it will take several more months of tracking the numbers to say that a trend of declining prices has begun.
– It is still too early to draw conclusions because this is the first month that a decline in prices is visible, but considering that a decline in real estate prices has already been recorded in other markets, this decline is not unexpected – says Sokol.
He started Bazaar Analytics as a hobby to learn how to manipulate large databases. – In the USA, you can track the entire history of real estate prices on websites, while here there was no site where interested parties could gain insight into prices. Since real estate in Croatia is the main investment class, I decided, together with a colleague, to create a site where it would be possible to track price statistics. Given that data on achieved prices is not publicly available here, we use data on advertised prices, but conclusions can still be drawn from them and trends can be seen – says Sokol.
The functionalities and data on real estate on the site will be upgraded over time. – I believe that by autumn we will also have a comparison of rental prices on the site. We will add new features, for example, you will be able to see what the expected yield of a property in a certain neighborhood is – announces Sokol.
