Kolan and Vir Record Holders in Real Estate Sales, Zagreb Far Behind

If judging by the number of apartment transactions relative to the population, the most desirable place for investment in Croatia is Kolan on Pag. Following are Vir, Povljana, Malinska, and Umag. Our analysis of apartment transactions and population numbers by cities and municipalities reveals dramatic differences in the Croatian real estate market. While in some coastal municipalities properties are sold like hotcakes, in continental cities, transactions are almost nonexistent.

Given that in Kolan, which has a population of 815, 84 apartments were sold in one year, it follows that practically every tenth person changed their property. Of course, buyers were mostly not local residents, but these figures clearly show how apartments in coastal areas are increasingly becoming investment products or short-term rental apartments.

After Kolan, Vir follows with nearly 70 transactions per 1,000 residents and Povljana with an impressive 61. Tourist magnets like Novalja, Malinska, and Umag are also experiencing an explosion in sales, confirming that Adriatic destinations are turning into hot spots for apartmentization.

Alongside New York

To add to the absurdity, the figures from the Adriatic coast would not shame even the largest world metropolises. In New York, which has a population of 8.8 million, about 10 apartments are sold annually per 1,000 residents. In comparison, more than double that number is sold in Crikvenica and Makarska! Thus, small Adriatic towns stand shoulder to shoulder with the city that never sleeps, while Kolan is even ten times above New York.

In Madrid, the capital of Spain, about 14 apartments are sold annually per 1,000 residents, placing it on par with Baška or Lovran. In other words, even one European capital lags behind a series of small Adriatic towns when looking at sales per capita.

Interestingly, of the 59 cities and municipalities in Croatia that have more than 10 transactions per 1,000 residents, only three come from the continental part of the country: Zagreb, Osijek, and Vukovar, and they are at the lower end of the scale. With 11.5 transactions per 1,000 residents, compared to the coast, Zagreb sounds like a village that is slowly waking up. Even larger cities on the coast do not have the sales frequency of smaller ones – Split around 8, Dubrovnik 9, Rijeka 11, and Zadar 13.

On the opposite end: Sinj, Jastrebarsko, and a whole series of towns barely exceed one transaction per 1,000 residents. And while coastal cities are in the focus of buyers, in 219 cities and municipalities in 2023, not a single apartment was sold! Another 163 recorded fewer than ten transactions. In short, more than 60 percent of all transactions in the country occur in just 59 cities and municipalities.

All this clearly shows that apartments on the coast are becoming a luxury and an investment for foreigners, while the local population is losing the battle for affordable housing. Kolan, Crikvenica, or Makarska, with traffic greater than New York and Madrid, are symbols of a market where apartments cease to be homes and become mere commodities.