Despite numerous doubts that the real estate market did not decline in 2025 and that the data from the Tax Administration is incorrect, another confirmation has arrived that the decline in real estate transactions continued last year. In 2025, there were 88,395 sales, a decrease of 21.7 percent compared to 2024, when a decline of 9.7 percent was recorded. The total value of sold properties amounted to €7.67 billion, a decrease of 16.8 percent compared to the previous year. These are the latest data published in the publication Market Overview of Real Estate in Croatia 2025, jointly published by the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Property and the Economic Institute Zagreb.
The decline in transactions did not stop the rise in prices. The median price of an apartment or flat per square meter in 2025 was €2,587, an increase of 11.3 percent compared to 2024, when it was €2,325, and the annual growth at that time was 14.7 percent. The highest median price was recorded in Split, where the square meter of an apartment costs €4,068. Following are Dubrovnik at €3,921 and Opatija at €3,830 per square meter. At the opposite end of the scale are Vrbovsko at €715 and Ogulin at €745 per square meter.
Coastal Areas Unaffordable, Continental Areas Affordable
Housing affordability is becoming an increasingly serious problem, especially in coastal areas. As many as 28 local government units record an affordability index greater than 30 percent, meaning that more than 30 percent of annual income is needed to afford one square meter of an apartment. Kukljica, Baška, Vrsar, Rovinj, Bol, and Novalja lead this list. In a large number of coastal municipalities, housing costs account for between 60 and 80 percent of the income of a household with two employees earning an average salary. The City of Zagreb ranks 88th on the affordability list, and its residents could buy 5.2 square meters of residential space for the average annual net income in 2025.
