Photo: Aleksandar MatićRental prices for real estate in Serbia have been rising continuously for the last year. As a large number of Russian citizens immigrated to our country in that period, the demand increased, so prices jumped not only in the central city municipalities but also in the outskirts. Since the beginning of the year, rents have been stagnant and have even started to fall slightly, but real estate experts say that it is too early for more serious forecasts and announcements of how they will move in the future, according to Biznis.rs.
"Good apartments in good locations are still easily and quickly rented out, while changes can be seen in the periphery, where a drop in prices can only be expected. Prices were rising until three months ago and have stopped. However, according to some announcements, the arrival of Russian citizens is expected again, and I believe that the demand can only grow. When it comes to lowering prices or bringing prices back to the level of a year ago, I'm sure that won't happen. It is only possible when it comes to apartments outside the city, whose owners raised unrealistic prices to insane amounts at the moment of huge demand," Živorad Vasić, co-owner of Kadena Sotheby's International Realty, said for Politika.
He explains that apartments in Savski Venec, Vračar, Palilula are still very well rented. There is a market, and there is no prospect of a drop in rent.
"As long as the price of a square meter is at this level, rents will remain as they were. Especially in good locations." In the first moment, when we had a wave of Russian citizens, they didn't even ask how much it costs to rent an apartment, but after a year they realized what the real price is, and many changed the location where they live," Vasić points out.
He adds that the Russians, as tenants, are now looking for better quality for a better price. When asked what the real price is for renting, for example, a one-room apartment in the center of Belgrade, he replies that it is between 800 and 1,300 euros if it is in a newly built or renovated building without a garage.
Real estate experts state that the current prices in the capital are completely realistic because Belgrade is the center of the Balkans and everyone wants to go to the capital. This is its advantage, and accordingly, it can be expected that in the future real estate leases and square footage prices will be high, as in all large European metropolises.
The fact that Belgrade is by far the largest real estate market in Serbia is also shown by the data, which shows that in the last quarter of last year, around 2,500 apartments in new buildings and around 2,300 apartments in old buildings were sold. Experts believe that good projects will continue to sell. There are fewer and fewer credit buyers because loans are expensive and interest rates are high. Mostly, apartments are bought as cash investments by foreigners or our citizens from the diaspora.
Among buyers, there is a greater interest in new construction; apartments in buildings with garages are especially popular. According to official data, the real estate price index had a similar growing trend as countries from the region such as Croatia, Slovenia, or Bulgaria.
Predictions for this year are that there will be no further growth in old construction, while growth in new construction will continue, although not at the same pace as in the last two years. On the other hand, demand, according to our interlocutors, will certainly grow in big cities.
Source: Biznis.rs
