While real estate prices in the region, and beyond, are falling due to the influence of the corona, in Serbia the trend is completely different. The price per square meter is growing, but also the demand, which, as market participants claim, is now at a record level! In some places, the average prices have increased by more than six percent in the last month alone. And that is just the beginning of growth, experts claim, giving arguments.

The rule is that the price is mostly influenced by the ratio of supply and demand, and now the situation is such that the supply is less than the purchase request, and that is exactly what maintains and "pushes" the price per square meter in Serbia. So, for example, today a square in the center of Belgrade costs on average around 2,470 euros, which is a growth of 1.6 percent only in the last month.

According to the site Nekretnine.rs, in the last 30 days, the sale of apartments is still very stable.

In the Belgrade settlements of Voždovac and Mirijevo, the price of a square meter has also increased, by two to three percent. In Novi Sad, there is a slight decrease - 1 percent in the settlements of Podbara and Grbavica, while apartments in Novi Naselje have risen in price by as much as 4 percent!

In the last month, the prices of square meters in the most sought-after settlements in Nis have jumped by more than six percent. Kragujevac has stable prices, and Pancevo has a two percent drop compared to January.

Record demand for apartments

"On the real estate market, as well as on many other markets, the law of supply and demand rules," Anita Pesic, product manager of the site Nekretnine.rs, points out for "Blic Biznis".

It is happening in Serbia that the demand for real estate is very high, especially in larger cities, and it can be said that it is at a record level.

"Why is the demand so high? In this area, people invest their capital in real estate, because they do not have the habit, nor do they feel safe to invest money in a different way, through savings in banks, securities or gold, for example. On the other hand, if not we are talking about cash buyers, housing loans have never been more favorable, and that also affects the growth of demand ", explains Pešić.

Demand is especially high in new construction, says Pesic, and that is where the potential for price growth lies.

"There are indications that the contractor's price will increase due to the announced increase in the price of raw materials. We will see how the price will move and whether investors will have room to increase the price per square meter. A lot is being built, but given the demand, even more - because there are interested buyers." , states our interlocutor.

In the surrounding area, prices are falling

In the region and in some other more developed European countries, the price per square meter is falling at the same time. In Poland, for example, real estate prices fell from quarter to quarter for the first time since the first quarter of 2016. Analysts there have noticed that the trend is changing throughout the country. In the seven largest cities, which are also the most important construction markets in Poland, the average price per square meter decreased by 0.8 percent.

We don't have to go that far because the situation is similar in our neighborhood. In Montenegro, at the end of last year, the price was 11.3 percent lower compared to the same period a year earlier and amounted to about 1,007 euros. According to the local statistical office Monstat, the average price per square meter in a new building in Podgorica in the last quarter of 2020 was 985 euros, and in the coastal region it was 1,359 euros.

Source: blic.rs