ZAGREB, February 28, 2019 – The volume of real estate transactions on the Croatia real estate market in 2018 was 810 million euro, which is twice as much as in 2017 and the result of a positive investor sentiment and attractive returns, while this year a similar investment volume is expected, mostly in the tourism sector and on the office space market.
This is shown by the latest analysis of the Croatian office of Colliers International for 2018 and estimates for 2019 which the company’s consultants presented at a news conference on Thursday.
Colliers Croatia director Vedrana Likan said that this year, apart from tourism and office space, new investments were also expected in the currently least developed sector of commercial real estate – industrial and logistic real estate.
Demand in 2018 was greatest in category A office space and office space with an area of more than 500 square metres, while the average rent price for such space ranged between 12 and 13 euros per square metre (not including VAT).
The tourism sector, specifically hotels and shopping centres, accounts for the largest portion of real estate transactions, of 42% and 47% or 336 million euro and 378 million euro respectively.
Likan said that there was a chronic lack of greenfield investments and that they were what the country’s image as an investment destination depended on. She said that she expected office space and buildings to exceed the retail sector (shopping malls) in terms of the market share this year.
As regards the origin of investment capital, in 2018 most of it came from South Africa, accounting for 39.7% of the total volume of investments.
Likan said that it was particularly interesting that Croatian capital accounted for 39.6% of the real estate transactions.
“In 2019 we expect a slowing down of investments from South Africa because after Croatia and Serbia and Southeast Europe in general, as early as 2018 they focused strongly on Central Europe, notably Romania, followed by Poland and Hungary… On the other hand, a Chinese investor arrived in Croatia with the Pelješac Bridge project, which sets a precedent on the Croatian market even though the Chinese are already present in neighbouring countries – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and elsewhere,” Likan said.
She noted that the project would pave the way for more Chinese investments in Croatia.
More news on the real estate market in Croatia can be found in the Business section.
