House prices in Osijek have risen by 10 to 15 percent compared to last year

The real estate market in Osijek is this year in an expansion, demand for new or used apartments is so great that those more attractive ones are not to be found in advertisements, and if they appear, they sell out in a matter of days. This was confirmed by the director of German d.o.o. real estate agency and the president of the professional group at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, Duško Grgur, who says that in relation to the same period last year, real estate trade has increased significantly and that house prices compared to last year's have risen by 10 to 15 percent, depending on the need for adaptation and the level of organization. - Smaller residential units, studios, single- or two-room apartments, simply do not exist on the Osijek market, neither new nor used. It's mainly about an apartment on a higher floor of a building without a lift, Grgur says. For example, an apartment of 50 square meters in a building with a lift in a attractive urban location such as Sjenjak could be purchased for €950 per square meter last year, while today a buyer of such an apartment, if it's furnished, has to be prepared to pay up to €1,100 per square meter. Naturally, we are talking about a used two-room apartment, which, if it's not furnished and immediately habitable, may cost up to €1,050 per square meter, and if it's better furnished, the price may exceed €1,100 per square meter. - What's even more interesting, apartments are in short supply, look at the advertisements and see if there are any two-room apartments with a lift and a solid level of organization (PVC joinery, renovated bathroom, parquet) on Sjenjak, you'll see that there aren't any in the offer. If you do find one, the price is €1,100, and it sells out in a matter of days. I have a bigger list of potential buyers who would buy such a two-room apartment immediately and pay cash, but such goods are not available, Grgur explains, adding that those who have the money now are ready to buy less spacious apartments and those on higher floors without a lift. As for the prices of new apartments, which are now being built and will only be on the market in mid-next year, they will range from €1,250 to €1,350 per square meter, while in the city center and its immediate surroundings they will reach up to €1,400 per square meter.

Everything is selling

Similar experiences are shared by Krunoslav Šabić, the owner of the real estate agency Tasman nekretnine, who emphasizes that the positive trend in the real estate market in Osijek continues. - In practice on the ground, we feel a constant increase in prices for both used and new real estate. We have a good influx of people, the phones haven't stopped ringing. The market is reviving, it's in a positive trend, a gentle expansion. It's not spectacular, but progress is visible, Šabić says. His experience shows that a used two-room apartment with an area of 50 square meters on the first floor in the Naselje Stanka Vraza, which is not adapted but is furnished and habitable, was listed for sale at €950 per square meter. The building has a new facade, a new lift, its roof was renovated, it has city heating. - The interest is so great that it will probably be sold at a higher price in the end. We have a theoretical offer for sale, but the owner expects a higher price. All are small progress. New apartments, everything that's newly built is sold, I don't know if in Osijek there's any unsold apartment in a newly built multi-story building. In that case, we're talking about a bad location or some problem with the apartment, everything else has been sold for €1,200 to €1,300 per square meter. In Gundulićeva Street, the building has just started construction and all the apartments have been sold, unheard of. That's the facts. I don't know what to say about stories that there are no people in the city, that's some kind of parallel story to what we see and meet every day in our job, Šabić says. It's not just house prices that are rising, people are showing greater interest in buying or selling houses in Osijek. Their price depends on the quality, location, square footage, plot area and condition of the house.

Houses are being sold

- Houses are a much more luxurious form of accommodation. If you want to have a house in the city center, the first additional cost is the plot itself. In the center, you can't find a nice plot for less than 60-70,000 euros. Everything less is some kind of improvisation. A 100-square-meter house costs around €100,000, plus the plot, it's €120 to €130,000, Šabić explains, adding that people need to understand that for a plot in Ilirska there needs to be 70,000 euros. A higher expert at the HGKK Office for Legal Affairs, Županijska Chamber of Osijek, Snježana Babić points out that, apart from the demand and supply on the real estate market and the ability of consumers to buy, the real estate market is also greatly influenced by the credit offer of banks and the speed of their reaction, as well as government measures to encourage home ownership, and the speed of the state administration in issuing documents related to real estate and the unimpeded flow of real estate trade. - In the first year after the measures were introduced to encourage home ownership, the greatest interest, but also the demand from buyers, was for apartments. In 2018, there was an evident increase in demand for building plots, as a subsidy can be obtained for building a house as well. However, the greatest interest on the market is still for apartments. Larger apartments are bought with subsidized loans, and smaller apartments, regardless of subsidized lending. A significant drop in interest rates has been observed, as has decreased buyers' creditworthiness. Banks often consider larger loans to be high-risk lending, requiring the buyer to have a certain amount of cash to cover the purchase price, Babić concludes. She also believes that the direction in which the results of this business activity will develop in the coming years will greatly depend on banking and fiscal policy, as well as government measures and incentives for home ownership, and to a much greater extent on the economic and financial strength of potential buyers of real estate.

Tomislav Prusina

Source: glas-slavonije.hr

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