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Real Estate sales did not exist until after the war. The family
home would be passed down the generations with the new names being
added to the title deeds. The population of Croatia is now around
the 4 million mark and nearly that many again emigrated through
the many troubles the country has witnessed in the last 50 years.
On a regular basis you will find 'absent people' on title deeds
and it may be quite tricky to get them over from Australia or
America to sign your paperwork. According to Croatia Estate the
average purchase price is 150,000 Euros and there are various
'hot spots' such as Dubrovnik, Hvar and Istria.
In September 2003 the 10 o'clock BBC1 news ran a feature saying
there was a property boom in Croatia and it was the place where
the smart money was going It seemed to concentrate on Dubrovnik
and featured a large stone house on 3 floors for 10,000 euros
in need of refurbishment. In my opinion such properties do not
exist-certainly not with clean papers - it struck me as a straightforward
publicity stunt. Unless you have an offer on a property with clean
title the sale will never complete. Alternatively if you pay in
full to obtain possession with a house without clean title eventually
the government will come looking for its 5% purchase tax and then
you would lose the house.
It is almost impossible to accurately price the Croatian Property
market. There has been some press copy recently saying 300 Brits
bought last year, which everyone now seems to be quoting. I have
tried to investigate this figure because my experience would tell
me that the numbers are much lower than that. According to the
Foreign Office in Zagreb just 8 British people received 'permission'
last year, which is obviously different from 'buying'.
There may be a boom in Istria fuelled mostly by the German market-where
prices have supposedly increased by 50% in the last 12 months,
but in terms of prices throughout the rest of Croatia they still
represent excellent value in comparison with Italy, France and
Spain. Indeed if Istria has experienced that kind of capital appreciation
then presumably there is hope for the rest of Croatia achieving
similar figures in the run up to potential EU membership. Other
factors that will add to the equation will be the new motorway
and new budget carriers entering the market.
The usual purchase system (see how to buy) where you enter into
a pre contract with a 10% deposit whilst applying for permission
can cause problems in a rising market. If a vendor breaks a pre
contract he owes you double the deposit as a payment. However
there is a point if permission drags on for over a year where
it may become tempting to a vendor to pay you the double deposit
if the price of the house has increased sufficiently to make it
worthwhile.
The agents who advertise in my newsletter are tending towards
a system where you gain full possession and the vendor receives
full payment and you apply for permission after completion. There
appears to be 2 main ways to achieve this goal-either by buying
as a Croatian Company or through contract wording by your solicitor.
Prices may also be higher if using property search agencies as
naturally enough the local people try to increase their profit
as soon as a westerner appears on the scene. This is the danger
with property search agencies, as they tend to advertise in the
local press and people soon realise they are buying for foreigners.
As the property market becomes more mature and property valuations
become the norm rather than the exception then house prices may
become more of an exact science until then it a question of deciding
how much a property is worth to you and whether in comparison
with similar properties in other countries like Spain France,
it looks good value.
Should Croatia achieve its aim of EU membership in 2006 or 2007
then there will have to be an equalising of prices across the
region which suggests the Croatian market is currently undervalued.
Living costs in Croatia
Non-Residents' tax is 1,60 US$ for sqm of the housing space annually
Ground-tax is 0,26 US$ per one square meter annually Reserves
are 0.52% of the market value of the property annually Garbage
costs are cca 53 US$ annually Electric costs - one kWh is on 1.02.2000
US$ 0.058 Water costs - one cubic meter of water is on 1.02.2000
US$ 1.18 Insurance for the house and household amounts generally
to US$ 530 annually (Thanks to the Nel Blu agency for these figures)
Price Guide for the Croatian coastline.
It is very difficult to pigeonhole prices to properties -obviously
there are various "hot spots" and getting "warmer spots"! It is
a rising market but when compared to equivalent properties in
Spain, France and Italy they are consistently at least 30-40%
cheaper, and in my opinion Croatia is a much nicer country - the
Med as it was 30 years ago. Bargains still come up and you need
to move quickly when they do and will tend to be now in slightly
more obscure places.
As a very general guide the following may be of help (prices in
Euros):
30,000-40,000 Entry budget level for ruins/Basic land plots
50,000-60,000 One bed apartments/Larger Ruins/Land Plots
70,000-90,000 Basic stone house in need of refurbishment/Larger
land plots
100,000-120,000 Larger stone house in need of refurbishment/cosmetic
work/2-3 Bed Apartments
130,000-150,000 Restored small stone houses/All of the above closer
to the sea/airports/tourist towns
160,000-220,000 Restored large stone houses/luxury apartments
250,000-350,000 Large Houses and apartments with land and/or first/close
to the sea
400,000-750,000 Large luxury properties, close to sea, very close
to major airports and tourist hot spots 750,000+ Commercial opportunities/Castles/Ex-palaces
Retiring Britons May Look to Croatia, Bulgaria, Turkey for Affordable
Homes In fewer than 10 years an estimated 2.3 million Britons
aged over 50 - one in eight of the population - will be retiring
abroad, according to a report by Alliance & Leicester International.
By 2020, one in five older people will be living outside the UK.
Driven by rising affluence, the number British retirees owning
two or more homes in Europe, will double from today's levels,
with destinations such as Croatia, Bulgaria and Turkey emerging
alongside the traditional Spanish Costas, France and English-speaking
countries.
The global market for goods and services for British retirement
migrants will be worth more than £100 billion in 2020, by which
time one in five retirees will be living in "smart homes" employing
sensors, voice recognition and other gadgets.
According to Simon Hull, managing director of Alliance & Leicester
International, tourism is encouraging Britons to move abroad.
Lower living costs, a more sedate pace of life, a healthier climate
and year-round sunshine are the main attractions. "Many people
will worry about currency fluctuations, so will sway more towards
developed countries. Europe has special regulations for healthcare,
so migrants are covered for a proportion of the costs," says Hull.
Education is another reason for retirement migration. In the US,
Pennsylvania State University has a special campus for the over
55s and soon "grey universities" will be established in attractive
destinations
About the Author
Website http://www.Croatia-HolidayandHome.co.uk The site to visit
for buying property or holidaying in Croatia info@Croatia-HolidayandHome.co.uk
Telephone +44(0) 1202 259155 Fax +44(0) 870 1693701
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