SUMMER IS A GOOD TIME TO BUY
Current supply and demand for apartments in our metropolis
What is the current supply and demand for apartments for sale or rent in our metropolis?
Although it is a quieter time of year in Zagreb, the real estate market is very lively. We talked with Bernarda Sočev from the agency Euro-interijeri about some interesting segments concerning the housing market
Four bedroom apartment, Trešnjevka
95 m2; 210,000 euros
Kranjčevićeva Street, opposite the NK Zagreb stadium. Building with a height of 5 floors with an elevator. The apartment is 95 m2 and consists of a hallway, three bedrooms, living room, kitchen with dining area, bathroom, separate toilet and loggia. The storage room is in the basement, and parking in the yard. The apartment is like new, very little used.
AGENCY: euro-interijeri.hr
Three bedroom apartment, Trnsko
72 m2; 87,000 euros
Three bedroom apartment in an energetically renovated building in Novi Zagreb, in Trnsko. The apartment has an area of 71.77 m2 and is located on the first floor of a building with an elevator, and consists of an entrance hall, two bedrooms, three spacious rooms, an entrance hall, a kitchen with a dining area, a bathroom and a balcony with an open view of the greenery.
AGENCY: euro-interijeri.hr
Two bedroom apartment, Malešnica
42 m2; 65,000 euros
Apartment on the third floor without elevator. It has an area of 40.23 m2 and consists of an entrance hall, living room with dining room, closed loggia (legalized), room, kitchen and bathroom. The apartment also has a storage room in the basement of the building. It was completely renovated (installations, ceramics, floors) in 2000. The apartment is oriented to the east.
AGENCY: euro-interijeri.hr
Many residents of the capital of Croatia point out that their favorite city is precisely in the summer. Reduced crowds due to school leaving and vacations, numerous street festivals, mild evenings... The list is long, but what about the real estate market? Although it may seem that this segment is also dormant, the situation is exactly the opposite. We asked agent Bernarda Sočev from the Euro-interijeri agency about the situation on the real estate market in Zagreb in the summer.
— Summer is generally a little quieter than the rest of the year, yet most people go on well-deserved vacations in the summer. But there are always exceptions that prefer to use the summer to buy an apartment, more precisely, to decorate it. That is, real estate buyers who have schoolchildren generally plan to relocate by the beginning of the new school year. So July in our agency, for example, is extremely busy. Mostly larger properties with two or three bedrooms are in demand. In most cases, the payment of the purchase price is through the realization of the loan, which the buyers try to realize until the end of July so that August remains for their eventual adaptation and that sweet hassle - finishing and equipping a new home - explains Bernarda, and we are interested in whether summer is looking for something different from other seasons.
THREE-ROOM MOST WANTED
— If we exclude small apartments and studios in the tram zone that are almost always in demand, apartments with three bedrooms are most in demand. The most interesting, of course, are settlements in the tram zone such as Trešnjevka or Središće, but the prices of apartments in these locations follow the locations and are generally unattainable for most buyers, who then settle for slightly more affordable and affordable properties in the western part of the city such as Malešnica, Špansko, Gajnice, Vrapče, Stenjevac... Namely, the mentioned settlements are extremely well connected with the city center (railway approx. 10 — 15 min.) and have all the necessary infrastructure necessary for comfortable housing and are therefore extremely in demand — says Sočev, pointing out that the most common customers are of larger apartments mainly middle-aged families, while buyers of small apartments are mostly young.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
— Smaller apartments are also looking for older married couples who have sold their larger properties and are moving to smaller ones — emphasizes Bernarda Sočev and adds that new construction is an important factor in this story. — Two years ago, we have seen a significant increase in new construction. The demand for new construction is high, new apartments are more in demand than second-hand ones. So at the moment we offer several new buildings that are under construction, which are in the tram zone (Trešnjevka), what on the outskirts of the city (Gajnice and etc.). In practice, most apartments are sold before the building is completed. Buyers of new buildings are different, smaller apartments are bought by young people, while larger apartments are mainly in demand for three-bedroom apartments and their buyers are families with children. Sometimes it is the first real estate, but in most cases it is about exchanging a smaller apartment for a larger one, i.e. selling a small apartment in order to buy a larger one - he says.
Please note that the law on amendments to the Law on Subsidizing Housing Loans with its application should start from the fall, so it is almost the last moment to apply the paperwork and select the property.
HIGH PRICES
We asked the interlocutor whether it is more profitable to buy something specific in the summer or it does not matter what season it is. — If you think the price is lower in summer, it is not, it is the same as in the rest of the year, so it is not more convenient for the buyer from this aspect to buy in the summer. However, in the summer, most people have more time. For example, customers who have school children have more time primarily due to school leaving, with which many children's obligations cease, and which largely concern parents because they mostly drive children to them, some have the privilege of having their children taken by their grandparents, the crowds in the city are drastically reduced so most of the things you need to do take far less time...
That is why buyers in the summer are able to use the excess time precisely to search for real estate, and the offer of real estate is no worse than in the rest of the year and, if we look from the point of view of time and the thesis “time is money”, summer is a profitable time to buy real estate - laughs Sočev.
We also touched on the topic of renting, and to begin with, we asked what the situation is with the long-term one. — Since many renters want to do tourist rental, I would say that prices with long-term rentals are high and apartments are in great demand. In practice, we have three serious tenants per apartment. On the other hand, there are a lot of apartments for tourist rental and we learned from the experience of renters engaged in this business that apartments are sought in the strict center, while for other apartments, which are in the tram zone, and not in the center, there is not too much interest.
So that more and more renters from daily rent, after drawing the line of expenses and earnings on a monthly basis, considering that their apartments are more empty than full, opt for a classic long-term rental. Since this trend has only just begun and in most cases such apartments are attractively decorated, for the time being very quickly rented for a long term at a relatively high price - Sočev points out, and when asked about short-term rental, we get a somewhat surprising answer.
In long-term rentals, prices are high and apartments are in high demand. In practice, three serious tenants come to one apartment.
DO NOT WAIT
— As we said, Zagreb is a tourist city, there are tourists, but not enough for the huge apartments offered, so those who are located in the tram zone, and not in the strict city center, due to too much offer, do not manage to fill their apartments enough - reveals our interlocutor and finally emphasizes another important information that concerns a part of the customers.
- I would advise all potential buyers not to wait for the fall to buy their new property, but to do it now, in the summer. I would also like to remind that the deputies of the Croatian Parliament adopted a law on amendments to the Law on Subsidizing Housing Loans, which should be implemented from autumn, and given that it is adapted for families and those who will create a family, the real estate market will be extremely lively this summer - concluded Sočev.
Jutarnji list, Home and Design published 15.07.2018