Croatia pros & cons and recommendations

[Unicorn]

Hi all,
I am considering buying a holiday home in Croatia for my family. I would really appreciate hearing some thoughts on the Croatian property market and if you can recommend an agent there.
Thanks!

 

[Mike -NewOverseasInvestor]

Hi Unicorn,

I have just returned from Croatia and have many friends, both Croatian & Australian on the ground there who are investing in property both for re-sale, living and renting! I am planning to move down there during the winter for the same reason. If your interested, PM (send private message) to me & let me know what you are looking for & we can go from there...

Cheers

Mike

 

[John]

Croatia is an excellent place both to live and to invest in. However, you really would need to be finding a local there to assist you as plenty of the real bargains don't seem to be advertised that well to foreigners, at least they weren't 2 years ago when I was last looking there.

Mortgages can also be a problem to obtain, but I believe there have been more entrants to the market recently so this should be getting better.

What kind of budget do you have in mind? Have you narrowed your search down to a location/locations you would be looking to purchase in?

Be great if you could keep us updated here on the forum as you make progress on this. Croatia is definately a place people will be asking a lot more about in here in the future.

 

[Magellan]

Also, consider the investment potential. Croatia is almost certainly due to enter the EU within the next few years. That should boost the market.

 

[Mike -NewOverseasInvestor]

Absolutely...

I am unsure though why it doesn't seem to be on the books of most property developers or real estate agents... People say it's done yet I only agree with this in for example, Dubrovnik... Many other beautiful regions up the coast & I have seen them for myself & definitely feel like it's worth it! A good friend of mine is investing in to properties and doing them himself! Hard work but the return should be very worthwhile

I am trying to look at finance & it isn't as straight forward as most other countries but I am sure it will work out... I am looking at Hypo bank at the moment! Does anybody have feedback on good finance options for Croatia? I know the banks in Croatia get bad feedback (I have heard this first hand) but I am looking into Hypo anyway as there Housing loans are very new & seem to have come up due to demand!!!

Any more feedback on Croatia would be great !

Mike

 

[propertastic]

Do you really have your heart set on Croatia?

The joke we make on our site is:

Q. What's the similarity between cheap property in Croatia and sunbeds?

A. The Germans grabbed them all early.

Dubrovnik is looking very expensive already. There are some more affordable coastal property around (after all, Croatia has plenty of coastline to choose from),but you need to be very selective if you are looking for good growth potential.

Have you considered neighbouring Montenegro at all? The geography and climate is very similar to Croatia, but the market is not as established as in Croatia.

The Russians are snapping up property in huge numbers and some resort areas are already expensive, but there are still areas that are up-and-coming where you can expect to see really good growth over the next few years.

If you Google 'propertastic', you can see some figures about how the two markets compare side by side.

 

[kk1974]

If anyone still has any interest in Croatia, I'm happy to help. I have good and up to date knowledge of the market and property laws there.