Property prices in the European Union rose by 4.9% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to official data, reflecting strong demand despite high interest rates and inflationary pressures.
Bulgaria recorded the sharpest increase, with prices surging 18.3% on the year, followed by Hungary (13.0%), Portugal (11.6%) and Spain (11.4%). The Netherlands posted a 10.8% rise, Poland 10.4%, while prices in Croatia climbed 10.1%.
Analysts said housing demand continues to outpace supply across the bloc, particularly in the new-build segment, suggesting price growth could persist through 2025, albeit at a slower pace than in recent years.
While the volume of transactions has fallen, indicating a cooling in market activity, affordability remains a key concern across the EU, including in Croatia.
In Croatia’s capital Zagreb, a shortage of residential and commercial space is pushing prices higher. Boro Vujović, director of real estate agency Opereta, said that with inflation and demand still outstripping supply, prices are unlikely to fall and may edge slightly higher than last year.
“Due to the lack of new construction, even older apartments are being sold at what may be undeservedly high prices,” Vujović told HRT.
He said around 32,000 housing units could potentially be built on city- and state-owned land in central Zagreb, but this would require a policy shift by local and national authorities to release land to the market.
Despite the end of government-subsidised mortgage schemes in 2023, housing loans remained resilient, with annual growth of around 10%. However, new measures by Croatia’s central bank, aimed at cooling lending growth, are expected to slow mortgage activity in the second half of 2025.
