The real estate advertising site 4zida.rs has analyzed how long apartments for sale and rent appear in classified ads, that is, how long until they are rented out or sold
We could say that the real estate market in Serbia continues to grow and break records, regardless of the impact of the situation in Ukraine, the increase in the price of construction materials and transport, as well as the earlier impact of the coronavirus. This is best seen in the increase in the number of realized sales contracts on the market, as well as more money on the market.
According to the data collated by the State Geodetic Institute (RGZ), in the first quarter of 2022, the number of sales contracts increased by 6.7% compared to the same period of the previous year. Also, the total amount of money on the Serbian real estate market is higher by as much as 22 percent.
There is a noticeable discrepancy between the offer and demand on the real estate market, with the latter constantly growing, and as a result, quality apartments are being sold and rented out on the market more quickly. Market speed is one of the key indicators of high demand and its growth.
There is a noticeable discrepancy between the offer and demand on the real estate market, with the latter constantly growing, and as a result, quality apartments are being sold and rented out on the market more quickly
The real estate advertising site 4zida.rs has analyzed how long apartments for sale and rent appear in classified ads, that is, how long until they are rented out or sold.
Average sales time
The average time of advertising apartments for sale, if we look at the entire municipality of Belgrade, is 66 days, and that’s for apartments listed in old buildings. A similar time period applies for Novi Sad – 69 days, and Kragujevac – 63 days. In Niš, there is a slightly higher demand among buyers, so apartments here are sold in an average of 51 days. It is interesting to note that Subotica holds the absolute record in terms of the shortest advertising time – it takes 34 days for an advertised apartment to be sold.
“The average advertising time, i.e. the period that apartments are available for sale on our website, shows us how attractive the property is to buyers, but also how high the demand is at a particular location. The strong demand in certain locations can also be affected by certain economic factors – the creation of new jobs or the opening of factories or company branches. In smaller towns, there are fewer apartments on offer, so good opportunities quickly fly off the market,” said Jasmina Gavrilov Dražić, from the 4zida.rs website.
In Belgrade, apartments are sold in an average of 66 days. However, the situation differs from municipality to municipality. The biggest demand for properties is in Zemun and Rakovica. We can see that the shortest sales time is in the Savski Venac municipality, followed by Stari Grad, Novi Beograd and Vračar, i.e. the municipalities where there is strong demand for real estate. However, these figures, slightly higher than the average, can be explained by the fact that in these three municipalities, despite the strong demand, there is still a large number of available properties, plus new apartments are currently being built.
Longer sales time can also be an indicator that there is a certain disproportion between the price that the owner wants to get and the price that the buyer is ready to pay, so the waiting time for the right bargain is a little longer.
Nevertheless, regardless of minor differences in the average sales time between cities and municipalities, we could say that quality apartments fly off the market very quickly.
Strong demand for apartments for rent
This spring and at the beginning of summer, there was an even higher demand for rental properties, especially in Belgrade. Such a strong demand is mainly due to the arrival of a large number of foreigners in the capital. This resulted in a jump in rental prices, but also affected the time needed to rent a property.
The average advertising time of apartments for rent in Belgrade is 17 days. This means that, on average, owners wait just over two weeks for their apartment to be rented out. The situation is similar in Novi Sad, where the average time needed for an apartment to be rented out is 18 days, while in Niš and Kragujevac it is 16 days. Of the larger cities, apartments are rented out the fastest in Subotica, where the average advertising time of apartments for rent is 14 days.
This spring and at the beginning of summer, there was an even higher demand for rental properties, especially in Belgrade
“Offer of apartments for rent in smaller towns is not that big, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that quality properties are rented out very quickly. So, for example, in Čačak and Sombor, the average time to rent an apartment is only 11 days, and in Kruševac 8 days. However, Kraljevo holds the record in this respect, where apartments are rented out in just 5 days on average. In these smaller towns, all it takes for just one new factory to be opened to feel a shortage of apartments for rent,” says Jasmina Gavrilov Dražić from the real estate advertising website 4zida.rs.
Belgrade municipalities all have different rent-out periods. Apartments are rented out the fastest in Palilula, followed by Zemun. Apartments in Savski Venac are usually on the rental market for the longest time – an average of 34 days. The situation is similar to that in the sales segment – there is a large number of apartments for rent in this Belgrade municipality, and many more are being built, so there is no pronounced shortage of available properties.
In addition, the municipalities of Savski Venac, Vračar and Stari Grad have the highest number of luxury properties, which, as a rule, take a little longer to be rented in comparison to more affordable apartments, usually rented out by students.