Renting luxury apartments in Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina costs several thousand euros per month, which many citizens cannot afford, and the prices are the highest in tourist towns and attractive locations.
In Montenegro, the most expensive is on the coast, so the monthly rent in Budva goes up to 5.000 euros. On the other hand, in the central part of the country and in Podgorica, you need to allocate up to 2.500 euros per month for the best apartments, while in the north, prices rarely exceed a thousand euros.
According to data provided to "Vijesta" by real estate agencies, most apartments are rented by foreign citizens - Turks, Germans, French and Azerbaijanis, as well as embassies.
Interlocutors from that sector agree that the number of Russians and Ukrainians, who have been the dominant force on the real estate market for the past three years, has significantly decreased.
The prices on the agency's websites are certainly leading in Budva, where for the best three-room luxury apartments in attractive places, such as the city center and the "Dukley" settlement, it is necessary to allocate from 2.500 to 5.000 euros. Similar apartments can be found for 1.500 euros, but in worse locations, in older buildings, attics...
Two-room apartments cost from 1.500 to 3.000 euros per month. The most affordable are one-room apartments, but they also cost at least 1.000, and more often around 1.300 thousand. Their maximum price is around 2.000 euros, some of which are in the nearby Bečići settlement, and more than a thousand in Rafailovići.
According to the data of the Directorate for Statistics, the average salary in April was 828 euros.
In Podgorica, as they said from the real estate agency "Taluma", the most sought-after locations are still the City and Master neighborhoods, Central Point, as well as the surroundings of "Capital Plaza". They pointed out that one-room luxury apartments are on average up to 50 square meters, and cost from 550 to 650 euros per month. For two-room apartments, they claim, you should allocate from 800 to 1.000 euros.
"Furnished apartments are most often rented, while unfurnished apartments are mostly rented for business purposes. It is important to note that rental prices have fallen by some 100 to 200 euros in the past few months. Apartments that until a few months ago could be rented at a price of 700 to 750 euros, are now at a price of 600 - 650 euros. Even though apartment owners are still trying to match the two-room prices that I mentioned, very often the price for the lease itself is around 800 to 850 euros", they clarified and added that apartments in Masline, Zlatica and Zagorič are the least sought after.
The "Centar" real estate agency states that luxury apartments are more often rented fully furnished, while some are rented unfurnished or the furniture is taken out of the apartment, due to the special request of diplomatic missions, which sometimes have a rule that only unfurnished apartments are rented for employees. In addition to well-known places, they point out that the demand also reigns in the part of the city across Morača, the Gorica C settlement, the "Green level" and "Bemax" buildings in Tološka šuma, "Normal" near the Temple, "Vezir" on the Morača coast and "Zetagradnja" near Palada, City Stadium...
One-room apartments cost, as they say, from 500 to 800 euros, while the rental prices of two- and three-room apartments range from 800 to 2.000 euros. The square footage of one-room apartments is from 45 to 60 square meters, while those with several rooms are from 65 to 130 square meters.
They also pointed out that the local population is generally unable to pay such high rents.
"The tenants are primarily diplomatic missions of foreign countries, which are considered the most desirable because they pay rent and bills on time and lease for the period of the employees' mandate, usually three or four years. In addition to them, the tenants are also international organizations that have their offices in Podgorica", the agency stated.
The agency "Square nekretnine" confirmed that mostly quality furnished luxury real estate, whose square footage is from 50 to 150 square meters, is for sale. According to their data, for the best one-bedroom apartment in the best location in Podgorica, you should allocate at least 700 euros, for two-bedroom apartments from 1.000 to 1.500, while three-bedroom apartments cost up to 2.000 euros.
The sites that "Vijesti" checked did not have a larger offer of luxury real estate in the north of the country, but in Kolašin, the price of one of the one-room apartments in the center was 650 euros. Among the ads from 2023, there was a one-room apartment that cost one thousand euros.
Luxury for demanding millionaires
Recently, the Serbian public heard the news that an apartment, but not just any apartment, but a 340-square-meter penthouse in Belgrade on the water, is being rented for 9.000 euros per month. Indeed, the ad for this unfurnished apartment with a view of the Sava is still on the website of a rental agency, along with several other luxury apartments.
For 6.300 euros, someone has already rented an apartment in Belgrade on the water of 220 square meters, as well as a "smaller" apartment of 140 square meters in the same neighborhood for 5.000 euros.
However, these are only isolated cases, most of the luxury apartments are rented in the price range of 1.500 to 3.500 euros per month. The most common locations are the newly built residential complexes in New Belgrade, Vračar and Stari Grad, and of course Savski Venac with its dominant settlement - Belgrade on the Water.
As a rule, these luxury apartments are in new construction, in the strict center of the city, in neighborhoods with a good reputation. Most often, they are on high floors with a nice view, and it is interesting that they can be furnished or unfurnished. Of course, the furniture is luxurious.
One of the important things is provided parking with apartment rental.
Buyers of luxury apartments have similar preferences.
Kaća Lazarevic, a real estate expert, explains that when it comes to luxury real estate buyers, the situation has changed in recent years.
"People who want to buy luxury are ready to invest serious money, but they want to pay for quality, not makeup. Such buyers will not pay dearly if the apartment has a bad layout. They are demanding and set certain conditions," she notes.
These conditions are numerous, and the most important thing is that the documentation for the apartment is impeccable.
According to her, if for some reason registration is not completely certain, there is nothing to buy. Also, buyers want to see who the existing tenants are in the building.
"They don't want a variety show in the building," Lazarevic assesses, adding that one part of Belgrade is ripe for a variety show, but that other types of customers avoid such buildings.
She also says that buyers of luxury apartments also look at the view, whether they are looking at shantytowns or luxury buildings.
In order for an apartment to be considered luxurious, it must be at least 150 to 200 square meters in area and mostly on higher floors. The price ranges from 4.500 to 9.000-10.000 euros per square meter.
"Those apartments must have at least three rooms and at least two bathrooms. The height of the ceiling is important, a multi-layered floor is required, adequate ventilation of the kitchen and bathroom. The most expensive apartments are in special buildings, such as the Tower in Belgrade on the water. These are apartments on very high floors, the building must provide full comfort, have a swimming pool, a gym, a porter and a guarantee of at least two or three years", explains Lazarevic.
Expensive apartments must have high-quality thermal and hydro insulation, and good sound insulation is increasingly being demanded. The elevator must be large and silent.
Before buying, new buyers of large and expensive apartments look to familiarize themselves with the other buildings of the investor, in order to make sure that he builds quality. They inspect the previous buildings, whether they are dilapidated, what is the quality of the construction...
"The apartment must also have a parking space, and they often look at the width of the space, because they drive big cars. I watched as they measured and entered the garage to see if their vehicles could pass there," our interlocutor points out.
Lazarevic points out that most often they buy ready-made apartments, and if it is Belgrade on the water, they look for buildings closer to the Sava and with a view of the river. In that case, they are ready to pay the money in construction as well.
Finally, she points out that the buyers of those apartments and houses are business people and young IT experts.
When they buy, they do it on account, not on credit.
If it is about people from abroad, either ours or foreigners, they transfer the money to a bank account in Serbia and then pay. They pay all taxes, like citizens of Serbia, but they are not entitled to a VAT refund.
According to the report of the Republic Geodetic Institute, in the last quarter of 2023, the most expensive square meter was in Belgrade on the water, an average of 4.430 euros per square meter, and the most expensive square meter in this period was 8.735 euros.
The settlement of Novi Dorćol cost an average of 4.308 euros per square meter, and Lux 51 in Novi Belgrade cost 3.155 euros.
Among the most expensive locations in Serbia are Viktori Gardens in Čukarica with an average price of 2.708 euros per square meter, Zemun Vista with a price of 2.555 euros and Voždove Kapia in Voždovac with an average price of 2.470 euros per square meter.
Apartment for the day, and it has a swimming pool
In the last few years, there has been an enormous rise in real estate prices in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the price per square meter of an apartment has also influenced the growth of the amount allocated for renting an apartment. An increase in rents was recorded in a large number of cities, especially in tourist centers.
According to real estate agents, rents have increased on average by 100 KM (50 euros) compared to the previous two years, or by 10 to 20 percent. However, as Adin Jašar, a certified real estate agent, told "Oslobođenje", it is not a big jump if you compare it with the prices of apartments, where the price per square meter has increased by about 40 percent (a square meter now costs from 3.000 to 10.000 KM).
"This jump in prices, which is evident in the sale of real estate, especially apartments, is not even close to the increase in rental prices. In essence, I would say that often real estate owners are mistaken because they think that the jump in real estate sales prices is followed by rental prices. There is a slight increase in rent especially for smaller one bedroom apartments, near the tram, which is what most people are looking for. But in general, when looking at the entire market, there were no major changes compared to previous years. We can say very minimal, unfortunately for some, and fortunately for some", said Jašar and added that if renting an apartment was 500, now it is 600 KM, while the prices of luxury and large apartments have fallen.
"The prices of luxury apartments that are rented out to foreigners have fallen because demand has fallen," he points out.
And according to data from Numbe, the world's largest database on the cost of living, for a one-bedroom apartment in the center of the capital city of Sarajevo, you need to spend an average of 623,81 KM per month, and for an apartment of the same square footage outside the center, about 454,55 KM.
Jašar told us something similar, explaining that the price of renting an apartment is determined by several factors.
"What is the apartment like, how is it arranged, proximity to public transport, parking... If we are talking about apartments with one bedroom, the prices have not increased drastically. So, about 500 KM should be set aside. Admittedly, there are more expensive ones, but as I said, it depends on certain factors. A two-room apartment in Dobrinja is about 400, 500 KM, in Grbavica the monthly rent is from 500 to 700 KM. And in the center from 700 to 1.000 KM, of course it depends on whether there is parking or not. The rent on Ilidža is about 500 KM. However, if we compare the situation in previous years and now, we can safely say that rental prices have risen much more in neighborhoods outside the city center such as Dobrinja and Alipašino polje. As I said, everything varies, and we also have that other dimension that is looked at when renting. For example, we are looking at new construction, parking... so the rent of a two-room apartment costs 600, 700 and 800 KM in Stup and Dobrinja locations. These locations are in high demand," says Jašar.
In Mostar, the prices are a little lower, so for a one-room apartment in the center, on average, you need to spend 450 KM, and those who live outside the center spend about 300 KM per month in such an apartment.
The rent of a one-room apartment in Banja Luka costs about the same as in Sarajevo, about 500 KM, and outside the center it costs about 400 KM.
Houses are another story. The floor of a house costs from 400 to 800 KM, the whole house from 1.000 to 1.500, and villas with swimming pools up to 5.000 KM.
According to real estate agents, it is also interesting that a large number of owners gave up on long-term rentals and switched to letting the apartment for the day. The price is generally between 40 and 50 KM per day. Of course, luxury is more expensive. So for 150 KM you can rent an apartment with a jacuzzi. For houses, the price is different. The average price is slightly above 100 KM, and it can be more than 1.000 KM per day, depending on whether there is a swimming pool or not.
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