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In one of our previous articles, we wrote about how to buy a property in Croatia as a foreigner, briefly mentioning the costs of acquiring a house or an apartment. Today we will break down all the costs associated with buying a property in Croatia. However, we should note that there are also costs of owning real estate.
Croatia is a hot market, especially when it comes to the properties on the seaside. In the last two years, prices have risen around 14%. The average price of a square meter in Dubrovnik is about 3,600 EUR; Split is set to approximately 3,000 EUR per square meter, while the asking price of properties in Zagreb is around 2,400 EUR on average.
East of the country is cheaper, but even cities like Osijek experience a significant rise in property prices. Eastern Croatia has become more popular after the major earthquake in Zagreb, which contributed to a substantial "boom" in property prices since the demand is higher than the supply.
The most considerable cost is, of course, the property's price. However, it varies greatly depending on several factors:
To buy a property in Croatia, it is not necessary to have a bank account in Croatia, but you must have a Personal Identification Number (OIB). Learn how to get OIB in Croatia here.
In our article about buying a property in Croatia, we talked about signing a pre-agreement that will protect you if anything unexpected happens, but it also protects the seller if you back down from buying.
Usually, buyers pay around 10-25% of the fixed buying price when signing the pre-agreement.
If you are not familiar with the housing market in Croatia, do not know the language, or just want to ensure that the whole process goes smoothly, it could be a good idea to hire a professional who will handle things for you and offer help every step of the way.
Getting a real estate agent is beneficial for several reasons. In addition to fully understanding the market, they can access the property and help you not to overpay. Their job is also to negotiate the best price and find any potential problems.
Usually, the fee is around 2-4% of the purchase price, but definitely be sure to check the costs with a specific agency before hiring them.
Checking the property, writing pre-agreement and purchase contracts, and submitting requests with authorities can be quite a tedious process, but you want to make sure that it is done right.
Lawyer fees differ and can be charged by a project or the hour. Sometimes, the lawyer fee will be included in the real estate agency's fees if they offer such a service.
The authenticity of the pre-contract is verified by a notary public. The price of verifying the original agreement is around 40 HRK, but keep in mind that you will need extra copies for the land registry department, tax department, Ministry of Justice, and a bank if using a loan.
Every additional copy is charged around 20 HRK.
The Croatia law requires an official court translator present when verifying the pre-contract, so you as a buyer understand what is going on.
Generally speaking, you can expect to pay around 1,500 to 2,500 HRK for this service.
Last but not least is the purchase tax.
However, you as a buyer are obligated to do so only if the seller has not already paid VAT on the property. The tax is 3% of the property's market value assessed by the Tax Department. If the PDV has already been paid, that should be visible in the purchase agreement.
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