Croatian Building Permits Fall In 2010

Real estate in Croatia continues to suffer as prices continue to fall, with banks remaining tight on lending and incomes suffering as a result of growing unemployment. Moreover, in the major cities, notably Zargreb, there is a large over supply of unsold apartments placing further downward pressure on prices. The situation is exacerbated by continuing unrealistic asking prices by Croatian property sellers although this situation does seem to be easing with an increasing number of vendors being prepared to drop prices during negotiation to get the sale.

It is therefore not suprising that there was a further decline in the number of Croatian building permits issued in 2010. According to the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, permits issued fell by 14.1% and with the number of planned residential units decreased by 21.4%.