First Property Croatia

According to Mr Vedran Matosic, Director of the local Tourist Board, Split has finally stopped being just a place of transit for tourists travelling to the islands or seaside villages of Dalmatia. Moreover, the popularity of Split has been on the increase in the past two years – not only during the summer but also in the winter months. The Tourist Board statistics tell us that Split has broken every record in 2011, receiving 24% more arrivals and 16% more overnight stays in July than the same period for the previous year. In November there was 11.4% more arrivals and 9.2% more overnight stays and at New Year hotels reported a rise in bookings.

However Mr Matosic also said that there was still a lack of accommodation capacity in the city as well as its surrounding area because the demand is so high, especially for private accommodation. Despite the fact that the number of private apartments for rent in Split has significantly increased, and the quality improved over the past few years, there is still lots of capacity in the Croatian real estate market for apartment and house owners in Split who want to generate income from renting out their properties.

This positive trend in tourism development is having a direct influence on the property market in Croatia especially in the Old Towns. Investors and second homebuyers have seen their yields rise as the Croatian property prices in historical centres has decreased but bookings have increased. This trend looks set to continue as tourist numbers are rising and Croatian property prices remain under pressure.