Apartment prices rise in Serbia despite the pandemic.

After several months of lull, real estate transactions in Serbia have resumed, but despite expectations, prices per square meter have not been reduced due to the coronavirus epidemic. During the state of emergency in March and April, there was a decline in apartment sales in Belgrade and across Serbia due to physical restrictions, but since May, after the state of emergency was lifted, real estate sales have started to rise again. Anita Pešić, product manager at Nekretnine.rs, a website specializing in the sale and rental of real estate in Serbia, says that during the state of emergency from mid-March to early May, the supply of real estate in Serbia dropped, but after that, property prices on the market rose sharply.

Kaca Lazarevic from a Belgrade real estate agency with the same name says that real estate sales have risen sharply in the last few months. "Prior to June 1, the real estate market was not functioning at all," she notes. This is confirmed by the data of the Republican Institute of Statistics, according to which not a single apartment was sold in 20 cities and districts of Serbia in the first six months. Kaca Lazarevic says that in the months after the state of emergency was lifted in early May, the number of real estate transactions has increased dramatically, although the degree of realization, as she explains, has not yet reached the level of the same period last year.

The Serbian government decided to declare a state of emergency on March 15 due to the coronavirus epidemic. The decision was reversed on May 6.

Kaca Lazarevic describes the current situation in the real estate market as excellent. "Buying, building, new-build prices are higher than they were a year ago." The only obstacle, she adds, is the Geodesic Office of Serbia - Cadastre, as the process of registering property ownership is lengthy. They blame notaries for this problem and point out that in the past period several tens of thousands of applications for real estate registration were suspended due to incomplete documents submitted by citizens, due to the inexperience of notaries. These criticisms have been rejected by notaries.

Anita Pesic, product manager at the website Nekretnine.rs, says that real estate prices are affected by "high demand and little supply, because even though real estate prices are rising, many sellers are slow to offer their properties, waiting for them to rise further." Anita Pešić notes that the prices of new buildings in Belgrade are constantly increasing, with the exception of the Novi Belgrade urban municipality, but adds that interest is also growing in some of the outskirts of the Serbian capital, such as Ledine and Jajinci, which is reflected in the growth of prices per square meter in these areas.

In Pančevo, a voivodship town with a population of about 120 thousand people, twenty kilometers from Belgrade, real estate construction is increasingly developing, demand has increased, and the prices of new buildings have risen by almost 50%. Compared to the period two years ago, when the average price per square meter was between 800 and 950 euros, prices in this city range from 1,100 to 1,400 euros per square meter in new buildings," says Anita Pešić, adding that sellers of apartments in old buildings have also raised prices from 500 or 600 euros per square meter to 700 or 900 euros. As Pesic explains, Pančevo's position attracts buyers from Belgrade because of its developed infrastructure, 20 kindergartens, 10 primary and 8 secondary schools. Although the city is not part of the capital, it is easier and faster to reach Pančevo from the center of Belgrade than many other parts of the capital. It takes about 25 minutes by bus from the main bus station in the city on Tamysh to the Pančevac Bridge in Belgrade. Anita Pesic and Kaca Lazarevic note that the coronavirus epidemic has influenced an increase in the purchase of houses outside the city, accompanied by a doubling or tripling of their prices. According to information on real estate portals, houses outside the city are increasingly in demand.

Anita Pešić and Kača Lazarević point out that the coronavirus epidemic has had a negative impact on the rental of apartments and stores, which has led to a decrease in rental prices. The reduced demand for room and apartment rentals is due to the fact that many people and companies work from home, as well as reduced student demand for apartment rentals due to online learning.