Apartment prices in Tirana increase by 30% within a year

Politiko 2024-03-03 08:30:44

Apartment prices in Tirana are only getting more expensive. From "Monitor's" field observations, prices in the suburbs are over 1,000 euros per square meter and near the center, over 2,000 euros per square meter. Prices for housing in suburban areas have increased by 11-31%.

Close to the center, the increase is around 9% and within the Small Ring of Tirana, apartments are sold at prices from 2,100 to 2,300 euros per square meter. In terms of values, their fluctuation ranges from 150 to 300 euros per square meter compared to years.

According to the chairman of the Association of Builders of Albania, Erjon Harizi, the price increase was influenced by the increase in the obligations of the builders for the tax on the impact on the infrastructure, after the increase in the reference prices, direct costs for wages of workers and materials.

Buying a home is one of the most long-term, one-time investments. In Tirana, property prices close to the center are unaffordable for many Albanian families, who are choosing the suburbs and areas outside Tirana as their main alternative for housing.

But this year, the suburbs have also become more expensive, catching many buyers by surprise. Both builders and real estate market agents claimed that due to the affordability of the price and urban development, one of the areas with the highest concentration of demand is Paskuqani. Selling prices are below 1,000 euros per square meter.

"In certain areas of the outskirts of Tirana, as a result of urban developments, we have an increase in prices, such as in Kashar near QTU with prices up to 1,000 euros per square meter, or in Paskuqan, with average prices of 950 euros per square meter , which comes as a novelty in Tirana with a very short distance near New Boulevard.

While in other areas, the prices of apartments in Tirana continue to be unchanged", says Dritan Leka, from the real estate agency "Century 21 CPM".

There has also been a tightening of prices in other suburban districts. On the street of "Kokonozë", at the two new construction sites, one after the other, the prices vary from 1,300 to 1,500 euros per square meter.

"85% of the apartments are booked for purchase," claimed one of the managers of the sales office. He said that the increase was influenced by the high cost of quality interior and exterior facade work and high wages for workers.

In one of the almost finished complexes on "Xhanfize Keko" street in the Porcelani area, the sales administrator claimed that prices range from 1,450 to 1,500 euros per square meter.

From the builders, the same price levels were offered for the two new facilities, one in the area of Xhamllik and the other in Kinostudio. Last year in the Kinostudio-Porcelan areas, the maximum selling price for new buildings reached 1,300 euros per square meter.

Compared to years, prices in this area increased from 12 to 15%. While in 2021, in the period after the pandemic, the prices of new apartments changed by 36% (from 1,100 euros to 1,500 euros per square meter).

Prices have also increased in the Fresko area, mainly in existing buildings, from 800 to 900 euros a year ago, in 2024 they will be 1,000 euros per square meter (the increase varies from 12-25%).

At the other end of the suburb of Tirana, "Astiri", according to real estate agents, property prices on the first line are 1,600 euros per square meter. Last year, the maximum selling price for this area was 1,300 euros per square meter (23% increase).

According to data obtained from real estate offices, apartments with prices of 1,000 euros per square meter are also being traded in Sauk. In Yzberisht, prices from 1,100 euros per square meter have reached 1,300 euros (18% increase).

In the residential area "Univers City" (after QTU), apartments according to real estate agents are priced at 1,050 euros, from 800-850 euros per square meter that were sold last year (21-31% increase).

In 2021, with the start of the works, according to the data of the sales office of the residential complex, the sales prices started from 580 to 650 euros per square meter (so far prices have increased from 61 to 81% in relation to the phase of before construction).

High prices in the center shift demand to the periphery

In the entire territory of Albania, in the first 6 months of 2023, according to the results of the survey for the real estate market and the price index of the Bank of Albania, 52% of the properties sold were in the suburbs within the city (out of 45 % that was in the previous period), while around 32% of the realized sales are represented by properties in the most preferred areas within the city (from 45% during the previous period).

About 16% of sales were for properties built outside the city, up from 10% in the previous 6 months.

According to real estate market agents, the high demand in the outskirts of Tirana has been influenced by the level of prices, which are more affordable than in the center.

"The demand for properties in the suburbs is divided into two levels, for housing purposes and standard growth. For housing purposes, the suburbs are preferred, due to affordable prices for young families and newcomers from the districts.

While the second category of buyers are those individuals who seek to increase the quality of life, living in green spaces with playgrounds with cleaner air and away from the noises of the capital", says Dritan Leka, from the real estate agency "Century 21 CPM ".

Erjon Harizi, from the Association of Builders, adds that this year the demand for purchases in the suburbs by locals for business purposes, through resale and rental, has increased. Mr. Harizi said that in Paskuqan there is a large increase in the demand for housing, due to the development that the area is receiving, but also cheaper prices compared to other peripheral places.

The increase in prices for properties in the center of Tirana continues

In the first 6 months of 2023, according to the results of the "Real Estate Market" survey and the housing price index of the Bank of Albania, a slight decrease in sales prices was reported in the suburbs and outside Tirana, while in the areas of the center, average prices increased.

The Price Index for Tirana also increased, by 13.3% compared to the previous period, showing little change in annual terms. This performance was dictated by the increase of about 29% in average prices for properties sold in the center of the capital, compared to the previous period.

While in the peripheral areas and those outside the capital, according to the data of the "Fischer" index, prices have shown very small decreases.

In the areas close to the center, the trend of increasing sales prices continued in 2024. At the entrance of the Paris Commune, in the three new residential buildings being developed, apartment prices are between 2,300 and 2,500 euros per square meter. Year, their maximum price was 2,300 euros per square meter (9% increase).

In one of the contemporary residential complexes on the Small Ring of the city (near the road of the former refrigerator company), according to the sales office, prices start from 2,100 to 2,300 euros per square meter.

Builders in the area of the former Block this year are also offering properties with sales prices above 3,500 euros per square meter.

The increase in prices for properties in the center of Tirana, according to Dritan Leka, comes after several years of stability, as a result of permits and new constructions that are being carried out. According to him, more property purchases are made in central areas by businesses.

"The center of the capital is changing at a fast pace, getting closer and closer to the main European cities. Well-known foreign architects are realizing very attractive projects, both visually and technologically. This development has brought attention to the city center and, as a result, the increase in prices.

In these areas, mainly business buildings are being developed and the buyers are different companies, local and foreign", he asserts.

Despite the hushed debate of experts that the income of dirty money in Albania is being cleaned in construction and the curiosity of foreign tourists for luxury skyscrapers, the increase in the sale prices of these objects does not stop.

For the years 2022-2023, the price of apartments in one of the luxury constructions in Tirana, "Book Building", which has started to be built after Sahat, reached the value of 5,000 euros per square meter, according to the sales office contacted earlier by " Monitor".

The sales office also previously stated that in the "Rainbow Center" at the former Block, which is a 7-story building (of which two floors are shopping centers), the apartments were also sold at a price of 5,000 euros per square meter.

This year in the tower behind the Clock, according to the builders, resale prices reach up to 5,500 euros per square meter (10% increase).

While in the tower behind the Presidency, sales prices have reached 4,800 euros per square meter from 4,000 euros that were in the first phase of construction (20% increase).

In the "Exhibition Building", the sales prices continue to be over 3,500 euros per square meter.

In another tower, "Eyes of Tirana", the sale prices of apartments are over 3,500 euros per square meter and of business premises, over 6,000 euros.

There is a debate about the prices declared by sales offices for luxury properties in Tirana and the final price from sales transactions. Erjon Harizi, from the Association of Builders of Albania, claims that the prices of properties sold in Tirana do not exceed the value of 3,500 euros per square meter.

He says that the vast majority of the construction area of the towers is used for hotels and business premises, while the number of business units is few.

Most of the residential and business units in the capital's towers are sold through the sales offices of the construction companies themselves. Real estate agencies are involved in the sale of a very small number of properties in these buildings, mainly in apartments belonging to the owners of the land, or cases of resale by the first buyer. /Monitor.al