Growing number of foreigners interested in buying property in Serbia
More and more foreigners decide to buy real estate in Serbia. Banks even give home loans to non-residents, but with slightly higher interest rates than Serbian citizens.
Belgrade has also become attractive to foreigners, who mainly buy in cash, although banks now offer special loans for non-residents.
“As for documentation, it’s more or less the same for our foreign clients as it is for Serbian citizens who apply here in Serbia; we assess risk based on income and employment contracts. As for loan guarantees, these are real estate that customers buy with a mandatory down payment, ”explains Velibor Savić, director of API Bank.
The induced pandemic does not appear to have had a significant impact on construction: real estate turnover increased by 2% last year and construction volume by around 8%. Prices per square meter of housing are on the rise and three out of four apartments sold are bought for cash.
“This is regulated by law and only citizens of countries which have reciprocity with the Republic of Serbia can own real estate in Serbia, for example citizens of Macedonia, Iran, India cannot… ‘currently between 10% and 15% of our buyers are non-residents, ”says Bojan Bulatović, sales manager for Belgrade Waterfront Development.
“Most Russians and Chinese buy real estate abroad. Russians, for example, can now borrow in Serbia on terms similar to those they receive in their own country; we also offer luxury apartments tailored to their needs, ”adds Bulatović.
All of this raises the question of whether it is realistic, given current regulations, to expect Serbian cities to have the cultural diversity typical of metropolises like New York or London.
“We don’t have a rule that allows residency if the money spent in the country exceeds a certain amount. 70% percent of emerging and developed countries in the world have such regulations. Many foreigners decide to buy and invest in real estate in these countries because they are interested in residing there, in having their children go to school or to medical care. This is particularly true for nationals of third world countries, ”explains Nenad Djordjevic, chairman of the board of directors of the Cluster agency.
The Greeks have a program called “the golden visa” which guarantees permanent residence to those who invest more than 250,000 euros in real estate. Americans grant permanent residence to buyers of real estate worth more than a million dollars.
(RTS, 04/18.2021)
This article is also available in: Italiano