Photo: Tanjug/Branko Lukić"This year, we certainly have a decline in apartment sales of more than 30 percent, although official statistics state 15,6 percent. Credit buyers have almost disappeared," real estate agent Kaća Lazarevic tells "Vreme"
Whether you ask those who are trying to solve their housing problem, or those who are trying to sell their property, you will most often get the answer: "Oh, don't ask me anything."
Lazar is selling a furnished apartment of 58 square meters in the Pavillions of New Belgrade. He is asking for 2.100 euros per square meter. It is about an old building. When he advertised it, the agencies told him that he was selling it at a very good price and that they believed he would find a buyer quickly.
"Since I advertised it some two months ago, a dozen of them have come to look at it, but so far I have not received a concrete offer." Everyone has their own story. Some say that smaller apartments sell faster, some say that there is a greater demand for larger apartments in old buildings. We'll see. It seems that everyone is playing a game of nerves, so who gives in first," Lazar told "Vreme".
Unlike him, Marko, who is selling a 70-square-meter apartment in Zemun, is on the verge of selling it.
"After five months, I received my first concrete offer from a Russian woman." I even agreed to adjust the price, because I didn't want to wait anymore, but then she complicated everything about the payment. I even agreed to her conditions, and then she gave up," Marko told our portal.
Missing customers on credit
In the previous quarter, only 6,6 percent of all sold real estate was paid from loans, and official data show a drop in turnover compared to last year.
Kaća Lazarevic, who has been working as a real estate agent for a long time, tells "Vreme" that the drop in traffic is much greater than official data.
"This year, we certainly have a decline in apartment sales of more than 30 percent, although official statistics state 15,6 percent," Lazarevic says.
Although we have a drop in turnover, Lazarevic does not expect significant price changes. According to her opinion, new buildings will keep their price, while, when it comes to old buildings, minimal corrections can be expected.
"Interest in apartments decreased from quarter to quarter. There was a significant price correction in the old building. However, although the new construction does not have a large turnover, it did not correct its prices because the investors believe that they have invested a lot in the construction of these properties and that they have no interest in lowering prices for now. We have a very small number of credit buyers who previously participated significantly in the purchase of apartments. Now they have disappeared, so to speak."
Everything affects, including politics
She also states that the entire political situation, both in our country and in the world, affects the fact that those who have cash, money in their accounts, hesitate to buy real estate.
"They are waiting to see what happens." In addition, banks are taking advantage of this situation and trying to tie people who have excess money in their accounts to themselves by now giving them interest rates on term deposits of up to 4,6 percent, which was not the case until now."
The property is not sure who once
Lazarevic also explains that people in the current situation do not want to invest money in real estate because, he explains, if, God forbid, a more serious crisis occurs, they will need that money.
"Real estate used to be an absolutely safe investment, but given the situation, it may happen that you buy it now at a higher price, and then you have to sell it at a lower price and lose on that." People won't take risks."
Lazarevic also says that currently both buyers and sellers are often unrealistic in their demands.
"The salespeople are absolutely unrealistic." This is the case with 90 percent of them. They don't understand that the situation is changing, so they still think that they can get the asking price for what they advertised, they don't want to correct it. Those ten percent who understand what is happening and correct the price, quickly sell the apartments and then invest the money further."
They are all unrealistic
He adds that the agencies themselves have contributed to this situation because they accept to advertise apartments with unrealistic prices.
"And then, when a seller sees that someone has advertised an apartment for 300.000 euros, which is actually worth 200.000, then other sellers say I want it too," says Lazarevic.
The interlocutor of "Vremena" states that the situation with customers is often not different.
"For example, we have an apartment for sale for 215.000 euros, the owner is ready to reduce the price to 200.000, and I have buyers who persistently offer 150.000." Well, they won't lower that much. They are all unrealistic."
He says that buyers most often have a budget of around 200.000 euros and that everyone is looking for the same thing: the city center, a three-bedroom apartment and, if possible, a garage.
"And that doesn't exist," Lzarevic points out. "And until that situation changes, there will be no changes in the market."
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