Croatia’s EU Membership and Property Investment

Croatia is barreling ahead with its progression towards full EU entry with everything on target for full entry by the end of the decade – Croatia took dramatic steps forward at the end of last month when it opened negotiations in six of its remaining policy areas having already put two policies to bed and almost completed negotiations relating to an additional four. 

Croatia’s determination and singular point of focus is proving very successful for the economic development of the nation as a result; and in terms of Croatia’s EU membership and property investment one thing is clear, no one wants to lose out on this potentially booming marketplace with the memory of all those who missed the Bulgarian boat fresh in many international real estate investors’ minds.

Investment and development activity in Croatia’s property market is intense and prices are being positively affected.  So far in the last five years the property marketplaces in Croatia’s cities and along its coastline have seen accelerated growth reaching upwards of 20% annually. 

This level of growth is sustainable according to the Zurich based international tax and property consultants Henley & Partners.  Their spokesperson recently advised a journalist from the UK’s Guardian newspaper that “as Croatia is on its way to becoming a member of the EU, an average increase in Croatian real estate prices of 100% to 150% can be expected over the next three to five years.”

And on its way to becoming a member of the EU it is!  The news reported by Bloomberg on June the 26th relating to Croatia’s strong step forward towards entry was accompanied by comment from German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier who was chairing the latest rounds of negotiations between the EU and Croatia – he stated that the policy breakthrough “sends the signal that the talks are fully underway and Croatia is on a good path toward Europe.”

Driving investor confidence in property in Croatia aside from its pending EU entry are strong fundamentals that actually stand alone and could sustain the market even in the face of a delay in EU entry.  These fundamentals include the fact that over ten million visitors a year used to flock to the Adriatic coastlines of the former Republic of Yugoslavia, of which Croatia was a member before the civil war that preceded the current independence and peaceful nature of Croatia today.

Visitor numbers are once again increasing and the lure of Croatia is its stunning natural and architectural scenery – both factors that cannot be changed, harmed or diminished and are therefore evergreen reasons why tourism in Croatia will continue to positively develop.

In addition to this Croatia is enjoying infrastructure improvements with loans and grants from external sources and it is taking strong steps towards achieving total legal and institutional stability which are requirements for EU entry and which actually make the nation of even more interest to even greater number of overseas investors.

In terms of Croatia’s EU membership and property investment one can therefore see that as smoothly as it moves towards entry and acceptance, so the investment marketplace for property investors becomes ever more appealing.

Special Reports: Property News for Croatia

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Croatia Property Buyer’s Guide
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Croatia Property Investment Overview
Croatia is re-emerging as a tourism hotspot and represents an excellent property investment opportunity for overseas real estate investors.