Demand for all types of real estate has been growing in Serbia since the beginning of the year, and the strongest growth trend has been recorded in garage sale/rent.
Real estate agencies say that having a garage has become an almost crucial element in the decision to buy real estate and that properties in buildings without garages or designated parking spaces are more difficult to sell. On the other hand, demand is growing due to buyers who want to invest in this type of property with the purpose of renting it out, because the monthly rent of a garage space costs between 50 and 200 euro, depending on location, reports Euronews.
Compared to the first half of last year, 22% more garages were sold in the first six months of this year, but the funds needed to buy one increased by almost 59%, indicating that owners now have to shell out a lot more money to buy a parking space for their four-wheelers.
According to statistics collated by the State Geodetic Institute (RGZ), three years ago, one garage was sold for every five flats in Serbia, while according to data from the first half of this year, every third flat is bought with a garage.
From January to June, 25,775 flats were sold and 8,451 garages were sold. The growth in sales of garage spaces is even better illustrated by comparative data from the first half of 2019, when 3,833 garage spaces were sold, meaning that the number of sales has more than doubled compared to three years ago.
Real estate agent Vladimir Obradović told Euronews Serbia that demand for garages is high, especially in new buildings, and that clients generally do not consider buying a flat unless it has a parking space, while old buildings that do not have a garage are not that popular with buyers, especially in Belgrade.
He adds that there are people looking for garages to invest in, i.e. to rent a parking space, but they are almost never sold separately from a property. “Real estate developers avoid doing that, because then it is difficult for them to sell a property that does not have its own garage. Demand is high and prices have shot up. A garage that cost around 15,000 euro last year is now at 25,000 euro, and in some places up to 30,000 euro. The problem for potential buyers is not only the high price, but also the fact that such properties (that come with garages) are scarce,” says Obradović.
On average, a garage can be bought in Belgrade for around 15,000 euros, although the location of the building determines the final price. It is almost impossible to find one in Savski Venac for less than 20,000 euros. According to RGZ data, 90 per cent of the garages in this Belgrade municipality were sold for between 20,000 and 26,000 euro. The most common prices in Stari Grad range from 19,000 to 30,000 euro, and about 75 per cent of the properties of this type are sold in that range, with the most expensive one, in the first half of the year. being sold at 37,000 euro.
In the first half of 2022, a total of 8,451 parking spaces were sold in Serbia, including 6,196 garages, 755 parking spaces and 1,500 parking spaces outside the building. Fifty-six per cent, i.e. every second garage, was sold in Belgrade. Garage prices in Serbia range from as low as 300 euros in Boljevac to 48,000 euros in Kopaonik and the Belgrade Waterfront.
In regard to other towns, the highest prices, after Belgrade, are in Čajetina, i.e. Zlatibor, where the most expensive garage was sold for 21,500 euros. In Niš, garage.es cost from 500 to 15,000 euros, in Kragujevac from 1,200 to 12,000 euros, while the best-selling garages in Novi Sad fetched from 8,000 to 18,000 euros, all the way up to 31,000 euros.
(Blic, 20.09.2022)
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