Getting your own apartment with the help of a mortgage or parents, or perhaps by leaving Belgrade altogether? For many young people, this is no longer a matter of choice, but of financial capacity.
Square-metre prices in Belgrade are getting increasingly expensive, and whilst the state offers loans for young people with a minimal deposit, the real question is how accessible apartments actually are for purchase. We investigated how much a roof over one’s head costs today and what stands in young people’s way. For many young people today, the question is not when they will buy an apartment, but if they will ever be able to afford one. In Belgrade, the average square-metre price for older properties at the end of 2025 stood at around €2,763. Prices continued to rise compared to the previous year, recording an annual growth rate of approximately seven per cent.
According to data from the Republic Geodetic Authority (RGZ) on completed sales in the fourth quarter of 2025, the highest average square-metre price for older housing was recorded in Stari Grad – €3,832. This was followed by Vračar at €3,542, Novi Beograd at €3,158, Zvezdara at €3,026, Zemun at €2,892, Voždovac at €2,694, Palilula at €2,685, and Čukarica at €2,621 per square metre. The lowest average price among the municipalities mentioned was in Rakovica, where older property averaged €2,291 per square metre.
This means that a 50-square-metre apartment, based on the Belgrade average, would cost around €138,000. For €100,000 – the maximum loan amount under the state scheme for young people – one could buy roughly 36 square metres at that average price, which can hardly serve as a long-term housing solution for a family with children. In the city centre, the math is even less favourable. For €100,000, based on average older property prices, one could buy about 26 square metres in Stari Grad, around 28 in Vračar, and approximately 32 square metres in Novi Beograd.
Whilst young people calculate how many square metres they can get for the maximum €100,000 loan, the most expensive square metre in Serbia earlier this year was sold for a staggering €12,000. In Stari Grad, a single apartment was sold for €2.6 million.
When everything is added up – property price, income level, creditworthiness, deposit, documentation, and property selection – the question arises as to how solvable the housing issue really is for young people today. Average net earnings in Serbia in May this year stood at 118,398 dinars, whilst the median net wage was 93,277 dinars. This means that half of all employed citizens earned up to that amount. The problem lies not only in how much an apartment costs and what monthly instalment young people can afford. The problem is also what kind of apartment they can actually buy.
When approving housing loans, banks verify the legal status of the property and the documentation required to establish a mortgage. This means that an apartment matching a young buyer’s budget does not automatically meet the requirements for bank financing.
New builds without an occupancy permit or those not yet registered in the land registry pose a particular problem. Although the youth scheme provides for the purchase of new-build apartments, as well as certain properties under construction, not every such property is automatically eligible for a loan. This depends on the status of the building, its documentation, and the conditions of the specific bank, as well as whether the developer is willing to wait for the young buyer’s mortgage approval.
This leads to a paradox – the state offers young people a mortgage with just a one per cent deposit, but even with that loan, an apartment on the Serbian market is not necessarily accessible to them. The loan may have become more accessible, but has the property itself?
Estate agent: New-build prices are unreasonably high
Estate agent Katarina Lazarević assessed on the 3D show that property prices will continue to rise as long as large sums of money flow into construction, pointing also to the issue of a large number of unsold properties.
“As long as this much money is pouring into apartment construction – and we all know that not all of it is strictly legal – prices will keep rising,” said Lazarević. According to her, intensive construction is altering the look of the city, whilst public spaces are being neglected. “They are building so much that I no longer know if there will be any small parks or children’s playgrounds left anywhere. It’s all just about build, build, build,” she noted.
Lazarević underlines that a large number of newly built apartments remain unsold, whilst public discussion focuses mostly on record market valuations, the most expensive apartments, and premium square metres. “Yet no one talks about how ordinary citizens can get a roof over their heads, where an affordable square metre can be found, or where people can buy something of genuine, realistic value,” Lazarević said.
She also assessed that prices for new builds are mostly “unreasonably high”, noting that developers, in her view, face no pressure to sell quickly. “It makes no difference to them when they sell. We are talking about developers. It is not even in their interest to finish the buildings. For many who buy, it isn’t even in their interest to register the property once purchased,” concluded Lazarević.
Most buyers have a budget up to €150,000
Lazarević notes that the largest group of buyers she encounters has a budget of up to €150,000, but even with larger amounts, finding a suitable property in Belgrade is becoming increasingly difficult. “Ninety per cent of ordinary people have a budget of up to €150,000. And when we say, ‘Well, we have nothing to sell you,’ people say, ‘Well, we’ll manage somehow, even if we push up to 170 or 180.’ Yet even for €200,000, finding an apartment is very tough,” highlights Lazarević.
In her view, new-build prices are far too high, especially considering average earnings. As an example, she points to square-metre prices on the outskirts of Belgrade. “If you go towards the very periphery of Belgrade at €3,000 per square metre, they think that because they dressed up the building, it looks nice. The entrance looks nice, but around it is rubbish, and you have no proper access road,” says Lazarević.
She stresses that the problem is all the greater because such prices are set in the Serbian market, where an apartment price easily reaches €200,000 or €250,000, while individual properties cost €300,000 or €400,000. “We are talking about Belgrade, about Serbia. Three thousand euros per square metre – we are talking about €200,000, a quarter of a million euros, apartment prices of €300,000, €400,000…” stated Lazarević.
Lazarević considers property prices in Belgrade and Serbia to be “completely unreal”, but notes that buyers are still being found, particularly among those with substantial capital. According to her, buyers with multi-million capital do not negotiate prices in the same way ordinary citizens do. “Someone who has millions doesn’t care how much they pay for an apartment, and they don’t haggle,” stated Lazarević, adding that buyers also include people from Bosnia and Herzegovina who view Belgrade real estate as a way to invest money and subsequently let the properties.
As she says, developers with a surplus of unsold apartments do not necessarily need to sell them immediately either; they can convert them into luxury rental units instead.
“Meanwhile, we ordinary citizens wander around Belgrade looking for something that could be a decent apartment for decent money. When we get an apartment that costs €200,000, we rejoice and save it for special clients because that is a rarity today. And earning €200,000 is imaginary,” says Lazarević.
She also reflected on the subsidised youth mortgage scheme, stating that even a loan of up to €100,000 does not solve the housing affordability issue on its own. “It’s not just a matter of releasing youth loans of €100,000 so you can top it up further. Even if you have a secure salary and a secure job, nothing is secure today,” said Lazarević.
As an example, she mentioned clients who had planned to buy a smaller apartment but backed out due to general uncertainty. “As everything took a turbulent turn, they stopped. They said, ‘We don’t dare take the risk.’ So it matters. The bank will collect its due, and the main, widespread clients are those buying an apartment for €150,000 or using the €100,000 youth loan. But there are no apartments,” concluded Lazarević.
(Insajder, 24.08.2026)