Since joining the EU, Croatia has been attracting increasing attention from international clients looking for investment opportunities in one of the most emerging regions in the Mediterranean.
Croatia is widely known for its natural beauties, rich cultural and historical heritage, and mild Mediterranean climate, allowing you to enjoy outdoor activities almost all year round.
The most attractive destinations in Croatia offer a wide array of prestigious modern properties in unique locations by the sea and traditional rustic style villas that represent a perfect fusion of authentic stone exterior and attractive interior that combines modern amenities with autochthonous details that won’t leave you indifferent.
Record numbers of visitors and tourist overnights and a stable economic environment of our country are just some of the reasons that provide investors with security and optimism in planning new investments.
Josip Krnić Photography
Who can buy real estate in Croatia?
- EU citizens
Natural and legal persons from EU member states are entitled to ownership rights of real estate in the Republic of Croatia under the same conditions as Croatian citizens.
- Non-EU citizens
Foreign nationals from outside the EU can buy real estate according to the reciprocity principle. When buying a real estate it is necessary to seek approval from the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Croatia. Foreign nationals without mutual consent/reciprocity can buy real estate on behalf of a company. The company needs to be founded with a registered seat in the Republic of Croatia. In that case, the real estate is purchased by a Croatian company in foreign ownership.
Villa Sealine
Purchase Costs
If you decided to buy luxury real estate in Croatia or indulge in an investment and development project you should know there are some additional costs.
The most of property purchasing expenses are paid by the buyer:
- Notary and registration fees: 50 – 150 €
- Official translator’s costs approx.: 200 – 300 € including Contract translation
- Agency fee: normally 3% of contract value + VAT
- Advocate’s fee: 0,5 – 1,25% of contract value + VAT
- Property transfer tax: 3% of tax office property estimate
If you want to purchase luxury real estate in Croatia or any other property from a legal entity, please pay attention to whether VAT is already included in the price. The standard VAT rate in Croatia is 25%. We also recommend that you hire an established real estate agency with extensive experience in the real estate market and local expertise, as well as internal legal support.
Josip Krnić Photography
Personal Identification Number – OIB
Before the conclusion of the legal matter it is necessary to obtain a personal identification number issued by the Tax Administration:
- Natural persons have to submit passport copy certified by a public notary, home address, and basic information on both parents.
- Legal persons have to submit the extract from the court register translated into the Croatian language, not older than 30 days.
Without the personal identification number, it is not possible to sign any contract or to establish a company.
Real Estate Taxation
- Real Property transfer tax is calculated and paid on acquisition of property in the Republic of Croatia when no VAT is to be paid on such acquisition. The real property transfer tax base is the market value of the real estate at the moment of acquisition. and is calculated at the rate of 3%. Real property transfer tax taxpayer is the acquirer of the real estate – the buyer.
- Value-added tax (VAT) is calculated and paid by the taxpayers who are registered in the VAT payers registry when they deliver, give or in any other way transfer a construction land and a building or parts of the buildings (as well as the land on which they are built) if those buildings and their parts have been inhabited or used for less than 2 years. The VAT for delivering real estate is to be paid at a rate of 25%.
- Income tax on assets based on property alienation is calculated and paid:
a) if the natural person is alienating the real estate within 2 years from the day of its purchase, under the condition that he/she hasn’t used it for residential purposes.
b) if the natural person sells, exchanges, or does any other taxable ownership transfer on more than 3 properties that are the same type in the period of 5 years since the day of their purchase.
We hope that this blog hides the answers to some of the questions you should have resolved before deciding on buying or selling real estate in Croatia.
For all additional information and advice, our team of experienced real estate agents and legal experts will be happy to provide support with the highest degree of discretion and professionalism.
The luxury real estate market is experiencing a real boom in Croatia as one of the emerging sectors during the ongoing global pandemics. Even after we win the fight against Covid, the real estate market will probably not look the same. For over a year now, circumstances have been unfavorable for mass tourism. Consequently, the demand for carefully selected dream villas has increased and set new travel trends and investment opportunities.
Josip Krnić Photography
High-end photos of villas and surroundings – a necessity or a luxury?
Looking at the current situation from a photographic and marketing point of view, nowadays, more than ever before, the overall quality presentation of luxury real estate on websites and social media comes to the fore. When people generally travel far less, more and more buyers and travelers want to find out everything they need to know about the property in one place – whether they are looking to purchase or rent. Therefore, investing in high-end premium photography today is becoming a necessity, not a luxury, as many property owners are prone to think.
Photographs of the real estate are often the first and fundamental way for the client to get acquainted with your offer. Research has shown that clients spend more than 60% of their time reviewing photos of the property they consider interesting and only subsequently studying the accompanying content.
Josip Krnić Photography
Furthermore, the fact that objects must be accompanied by equally high-quality landscape photographs of cities, sights, and natural beauties of the region where the property is located is often understated. When purchasing photographic licenses for the use of landscape photographs, it is important to request that potential copyright elements be removed from the photograph.
Josip Krnić Photography
Aerial, i.e., drone photography, is a great way to show your object and landscape from a different and unusual perspective. In this comprehensive way, you can be sure that your property will be presented to the clients in a modern way which represents a standard in the world of luxury real estate.
Josip Krnić Photography
Professional real estate photos – advantages and current trends
One cannot stress enough the importance of original and exclusive photographs whereby the techniques of photo post-processing and basic marketing knowledge come to the fore and easily set you apart from the competition.
Some of the important benefits of high-end photography, to name just a few, include the following: leaving an impression of professionalism and savoir-faire on prospective clients and depicting the property in a luxurious light, luxury real-estate agencies can market your property more successfully and reach out to clients more efficiently, you are favored by algorithms of social networks and web browsers, boosting your visibility and allowing you to sell the property significantly faster and within higher price range.
Josip Krnić Photography
Photographing real estate only in classic photographic landscape formats is a thing of the past, and it should be adapted to the requirements of modern platforms like Instagram that favor the vertical format of photography.
You cannot afford yourself the luxury of having subpar quality photos of your luxury real estate, least of all in today’s world, which is changing at an incredible pace towards increasing digitalization.
Josip Krnić Photography
@dreamer4787
The sun, the sea, beautiful weather, and Mediterranean lifestyle, combined with great properties in great locations, are the recipe for a successful business year when it comes to Croatia’s luxury real estate market. The numbers have gone up and are expected to continue growing throughout the following year.
Retrospective of the luxury real estate market in 2018
2018 has generally been kind to Croatia’s luxury real estate market since demands for this sort of property were up by 25 percent compared to 2017. At the same time, the prices of luxury real estate in Croatia rose by 10-15 percent. The average price for a villa ranges between 5000 to 6000 euros for a square meter.
Clients opting for these properties are mostly foreigners, coming primarily from Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, England, and Scandinavian countries. Also, some inquiries came from Russia and China. The average age of property buyers varies between 45 and 60. Russians and Chinese want the property they buy to match the highest standards, while Europeans are more open to redecorating and reconstructing the property themselves.
Clients have their preferences regarding location, choosing mostly properties at the coastline between Primosten and Trogir (especially in Split) and around the town of Dubrovnik. Besides their beauty, these areas owe their popularity to the proximity of airports, motorways, and marinas. When it comes to the islands, the most popular ones in 2018 were Brac and Hvar.
Despite great results, the market has its issues. The most prominent ones are the somewhat closed banks towards supporting investors and the lack of offer suited for clients aiming at luxury properties.
Predictions for the luxury real estate market in 2019
Still, positive market trends are expected to continue in 2019, with expected price growth of up to 10 percent, followed by even greater demand for luxury real estate in Croatia. The start of construction of several tourist resorts with 5-star hotels is expected in 2019, along with some world-class hotel brands to the Croatian market, such as 4seasons and Marriott.
An invitation with the text “Everything Happened on the Square – Galerija Mala” in 1989 marked the beginning of a small yet important gallery in the heart of Zagreb.
At the very beginning, the gallery’s management stated that they would only present the most current production and contemporary art. Galerija Mala was one of the first private galleries in Croatia.
Located between Mala kavana and Ban cafe, Galerija Mala represents the cultural point of the northern side of the main Zagreb square. It acts as a sales gallery of works of Croatian authors and thus promotes Croatian art.
Photo credit: Galerija Mala
History of Galerija Mala
Opened just before the holidays, the gallery started working with the exhibition of Miroslav Šutej, a prominent and popular academic artist whose career was then at its peak. After the holidays, the gallery hosted presentations of the book “Zagreb before the beginning,” the Golden Bule facsimile, the new Zagreb postcards … Thanks to the attractive location, right next to Harmonica, the rich and always up-to-date program, Galerija Mala became an unavoidable place of cultural encounters. Social events are scheduled throughout the year, under the continuous and independent guidance of Mirna Hromatko Reiser.
The gallery space was formerly used by the publishing organization Mladost. For the needs of the gallery, space was rebuilt by the Architectural Design Institute of Zagreb. In just over 40 square meters, this gallery is home to many artwork and activities. For example, sales and promotion of paintings and graphics, fine plastic, art jewelry, bibliographic and art-related publications, graphic maps, and graphic sheets.
Simple and effective interior
The interior of the gallery is fascinating. The ground floor is dominated by a rock placed opposite the passage, so it’s intended to display paintings and graphics. The second rock is located opposite the entrance and decorated for shelves and showcases. It is suitable for exhibiting other works. The gallery’s central space has remained free so that visitors can see exposed works of art. Since 1989, space has kept all its essential features. It is always painted in neutral white, suitable for displaying all the artwork.
Photo credit: Galerija Mala
Gallery’s activities
Among many artists whose works were exhibited in Galerija Mala, it is hard to point up anyone in particular. Still, we will mention Nikola Reiser, Marijan Muljevic, Milan Steiner, Luj Logic, Stip Nobil, Vasko Lipovac, and Dimitar Popovic. Particularly noteworthy was the „Kravate“ exhibition, an authoring project by Andrew Seifried, also presented in Zadar and Dubrovnik.
The gallery also receives numerous inquiries from artists living and working in Europe, especially from Vienna, Ljubljana, Budapest, and Venice. One of the Gallery’s goals is to enhance and expand the cooperation with artists and raise the cultural and artistic level, not only of the Gallery but of Zagreb as one of the most interesting tourist European cities.
The Gallery can also boast of participating in numerous hotel and business interiors furnishing with artwork and graphics. Artworks can breathe a whole new life into our everyday living space and refresh it. The leadership of Galerija Mala recognized this a long time ago.