The average price of new flats sold by companies and other legal persons in the second half of 2009 was nine percent down from the first half of the year, according to figures released by the national Bureau of Statistics (DZS) earlier this week.
The average price of a new flat in the second half of 2009 was HRK 11,538 per square metre.
In the capital of Zagreb, the average price dropped 6.7 percent from the first half of the year, to HRK 13,898 per square metre.
The average price of a new flat in other urban areas dropped 1.5 percent to HRK 10,133 per square metre.
DZS figures show that prices of flats also declined on the year.
The average price of new build apartments in 2009 was HRK 12,174 per square metre, 9.1 percent down from the average price in 2008.
The average price of a new flat in Zagreb was HRK 14,529, 1.6 percent down from 2008.
The average price of new flats in other towns was 9.5 percent down, amounting to HRK 10,208.
DZS figures show that 2,861 new flats were sold in Croatia last year, which is a drop of 5.4 percent in relation to the year before. Of that number, 1,368 flats were sold in Zagreb.
The average asking price of real estate in March 2010 was 0.7 percent down from the previous month and 4.4 percent down from March 2009, analysts of the CentarNekretnina web site said, adding that no major drop in real estate prices was expected.
In Zagreb, asking prices for real estate in March were 0.3 percent down from February, and 4.1 percent down from March last year.
Real estate prices on the coast were 1.1 percent down from February, and 4.7 percent down from March last year.
The average asking price of flats in Zagreb in March was EUR 1,869 per square metre, almost the same as in the previous month, and 4.8 percent less than in March 2009.
Real estate prices in Zagreb and on the coast grew slightly in February following the government's announcement that it would subsidise first-time flat purchase. In March, those prices dropped again, and there has been no change since, said Domenico Devescovi, head of CentarNekretnina.
The law stimulating apartment sales, adopted in mid-February, will benefit the budget, buyers and investors, as well as banks, but it will not result in a major change on the real estate market, analysts at CentarNekretnina said.
If the government grants all the HRK 100 million set aside for first-time flat buyers, the funds will help subsidise the sale of a maximum 1,000 flats. Contractors who manage to sell their flats will not launch new projects, because the main problem - the fact that there are more than 10,000 unsold flats on the market - will remain unsolved, the analysts said.
