The average price per square meter of an apartment in a new building in Montenegro in the first quarter was 1,389 euros. It is the third consecutive quarter with a decline in housing prices, according to data from the Monstat Statistics Authority.
In the third quarter of last year (July, August, September), the average price per square meter in new construction in commercial sales was at a record level and amounted to 1,446 euros, in the fourth quarter (October, November, December) it fell to 1,409 euros, and now to 1,389 euros.
These are the prices received by Monstat on the basis of concluded sales contracts and refer to sales made by registered companies. This average does not include apartments from the so-called ḫ union ḫ solidarity program.
In 2020, during the covid-19 pandemic, the price of a square meter of an apartment, according to Monstat data, fell to an average of around 1,100 euros, and in 2021 it would rise to around 1,200 euros. In the last quarter of 2021, the average price per square meter of an apartment in new construction and commercial sales was 1,209 euros, and after that it starts to grow.
At the beginning of last year, the average price per square meter of an apartment rose to 1,346 euros, and then in the second quarter to 1,425 euros.
The reasons for that increase, as announced by the construction company at the time, was the rise in the price of construction materials caused by the disruption in the market due to the war in Ukraine, the interruption of supply lines and the rise in energy prices.
The prices of construction materials started to decrease at the end of last year, but the prices of apartments did not fully follow that decrease due to the growing interest of buyers, primarily Ukrainians, Russians and Turks.
In Podgorica, the average price per square meter of an apartment in a new building in commercial sale in the first quarter of this year was 1,409 euros, which is the lowest price in the last four quarters.
On the coast, the average price per square meter is now 1,392 euros, and is slightly higher than at the end of last year, when it was 1,387 euros.
The prices of apartments in six coastal municipalities were significantly higher in the first half of 2022 – 1,445 and 1,473 euros. These statistics also show that average prices are lower on the coast than in Podgorica. In the northern region, the average price per square meter in the first quarter of this year was 1,201 euros, which is the third consecutive quarter of its decline.
In the central region, which includes Nikšić, Cetinje, Danilovgrad and Tuzi, the price per square meter of a newly built apartment in commercial sales was 680 euros, which, with less fluctuation, is similar to the previous year. This is slightly lower than at the end of last year, when the price was 691, but significantly more than in the third quarter of last year, when a square meter cost 612 euros.
In the first quarter of this year, apartments from joint construction were sold at a price of 600 euros per square meter. On the coast and in the northern region, there were no sales of these apartments, while in the central region, one square meter cost 589 euros.