Last year, foreign nationals bought more than 12,000 properties in Croatia. This is almost 10 per cent less than in the previous year, although foreign citizens have been able to buy property without restrictions since then. Real estate agents believe that sales have declined due to high prices.

Marta Stone, an Italian investor who builds luxury villas with swimming pools in Istria, told the Croatian public broadcaster HRT: “This is where we can best express ourselves when it comes to hospitality. Our employees, partners and guests feel at home here. The quality of life in Croatia is at a high level and there is still a lot of room for improvement. We are very happy to be part of the changes that such investments bring.”

The villas built by her company have all already been sold and are being rented out.

Most foreigners who bought Croatian properties last year were Slovenians, followed by Germans, Austrians, Czechs and Slovaks.

Denis Modrusan, a real estate agent from Pula, noted that foreigners are the most frequent buyers of flats.

“Prices have stabilised at the moment. They are no longer rising. However, the prices of old and second-hand properties definitely need to be corrected. There is a lack of new and high-quality new buildings, so we no longer expect prices to rise. We will see what happens in the future,” he said.

In addition to the high prices, there are also fewer properties on the market

Fewer properties were sold to both foreign and domestic buyers last year than in the previous year. There was also a slight decline in sales in the Adriatic city of Split.

“There are fewer properties on the market. Another reason is the higher prices. In my opinion, there are two reasons why the figures are lower,” said Marin Bliskov, a real estate agent from Split.

Last year, the number of properties bought by Ukrainians increased the most. Overall, most properties were sold in the four largest Croatian cities.