An expert in economics and professor at the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade, Ljubodrag Savić, reflected on the current crisis and compared the situation in Germany and Serbia, especially emphasizing that the current economic crisis has only just begun, that it will continue and that there is a danger of its escalation.
– Someone may blame me, but we behave better than some countries that are much more developed than us. We are a relatively underdeveloped country that has gone through all kinds of things in the last 30 to 40 years and we are used to suffering, saving, not having. Compared to us, one Germany lived in good order for those four decades. It was known who was doing what, the standard of people was very high, globalization gave very good results (high salaries, high standard, vacations, winter holidays, air transportation). Now all that has changed. It is not more dramatic than here, but they are used to living in an organized country where everything works, said Dr. Savić and added:
– They cannot understand what is happening to them. That there is no gas, that they have to save, that they don’t bathe every day, that there is no milk, bread, that prices jump five, ten or 15 percent every day. It kills them to know that this is not the end. This is a crisis that has begun and has not yet ‘bottomed out’. This crisis will continue. The worst thing is that there can be a wider escalation, to a war that will include a larger number of countries.
The professor also explained what is happening with the real estate market and what Serbs traditionally invest money in. He also pointed out that it is no longer “safe” to buy apartments…
“Apartments are not only bought by Serbs, but also by people from the surrounding area, and currently we also have Russians and Ukrainians. With Serbs, we traditionally have two alternatives – either to buy gold or to buy an apartment. You are not guaranteed apartments, because the price of apartments is now too high, and when if prices are brought back to normal – they will fall seriously. This will happen when the economic crisis passes, it may last another year or two. There will be less demand and fewer people will buy. In the economy, nothing can just grow, it has to starts to fall. The rich are those who understand when to buy, when to stop, and when to sell. That is the most difficult question. People bought apartments in Belgrade on the water when the square meter was 2,000 euros, and now that price is 6,000 or 7,000 euros. There is a big difference in price, and now renting is also extremely profitable”, emphasized Savić.
