The corona virus pandemic did not greatly affect the real estate market in Serbia, during March and April there was a decline in the purchase of apartments in Belgrade and Serbia due to physical restrictions, but since May, the sale of apartments has continued to grow.
This was said at the webinar “Impact of COVID-19 on the real estate sector in Serbia” and it was also stated that the demand for real estate in Serbia is stable, and that prices are at the same level as before the pandemic, which the online panel participants assessed as a good strategy given that demand exists.
The head of the real estate department at Erste Bank, Aleksandra Cupic, points out that during the “covid crisis”, several large land acquisitions for the construction of housing and logistics facilities were completed.
She also pointed out that until a few years ago, there were no acquisitions of logistics real estate in Serbia.
“These are positive signals for the real estate market. It is also good that acquisitions are happening in other countries, and that is the reason why we should be optimistic,” said Cupic.
He also points out that in the past period, banks were supported by the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) and that the most important measure for banks was lowering the reference interest rate.
The measure, she adds, has made it easier to finance real estate and adds that they are satisfied with the demand of citizens and investors for loans that they will invest in the purchase of real estate or the construction of facilities.
The representative of “Novaston Asset Management” Bojan Sesevic says that after the cancellation of the situation, there was a “strong positive return” in shopping malls and that the tenants were surprised by the speed of return of traffic.
It was noticed, he adds, that outdoor retail parks have gained consumer trust more easily than closed shopping malls, but that, in general, shopping malls record good visits after the corona.
According to him, the trend of opening retail parks and shopping centers in Belgrade has continued, and he reminds that yesterday the Serbian capital got another shopping center.
Sesevic expects that the trend of opening commercial real estate will continue in the whole of Serbia, adding that our country needs brands to open stores in smaller places, such as Becej, Backa Palanka, Vrbas, where, as he says, there is nothing at the moment.
The head of the expansion department of KD Lidl Serbia, Ana Petrovic, says that the company Lidl, despite the pandemic of the corona virus, is not giving up on expanding its stores in Serbia.
She also reminded that two Lidl stores were recently opened in Zeleznik and Pozarevac.
“The purchase of land and the construction of Lidl’s facilities remain unchanged not only in Belgrade, but also throughout Serbia. All our plans that were valid before the crown are still standing, the purchase of real estate is in our focus and the dynamics of construction are going normally,” said Petrovic.
The director of the sector for assessment and advisory services of CBRE, Danica Jelaca Vuckovic, points out that during March and April, the number of transactions of apartments at the level of Belgrade and Serbia decreased, due to physical limitations.
In May, he adds, the growth of apartment sales was noticed, at a lower level compared to last year, but he indicates that the percentage of apartment purchases is slowly returning to the old level.
In general, demand for real estate is stable and prices are at the same level as before the corona virus pandemic, she added.
“Prices were not lowered, which proved to be a good estimate, because there is demand,” said Jelaca Vuckovic, Nova reports.
