PURCHASING PROPERTY IN SERBIA

In this article, our colleague Serhat İlhanlı will cover all you need to know about purchasing property as a foreigner in Serbia.

     The residential market in Serbia is growing day by day. New construction activity trying to answer the increasing demand. 100,000 additional square meters of new apartments needed since the demand is that much higher. In recent years, there have been numerous building construction projects aimed to answer the demand.

     Capital city Belgrade and Novi Sad, which has importance for the IT industry, are cities with the highest demand for real estate purchases. The average price of a completely new apartment is 2,080 EUR per square meter in Belgrade and 1,170 EUR per square meter in Novi Sad.

     Also, in comparison with the other European cities, the cost of real estate is quite attractive in Serbia. Prices for upper-mid quality projects are within the range of EUR 1,700-2,200 per square meter, the prices of older apartments are between EUR 1,000 – 1,300 per square meter. Higher quality apartment prices are between EUR 2,350-2,800 per square meter.

      In Serbia, foreigners can purchase the property by fulfilling the required conditions. The reciprocity principle is the general rule that governs property and property rights acquisition in Serbia according to the Foundations of Property Law Relations of 1996. Urban lands are owned by the state in Serbia but can be leased for 5-30 years. In the interest of constructing buildings for commercial purposes, investors can get property rights or rights to use land outside of land ownership.

     Foreigners have the right to purchase real estate in Serbia depending on the country. The rights of legal and natural persons operating in the Republic of Serbia and the rights of inactive individuals are different. Foreign individuals and legal entities can easily purchase the property if the property is necessary for their business. Also, foreigners can purchase houses and apartments even if they are not performing business operations. Foreign ownership of property is restricted near military land and on city construction plots.

     Before the procedural process begins foreigners must check eligibility to purchase property according to their citizenship. Both parties sign a purchase agreement and have it notarized. Once the buyer decided to buy property, give an offer, and perform due diligence in order to check whether there is an encumbrance, mortgage, annotations on the property. After the buyer pays the purchase price the final contract is signed in the presence of a public notary and the certified contract establishes the legal ownership of the property.

     To sum up, Serbia is one of the most appealing countries that offer low buying costs. Foreigners purchase property by fulfilling the required conditions. After checking eligibility to acquire property according to their citizenship foreigners can start the procedural process.

As Gurcan Partners International Law Firm, we provide services with our office in five EU and five non-EU countries. Please find our articles below.

• Company Registration in Serbia
• Acquiring Serbian Citizenship by Descend
• Starting a Business in Hungary
• Real Estate Investment in Hungary
• Company Registration in Germany
• Company Registration in the Czech Republic
• Cryptocurrency Regulations in Hungary

References:

https://www.globalpropertyguide.com/Europe/Serbia/Buying-Guide

http://www.danos.rs/pdf/real-estate-market-H1-2019.pdf

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