Real estate rental prices in Montenegro have increased by 30 to 50 percent in recent months, and some monthly rents reach up to 2,000 euros, which, agency representatives point out, is a consequence of the arrival of a large number of Ukrainians and Russians after the war in Ukraine.
The owner of the Multitask real estate agency, Stefan MiÅ¡ković, described the current situation on the real estate market as chaotic for Podgorica’s Pobjeda.
“There is a lack of real estate on the market, and high demand, which has led to an increase in prices that have reached a level that exceeds the standard of living in Montenegro,” says MiÅ¡ković.
According to him, in comparison to last year, it is an average increase in the price of rent of 50 to 60 percent, and in certain parts of the city up to 100 percent.
He explains that several factors influenced the rent price, and he singled out the “Europe Now” program as the main ones, i.e. the increase in net wages, inflation and the huge number of foreign citizens, mostly Russians and Ukrainians, who came to Montenegro in the past period.
“The war in Ukraine was the biggest trigger and not only here. The trend of rising rental prices is observed everywhere in Europe. “Millions of displaced people from Ukraine, along with millions of Russians who left the country, and most of them are from the IT sector and work for American companies”, says MiÅ¡ković, as reported by Tanjug.
He added that 15,000 Russians obtained permanent or temporary residence in Montenegro in the past period, which, he says, best speaks of the pressure of demand for apartments that occurred and which significantly affected the market.
In Podgorica, according to him, studios are currently being rented out for 250 to 300 euros, one-room apartments for 300 to 700, two-room apartments for 450 to 1,000, and three-room apartments for 700 to 2,000 euros.
He noted that the offer of all real estate on the market is very weak, and that it is ungrateful to make predictions for the next period, because no one could have predicted the current situation on the market.
“It will depend mostly on the number of foreigners who will come to Montenegro.” Today, Podgorica is a large construction site, and in the next three years, over 200,000 square meters of residential and commercial space, which is currently under construction, should appear on the market. Most of it has already been sold and it is mostly investment real estate, so the demand will have to be exceptional in order to maintain the prices at this level”, MiÅ¡ković believes.
Goran Popović from the Dom Hom real estate agency stated that since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, interest in renting real estate in the municipalities in the south of Montenegro has grown drastically, with the fact that, as he points out, Ukrainians rent real estate, and Russians buy it.
According to him, rental prices on the coast have increased by 30 to 35 percent outside the tourist season, so one-room apartments, which were previously rented for 500 euros, are now rented for 700 to 750 euros, while the rent for one-room apartments that were rented for 300 increased to 500 euros.
Two-room apartments, he adds, are rented at prices from 800 and up, while more luxurious two-room and three-room apartments are rented for 2,000 euros, local media writes.