Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the price of renting out apartments has risen by 60% in Podgorica, and twice as much on the coast, so that now the rent for a one-room apartment in Kotor and Tivat is up to 1,500, while the average in Podgorica is 450 EUR. There are almost no smaller apartments in offer.
Economic analyst, Darko Đikanović, said the boom in the real estate market in 2022 had a huge impact on renting out apartments, where rents increased by 50 to 60% compared to the year before last.
In Podgorica, the current average rent for one-room apartments is EUR 450, while in 2021 it was EUR 300 – points out Đikanović and explains that this is a consequence of the arrival of a large number of foreigners in Montenegro, especially Ukrainians and Russians, which shows that this market segment is under by the great influence of global factors.Unfortunately, because of this, landlords often cancel the lease of long-term subtenants, who once again find it difficult to find a new apartment at a decent price – says Đikanović.
The owner of Multitask real estate, Stefan Mišković, confirmed the analysis, but also stated that “the situation is calming down” in recent months. It seems that the market is entering a calmer phase and that prices in certain parts of the city have gone down, so by the end of the year we expect a drop in rent prices. Apartments are most sought after in the City Quarter, Central Point, Master Quarter, although there is a great demand for all parts of the city.
You cannot find a one-bedroom apartment or a studio apartment under 300 euros, and the lowest rent is 250 euros in an old building – claims Mišković. He also stated that the demand of Russians and Ukrainians is beginning to wane.
Studio apartments and one-bedroom apartments are most in demand, although two-room apartments are also in demand recently. The minimum lease period is one year. As for the coast, there is demand, but the supply is not a large supply, and the prices are very high. In Kotor and Tivat, one-bedroom apartments are for rent from EUR 800 to EUR 1,500, and studio apartments for EUR 700 – Mišković said.
In AS Nekretnine, they said that they are less engaged in renting out, and the rent of the apartments offered has jumped by 50%.
The rents are too high for our standard, and there are only sporadic requests from Ukrainians and Russians – they said from this agency. The owner of Kamin real estate, Dušan Ranković, confirmed that Russians, Ukrainians and Turks raised prices.
Tenants who were paying 350 euros rent are now being fired in order to rent to Russians, Ukrainians, Turks for 700 euros. Not all Ukrainians have settled down yet, and the new ones come and rent mostly for a few months, because I guess they hope for the end of the war soon. Recently, a lot of Turks are opening companies and they are also looking for apartments. Illogical things are currently happening on the real estate market – Ranković believes.
At the moment, prices have stabilized and, in my estimation, they will not rise any more – Ranković says in amazement.
He states that a lot of illegal real estate developers and sellers have appeared who are waiting for buyers at three in the morning and strike big deals without paying taxes. Many people are working wildly at the moment. Everything has become more expensive. For me, this is completely illogical and I don’t think it can last long – concludes Ranković.
