Foreign Property Investment Totalled €370m Between January to October Last Year

According to the Central Bank of Montenegro foreign citizens were responsible for a total of €370m worth of Real Estate transactions between January to October last year, with US citizens investing a total of 32m and the British with a total of 12m.

In fact over the last five years the total amount of investment has been €1.2bn and it shows little sign of slowing down either as demand for property in Montenegro continues to excel year on year. Having long been of interest to tourists, many are now returning to seek a holiday home or re-locate on a permanent basis and towns such as Kotor and Budva are seeing increased growth with steady price rises as sellers capitalize on a buoyant marketplace. Over recent years, luxury developments such as Lustica Bay and Porto Montenegro have also attracted a plethora of foreign buyers, and with Montenegro’s government confirming that further investment is planned, especially in the North of the country, the next few years will be of significant importance to Montenegro’s Real Estate growth on the world stage.

Even though real estate price rises were inevitable, Montenegro continues to be attractive, and that’s due to its highly favourable tax rates along with a lower cost of living when compared to many other European states. There are also no restrictions on foreigners buying a property in the country, and the purchase tax is only 3% if you buy fr om an owner, it’s 0% if you buy a new build direct from the developer. British passport holders can stay up to 90 days visa free, and Montenegro has also got one of the best digital nomad visa schemes, which lasts for 2 years.

Recent big political change has also meant a renewed campaign for EU ascendancy with the new President Jakov Milatović, urging the honour to honour its campaign for growth. The last country to join the EU was Croatia in 2013, and now it’s Montenegro’s turn having begun their membership process back in 2008. In terms of membership, Montenegro does have a number of factors going for it including having been a NATO member since 2017, using the EUR as its currency and its per capita prosperity which is now 55% of the EU average. Due to visit King Charles & James Cleverly this week, Milatović commented to the Guardian newspaper that ‘Enlargement within the EU was needed to recapture its political spirit and not be reduced to a technical exercise’.

Its fully expected that Montenegro will join the EU within the next few years, bringing with it further growth opportunities and investment into its Real Estate market, wh ere some experts predict that prices could double or more within the next five to ten years.

25.10.2023