Despite the high prices, the demand for apartments remains high. Unlike in Europe, where prices are falling, this situation does not spill over into our real estate market. The situation is quite clear, as the price of real estate is dictated by the relationship between supply and demand.

This is stated by Spaho Ljajić, a real estate expert, emphasizing that there is still significantly higher demand than supply here.

-If we focus on Sarajevo, there is significantly less supply compared to demand, which is understandable, given that Sarajevo is the capital of the country, and where, with all its attributes, especially the tourist ones, there is a pronounced demand for buying apartments rented out to tourists, such as "apartments for a day". This is, understandably, good business, as a two-bedroom apartment is rented out for a price of 100 or 150 euros per night. When multiplied by, let's say, 20 days of rental, these are high amounts. After all the expenses the owner pays, they can pocket up to 4,000 KM per month - he explains.

According to all previous analyses, it is difficult to expect a price drop anytime soon.

-The fact is that something is happening in Europe regarding this issue because there is reduced construction, given that the construction industry is currently in crisis after a kind of construction invasion. The West mostly relies on bank financing, which is not the case here. Here, there is still ready money in banks, or "cash", we have a diaspora that saves and buys apartments in Bosnia and Herzegovina at very favorable prices - says Ljajić.

One of the main reasons, he adds, why prices are not falling is insufficient construction.

-There is no construction site in Stari Grad, in the Center, there is one with mostly exclusive apartments that were sold during the construction phase at a price between 6,000 and 7,000 KM per square meter. A flat was almost sold for 1.1 million KM, with an area of ​​120 square meters - Ljajić states.

Commenting on the excessively expensive square meters of used or apartments in old buildings, Ljajić says that their price is also dictated by higher demand. Furthermore, he says, there is noticeable declining quality of apartments in new construction, which are, for example, built in locations without appropriate accompanying infrastructure.

Edin Batlak, owner of a real estate agency in Mostar, notes that there is a higher demand than supply even in that city. He emphasizes that the real estate market is not cooling down. In new construction in Mostar, where construction is underway at several locations, apartments reach a price of up to 4,000 KM per square meter. However, as he adds, this price is also offered for individual apartments in old buildings.

-These are renovated apartments, the owners have such expectations, and, otherwise, in old buildings, there is a wide range of prices, from 1,800 to 2,800 KM per square meter - says Batlak.

*Translated by artificial intelligence.