Croatia is currently hot property - especially along the coastline where everyone would like an apartment close to the beach or a property for tourism purposes to earn some extra income. Prices are rising and properties are being snatched up quickly - but is there a certain time of the year to look at buying property?

The answer is yes, the best time to look at buying property along the Dalmatia coast is specifically just after the summer season. Tourism has started to slow down therefore property owners who invested in tourism rentals have a better understanding of their earnings and whether their property was profitable enough to valid keeping the property for tourism in the next year or selling the property for a profit.

Another reason for owners to sell their property is the level of management and time they have provided over the summer and if that’s something they want to do for another year. Owners aren't always happy with the time they need to allocate to respond to tourism bookings (like Airbnb, booking.com etc), organising cleaning and check in.

Due to successful tourism in Split and Croatia last year, this promoted more properties to be converted into short term rentals with over an additional 1,000 short term rentals being added to the market in 2023 in Split. The increase in available tourism rentals has created in increase in unoccupied tourism properties which will either lead to owners seeking long term tenants or selling up! This increase in unoccupied properties has also been fuelled by the increase of prices throughout all tourism sectors in Croatia e.g., cost to dine out, for tours, general groceries etc. I personally believe the cost-of-living crisis we are currently experiencing is another reason properties are unoccupied in Split, as tourists are holding onto their pennies and looking at accommodation outside the city centre as to save money.

Further to the above, another key reason the properties have been unoccupied is due to mispricing of properties by owners - so don't let this deter you if you are considering in investing in Split! If you are considering buying in Split and don't know where to start, feel free to contact Croatia Property Advisor as we will be happy to help!