
The high prices of apartments and the low income of Albanians continue to rank Tirana among the most expensive cities in Europe for the affordability of buying a property.
It takes 17.5 years to buy an apartment in Tirana, while in the most expensive city in Europe, Paris, a family needs 20.2 years to become a property owner.
In Numbeo's ranking of 332 countries in the world for the affordability index of buying an apartment for 2023 (calculated as the ratio of average apartment prices to average disposable family income, expressed as years of income), Tirana is ranked among European countries for the most expensive apartments.
The property affordability index for Tirana has been high even in the index of 2021, respectively with 16.2 years and in 2022 with 15.7 years.
For 2023, the most expensive city in Europe is Paris with 20.2 years, followed by Lisbon with 19.6 years, Dubrovnik and Prague with 19.3 years and Milan with 19 years. After Milan for the most expensive apartments in Europe is Tirana.
In the world ranking of Numbeo, Tirana is positioned in the 51st place, before Munich, where a family needs 16.1 years to become an owner in this city, in Vienna 11.5 years, in New York, 10.2 years, in Brussels, 6.7 years or in Miami, 5.8 years.
Among the most expensive cities in the region is Belgrade, Serbia, where it takes 19.6 years to become a home owner. In the region, the city where families need fewer years of income to buy an apartment is Sarajevo, with 11.8 years. In Skopje this indicator and in Athens is 15.3, while in Podgorica 12 years.
The most expensive city in the world to buy an apartment is Shanghai in China where it takes 46.6 years to buy an apartment. Then the second most expensive city in the world is Beijing of China with 45.8 years and Hong Kong with 44.9 years.
Apartment prices will not decrease in Albania for 2023
Builders warn that there will be no drop in apartment prices in Albania. Currently, according to an observation by "Monitor", the prices of apartments in many areas of the capital have not changed compared to the autumn of last year.
The new constructions at the beginning of the "Paris Commune" area are being sold this year as well from the start of the investment at prices of 2,100 to 2,200 euros per square meter.
Builder Hajredin Frateri claims for "Monitor" that the minimum prices of apartments in areas far from the center or the suburbs are not expected to fall below 750 euros per square meter, while the maximum price will continue to be up to 950 euros per square meter.
"Many young families are looking to buy houses between their loans from banks, despite the fact that loan interest rates have increased. It is necessary that second level banks credit economic properties 100%".
Fratari predicts a drop in prices in luxury properties, mainly towers due to their high price.
The new buildings, especially in Tirana, are luxurious and target buyers with very high incomes. This income, which is used for the purchase of properties, is often not justified by official sources.
The construction sector was one of the main typologies for money laundering by Organized Crime Organizations for 2020 according to the report of the Directorate for the Prevention of Money Laundering.
Real estate market actors said that if the government approves the fiscal amnesty, apartment prices will increase, as informal money flows for their purchase will increase. In contrast, market experts predict a drop in prices, especially for luxury properties. / D. Azo