Real estate prices have surged because housing supply has failed to keep pace with rising demand, with planning, regulatory, financing and construction constraints driving affordability challenges.
Velimir Sonje 
Rapidly rising real estate prices to the east and south of the Trieste-Szczecin line made existing dwelling owners happy – but potential buyers, especially younger people, less so.
According to Eurostat, in the first quarter of 2026, property prices in Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Croatia recorded price growth of 14 per cent over the first quarter of 2025. In a longer perspective of 3 and 10 years, the fortunes of individual countries have changed.
Generally, the total appreciation of housing real estate has been rapid, with Hungary in 10 years heading the list, followed by Bulgaria, Czechia, and Croatia.
However, Eurostat does not provide comparable data for countries southeast of Croatia, but Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, and others have followed similar paths. According to the Agency for Statistics of Bosnia, housing real estate prices increased by 20.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the first quarter of 2025. Nussubpekova recently reported a double-digit growth rate for Serbia.
