
Property sales experienced a slight increase over the past year, although the number of entities that made sales was lower compared to the previous year. According to data from the Bank of Albania survey on the real estate market, the total number of properties sold was 1,150 in the first half of 2023 from 933 in the previous period, while only 79 subjects had sold out of 90 that had been in total.
As a result, the average number of properties sold by each estate agency during the first half of 2023 was around 6.7, up from the average of 5 reported during the second half of 2022.
According to the Central Bank, as a result of lower prices, citizens have bought more properties on the outskirts of cities. Specifically, around 32% of the sales realized during the first half of last year in the entire territory are represented by properties located in the most preferred areas within the city, from 45% during the previous period. About 52% of the properties sold were built on the outskirts of the cities, up from 45% in the previous period, and 16% of the properties were built outside the city, up from 10% in the previous six months.
In most cases, the purchase price of the property for the completed sales was the same as the seller's asking price. The average time of selling apartments in the country for the first half of last year is reported to be an average of 10.6 months. In the case of Tirana, no major changes appear, while coastal cities such as Durrës, Vlora, Saranda and others have reported higher sales duration than the previous period. In the second half of 2023, the sales time for the Tirana area has been shortened by 2 months, while that for the coastal areas and other areas is high.
The offer for real estate has moved in parallel with the number of building permits. Considering the rapid pace of new construction in recent years, the supply of real estate has continued to grow similar to that of previous periods. In these two years, it is expected that the real estate market will have a positive performance, both in terms of prices and the number of properties sold.