Rising building material prices, declining building permits, labor shortages and increasing demand have all pushed up house prices in the Macedonian capital Skopje.
The building chamber, which announced earlier this year that the price of the residential space in the municipality of Centar could possibly reach up to 2,000 euros, says the trend will not stop by the end of the year.
According to the builders, the trend towards rising apartment prices began last year when the issuing of building permits was reduced, especially in the center of Skopje. Further reduced construction activity contributed to the fact that the qualified construction personnel left the workplaces, so that the construction companies had to raise wages in order to keep the rest.
The global growth in building material prices has a major impact on this. Building material prices rose by 80 percent in one year. In the meantime, the demand for housing has grown despite the smaller construction volume, which means that this trend is continuing.
According to the Macedonian State Statistical Office, 1,194 apartments were completed last year, which is almost 60% less than in 2019, when 2,905 apartments were completed.
In contrast, the demand for housing is growing, which can be seen in the data on approved housing loans from banks. The National Bank's data show that the balance of housing loans issued in June of this year was 1.02 billion euros, 136 million euros or 15.3 percent more than in the same period in 2019.
This year construction investments are on an upward trend, so that in the last 12 months a total of 2,936 building permits for new apartments have been issued in Skopje, which would be ready for occupants in the next 24 months.
The reduced supply of apartments on the market indicates that apartment prices will continue to rise in the future.
Current prices for apartments being built in Skopje are between 950 and 2,000 euros per square meter, depending on the location in which the building is and when construction started. In Kapishtec, for example, you can find an apartment under construction for 1,100, 1,250, 1,350 but also 2,000 and 2,116 euros.
Real estate agencies are also assuming that rising price growth will continue. In their opinion, the most popular are apartments with their own parking spaces and proximity to rooms that offer outdoor activities such as parks or green spaces.
