The price for buying an apartment in Tirana according to the latest data of the Bank of Albania is more expensive than in Athens, while from the countries in the region, only Belgrade has the highest price.
Besard Rusi, a real estate expert, says to Euronews Albania that the high price comes for several reasons, listing as the main factor the price increase of construction materials, taxes, and the quality with which the works for new constructions are carried out.
"Building materials have grown terribly. The trend is growing, we see that every new construction comes out at a very high price compared to other properties in the area. The cost of construction, taxes have increased, the quality of construction has increased and most people who want to buy apartments want high quality," he said.
Another opinion is shared by the economist Gerti Dajçi, for whom the price for buying an apartment in Tirana is not based on the economic reality of the country. According to him, this situation is related to the dirty money that enters our country.
"1900 euros per square meter is relatively very high and is an increase not based on reality. A lot of money has often come in that is unjustified and this is to the 12% who think of investing in real estate. To be ranked higher than Athens in prices seems ridiculous and completely an informality and is related to the dirty money that is thrown in the real estate market", said Mr. Dajçi.
According to the economist in this regard, banks are not playing an important role in controlling the source of money entering the country. But Gerti Dajçi also says that many of the apartment purchases are bought with cash, avoiding banking transactions.
Although 88% of Albanians according to a survey by the Bank of Albania that they can not buy an apartment, real estate expert Besard Rusi, says that many young families find it difficult to meet this need but they are helped by their parents.
According to him, what often happens is that the parents pay the children the first payment for the purchase of an apartment and then the young couple makes the next payment through a bank loan.
"A young family in Tirana finds it very difficult to buy a property, but in Albania, parents help their children by paying the guarantee", said Mr. Rusi.