TIRANA, Oct. 28 – Real estate agents continue struggling with property sales, with two-thirds of them saying they failed to sell any property in the first half of this year in a similar situation compared to the same period last year, according to a survey by the central bank.
The situation reflects the crisis in the long-ailing construction sector after the pre-crisis boom and the slowdown of the Albanian economy in the past six crisis years which has curbed demand for new apartments and loans.
Declining remittances, tighter lending standards on home loans and lower number of construction permits have considerably affected the construction sector which used to be one of the key drivers of Albania’s average growth of 6 percent annually in the pre-crisis decade.
Real estate agents are pessimistic over a recovery in sales in the short-run, with 35 percent of them expecting prices to drop by 5 percent.
House prices have been on a downward trend in the past couple of years, reflecting the sluggish demand and presence of unsold inventory. Surveys show citizens are becoming more reluctant to buy new apartments because of falling revenues and especially a sharp decrease in migrant remittances.
