Croatia’s property market recorded a marked slowdown last year, with the number of real estate transactions falling sharply across much of the country, according to newly released data from the Croatian Tax Administration.
Figures from the tax authority’s information system show that a total of 117,359 property sales were completed in 2025, a decline of 17,800 transactions, or 13.2 per cent, compared with 135,188 transactions recorded in 2024. The steepest annual fall was registered in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, where sales dropped by 32 per cent, from 14,574 transactions in 2024 to just 9,937 last year.
Despite the nationwide downturn, expected patterns remain visible. Zagreb continued to lead the market by volume, with 16,565 transactions in 2025, although this represented a 10.6 per cent decline compared with the previous year. Istria County, traditionally one of Croatia’s strongest coastal markets, recorded 9,804 transactions, down 16.5 per cent year on year.
Significant falls were also recorded in Split-Dalmatia County, where transactions dropped by 23.5 per cent to 8,387, and in Zagreb County, which saw 8,586 sales, a decrease of 12.6 per cent. At the other end of the scale, the fewest transactions were registered in Požega-Slavonia County (1,949), Virovitica-Podravina County (2,416), Lika-Senj County (2,490), Krapina-Zagorje County (2,517) and Dubrovnik-Neretva County, with 2,775 property sales.
Not all regions followed the national trend. Several counties recorded an increase in transactions during 2025, including Zadar County, which saw sales rise by 10.5 per cent to 8,558, Varaždin County, up 12.9 per cent to 6,926, Koprivnica-Križevci County, which increased from 4,280 to 4,686 transactions, and Karlovac County, where sales rose modestly to 3,427.
The tax authority cautioned that the figures reflect only transactions for which it conducted a tax base assessment, rather than the total volume of property sales nationwide.
Falling sales across all property types
The decline was evident across nearly all categories of real estate. Sales of agricultural land fell to 24,473 transactions, a drop of 12.6 per cent compared with 2024. Building plots saw an even sharper fall, with 21,622 transactions, down 14.4 per cent year on year.
The apartment and flat market also cooled. In 2024, there were 27,191 transactions involving apartments, but that figure fell to 23,561 in 2025 — a decline of 15.4 per cent. House sales dropped from 4,054 to 3,226 transactions over the same period.
Transactions involving multiple types of property — such as a house with land, or an apartment sold together with a garage — also declined. A total of 34,185 such sales were recorded last year, 11.3 per cent fewer than in 2024.
Foreign buyers remained active, albeit in smaller numbers. According to the tax authority, Slovenian citizens were the most frequent foreign purchasers of Croatian property in 2025, acquiring 2,569 properties, followed by buyers from Germany, who purchased 1,963.