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Which is cheaper for a flat by the sea, Albania, Montenegro or Croatia? Albania, by a clear margin: about €1,720 per m² on average in 2025, against €2,557 for new flats in Montenegro in the second quarter of 2026 and €3,012 in Croatia in the first half of 2026. Albania also charges the lowest annual property tax of the three. What Croatia offers for the higher price is the euro, EU membership and a sale that is tax-free after two years. Below, the three countries side by side, with the source for every figure.
| Albania | Montenegro | Croatia | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average price per m² | €1,720 (2025, all dwellings) | €2,557 (new flats, Q2 2026) | €3,012 (new flats, H1 2026) |
| On the coast | Durrës about €1,650, Vlorë about €2,700 (2025) | €2,838 (coastal region, new flats) | no coastal figure published |
| Change in a year | +6.2% (2025) | - | +12.7% (Q2 2026) |
The figures come from three sources and are not perfectly comparable: Deloitte's Albanian figure covers all dwellings, Monstat and the Croatian statistics office count new flats sold by companies. For orientation, the same Deloitte report puts Germany at €5,200 per m². Inside Albania the street matters more than the town: the first line of a promenade can cost three times the street behind it. Our overview of prices by coastal town has the details.
| Albania | Montenegro | Croatia | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tax on buying a resale flat | none on a flat; the seller pays 15% on the gain (the 2% local tax applies to land only) | 3% up to €150,000, 5% up to €500,000, 6% above (since 2024) | 3%, paid by the buyer |
| New build | no VAT on apartment sales | 21% VAT on the first sale | 25% VAT instead of the 3% |
| Annual property tax | 0.05% of fiscal value | 0.25-1% of market value | €0.60-8.00 per m² of floor area |
| Tax on rent | 15% | 15% after costs (30% flat rate, 50-70% for tourist lets) | 12% after a 30% flat deduction |
| Tax on a sale | 15% of the gain | 15% of the gain; only the owner's main home is exempt | 24% of the gain; none after two years |
A worked example for the annual tax: a 60 m² flat in Blloku, Tirana's dearest zone, pays about €74 a year in Albania. In Croatia the same 60 m² pays between €36 and €480, depending on the municipality; 84 Croatian municipalities set €5-8 per m² for 2026.
Germany has a double tax treaty with Albania (2010). Rent from an Albanian flat is taxed in Albania and exempt in Germany, but it raises the rate on your other income. Under § 32b of the Income Tax Act, rent from property in an EU country is left out of that rate calculation; Albania and Montenegro are outside the EU, Croatia is in it. Our guide to taxes for German owners in Albania explains the Albanian side article by article.
Head-to-head comparisons with prices for individual towns are on our pages Albania or Croatia and Albania or Montenegro. Flats for sale on the Albanian coast are in the catalogue.
Yes. In 2025 the average Albanian dwelling cost about €1,720 per m², according to Deloitte. New flats cost €2,557 per m² in Montenegro in the second quarter of 2026 and €3,012 in Croatia in the first half of 2026, according to their statistics offices. The three sources measure slightly different things.
Yes. In Croatia EU citizens buy on the same terms as Croatians. In Montenegro foreigners may buy apartments and houses but, according to law-firm guides, not agricultural or forest land, land near the land border or on islands. In Albania only farmland is closed.
On a resale flat the buyer pays no transfer tax in Albania; the seller pays 15% on the gain, and the 2% local tax applies to land only (Law 9632/2006, Art. 28). Croatia charges the buyer 3%; Montenegro charges 3% up to €150,000 and more above. On a new build Albania charges no VAT, while Montenegro charges 21% and Croatia 25%.
Croatia, if you keep the flat for two years: the gain is then tax-free, otherwise it is taxed at 24%. Albania and Montenegro tax the gain at 15%; Montenegro exempts only the owner's main home, Albania has no holding-period exemption.
Croatia joined the euro area in 2023. Montenegro uses the euro without an agreement with the EU. Albania has its own currency, the lek, although prices for property are usually quoted in euros.
