Which is the better investment, Tirana or Sarandë?

It depends on what you are buying it for, which is why the verdict section above splits by audience rather than naming one winner. A place that suits a short-let investor often suits a year-round resident badly.

Tirana vs Sarandë

Tirana or Sarandë: which to choose in 2026

A capital that pays rent every month against the town with Albania’s strongest holiday lets, which pays most of it in August.

Listings in Tirana

Updated: Oct 19, 2026

Tirana against Sarandë, by the numbers

€1,863/m²

Tirana

2026-H1

€2,250/m²

Sarandë

2026-H1

+21% vs Tirana

Updated: Jan 1, 2026

Asking prices per m², zone by zone

Asking prices per m², zone by zone · 2026-H1
Zone	State reference, lek/m²	Confidence
Sarande	—	High
Tirana	124,300	High

SarandeHigh

State reference, lek/m²: —

TiranaHigh

State reference, lek/m²: 124,300

2026-H1 · Methodology

High confidence

Monitor.al — coastal apartment prices, agency survey — Monitor.al
Çmimet e Referencës — state reference price schedule — Homezone, citing Udhëzim nr. 34, 29.12.2023
Keydata via Monitor.al — Tirana transaction prices Q2 2025 — Keydata

Beyond the price

The things a price table cannot tell you: how long the season runs, who else is buying, and what can go wrong.

	Tirana	Sarandë
Rental year	Twelve months, with students and office workers as tenants	About 90% occupancy in August and about 35% in December for a flat let all season
Who pays the rent	Residents of the capital	Almost entirely foreign guests, led by France and Germany, staying about six nights
Standing risk	Prices went flat in H2 2025, so the gains of the boom years are behind	Holiday-let supply grew 62% in 2025 and revenue per listing fell 12% in the year to July 2026
Winter	The country’s capital, busiest in winter	About 35,000-40,000 people in winter, and most holiday flats stand empty

Rental year

Tirana: Twelve months, with students and office workers as tenants
Sarandë: About 90% occupancy in August and about 35% in December for a flat let all season

Who pays the rent

Tirana: Residents of the capital
Sarandë: Almost entirely foreign guests, led by France and Germany, staying about six nights

Standing risk

Tirana: Prices went flat in H2 2025, so the gains of the boom years are behind
Sarandë: Holiday-let supply grew 62% in 2025 and revenue per listing fell 12% in the year to July 2026

Winter

Tirana: The country’s capital, busiest in winter
Sarandë: About 35,000-40,000 people in winter, and most holiday flats stand empty

The verdict, by who you are

Long-term rental investor: Tirana. A one-bedroom flat in Sarandë lets for only €380-450 a month on an annual contract.

Short-let investor: Sarandë, if you can carry a quiet winter and a crowded market: supply grew 62% in 2025.

Buying somewhere to live: Tirana for work and hospitals; Sarandë for the Ionian, in the only southern town that stays open in winter.

Tirana and Sarandë, side by side

Each photograph links through to that place’s own page, with its prices and sources.

Tirana
Sarandë
Tirana
Sarandë

Common questions

The table above carries the current asking bands for both, with their sources and the period they cover. Prices move, so the figures are dated rather than presented as permanent.