Hi there,
I'm a property developer based in Tivat since 2008. Over the last 8 years in parallel to the construction of apartments we have developed a "long term rentals activity" to fill a gap in the market where agencies focus mostly on summer rentals despite a growing number of expats moving to Montenegro to live year round. So we've got a good knowledge of this topic.
*The most desired places to live?
Well my recommendation to new comers who plan to live in the "Boka Bay" area is always to live on the sunny side. The area of the Bay of Kotor is very mountainous and whether you live in Tivat or in Stoliv, just a few km away, will be a dramatically different experience. Areas like Tivat, Kavac, Herceg Novi, the Adriatic side of Lustica, have plenty of sunlight, facing south/west and with lower relief in front. Areas such as Kotor, Prcanj, Stoliv, get a lot less Sun because of high mountains around (which can make you feel a bit claustrophobic) and also get very high levels of humidity.
*What are the most affordable ones?
As soon as you move away a few km from the "main town" you can find cheaper accommodation. Grbaljska Lastva which Gary mentions is a good example. Usually thats the case of areas without sea views too. In Tivat, areas like Dumidran, Gradiosnica, Vrijes are much cheaper.
*What is the average cost of a rented flat?
In Tivat, the price of long term lets varies mostly between 6€/m2 (basic quality) and 12€/m2 (higher quality) per month. It is extremely hard to find anything under 300€/month (3600€/year) since even the lowest quality studio/1bed would easily rent over the summer period for that much money... There are now new luxury developments renting in a range of 15€ to 25€/m2/month such as our 1st development Tivat Heights or apartments in the superyachts marina residence Porto Montenegro...
*And what is the average sale price for an appartment or a house?
Its very hard to give an average price as this varies a lot in Tivat but let's say around 2.000€/m2 for newly built... You can find some older properties for 1500€/m2 and in the marina prices start at 6.000€/m2.
The major factor determining the selling price of new constructions would be the price of the land...
Cheaper urbanized land can be found for c. 60€/m2 while land in sought after areas such as the last remaining plots in Donja Lastva near the water front are for sale for 500€/m2.
If you get a 0.8 build coefficient, the weight of the land cost alone in the total price is 625€/m2. Then the communal taxes are at least 100€/m2 and then you add on top the construction. While it is absolutely true you can build for 600€/m2, if you want more luxuries or eco friendly features the construction costs can double.
There's also possible extras: some "urbanized" lands are in fact not equipped with the infrastructures ; steep land requires expensive retaining walls ; etc...
* Could you tell us more about local real estate policies/procedures?
That's a wide topic. Most municipalities have all urban regulations / procedures accessible on their websites.
*What about property tax or residency tax in Montenegro?
There's a good PDF file from Deloitte updated every year that details all Montenegrin taxes: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/D … s-2016.pdf
*What about you? Where do you live now? Is it a place you would recommend?
I live in Kavac, in the Residence we built, and I find the place ideal because we're just 6min drive to Tivat and to Kotor, in a very peaceful environment, at an altitude (120m) where the mountain air is mixed with the sea air, with a lot of light (south- west orientation) and beautiful sea views and lower levels of humidity than on the waterfront. I absolutely recommend this area.
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