Ukrainians arriving in Montenegro have turned the real estate market upside down. They are buying up seaside holiday homes, causing their prices to skyrocket. Analysts say that poorer Ukrainians go to Germany because they get work and social benefits there, better-off people buy or rent luxury villas on the Adriatic. Prices have jumped by 50 per cent in Montenegro in the course of just a few months.

Ukrainians are buying luxury villas in Montenegro

Budva, Bar, Kotor and Tivat; some of the best-known and most popular towns along the Montenegrin seashore. Budva is the biggest, and the local centre of tourism. It offers quality hotels, restaurants and programmes on top of the fabulous landscape and the rich historical heritage. Some of the biggest concerts and parties of the Montenegro summer are also held there. Bar is the largest port town, with Kotor and Tivat being the pearls of the spectacular Bay of Kotor.

Wealthier people fleeing Ukraine have also chosen those towns as their destinations, buying luxury villas there. Those who have not decided yet to buy a property are renting holiday homes – many have already signed year-long contracts. The surge in demand, naturally, pushed up prices immediately. According to a local real estate agency, a house previously costing 1,700 euros per square meter is now sold at 2,400 euros or more. Those interested in renting a villa usually pull up in expensive cars, brands like Lexus or Mercedes, and their appearance clearly reflects the fact that they lived a luxurious life back at home, a real estate agent told the Serbian press. These people do not want to give up their usual affluent lifestyle now either, so while war is raging in their country, they are spending their time swimming in the Adriatic Sea. According to the agent, wealthy Ukrainians are not at all interested in the mainland part of the country, with its towns wedged in the mountains. What they are looking for are the sea, sunshine, fresh air and, of course, luxury. The owners usually require a payment of six months’ rent in advance, thus insuring their security.

Russians are also interested

Although Russians and Ukrainians are engaged in fierce battles in the east of Ukraine, they may end up neighbours in Montenegro. In addition to Ukrainian oligarchs, wealthy Russians have also appeared in the Balkans for much the same reason as the Ukrainians: beach luxury. The Russians are unperturbed by the widespread sanctions against them and the cessation of direct flights between Russia and Montenegro. They usually arrive via Serbia (the Belgrade-Moscow flight is still operating) and choose Montenegro because they can do business from there in a beautiful environment.

What are mere mortals left with?

The new situation will not only have an impact on the real estate market of Montenegro but tourism is also expected to be different from the previous season. A serious problem, for example, is that guest workers arriving for the season, mainly waiters, chefs, cleaners, have been unable to find affordable accommodation for a few months in Montenegro. They used to be able to rent a flat for 400 euros, but now the same costs thousands of euros, which means that they have to spend a significant part of their monthly pay on accommodation. Domestic tourists or tourists from the region, mainly from Serbia, will face the same situation. As they cannot afford to pay double or even triple price for accommodation, they are likely to opt for a holiday in other countries, most probably in Greece which is bound to be welcoming after the end of pandemic restrictions. The newcomers are not only driving up accommodation costs but price increases in all areas of life will follow suit, being adjusted to the Eastern visitors who can dig more deeply into their pockets.

Locals also purchasing properties

Meanwhile, Montenegrins, who can still vividly remember the soaring inflation of the 1990s, fear that their money will lose its value again from one moment to the next in the wake of the war in Ukraine. To prevent this, many of them decided to grab their euros stashed away for hard times and began to buy real estate. Houses and apartments on the seaside have always been a good investment. Anyone who had saved enough money to purchase a high-standard holiday home that meets the needs of Ukrainians and Russians could lease their property without delay, starting to collect returns on their investment.

Due to the unexpected high demand, some tenants had to realise that they had lost the roof over their heads overnight. A local resident told nova.rs that someone they know had been renting an apartment near Budva for five years when the owner seized the opportunity and sold the property to a Ukrainian in a matter of seconds, as the buyer offered three thousand euros per square metre, more than twice as much as the previous price. The real estate market has become busy, people are selling and buying, depending on what they find worth it, a local woman told the Serbian portal.

Russian or Ukrainian – Makes no difference to locals

Montenegro has traditionally been a popular destination for Russian tourists, who have been visiting the country for years and have already bought property there. Locals are used to the presence of Russians, with many of them speaking Russian quite well. However, they say that it is difficult for them to tell Russians and Ukrainians apart, which often puts them in awkward situations.

„If I take someone to be Ukrainian but they in fact are Russian, they shout at me, and the other way around,” said a local shop owner, who is trying to be friendly with everyone, as it is important for him to sell his merchandise.

A shop assistant in Kotor told Nova portal about a specific encounter: „Western European tourists came by boat. They picked a lot of items in the shop, and we already packed them up, when they spotted a T-shirt with Putin on it. They immediately changed their minds and left the shop, loudly scolding me for spreading Russian propaganda.” The assistant added that he did not care about the war, pointing out that a few weeks ago, customers were happy to buy Russian-style knick-knacks but now they storm out of the shop.

„I can’ wait for all this to end, so that we can work in peace, support our family, feed our children,” another shop owner said, adding that she had not dumped the Russian souvenirs, but put them away in the hope of selling them one day.

According to official figures, 6 700 refugees from Ukraine are currently staying in Montenegro. Of this number, five have applied for international protection, and 1 432 refugees applied for temporary protection, which is granted for one year and grants eligibility for free healthcare, education and work permit.