Foreigners are buying more and more real estate in Slovenia
How much real estate are foreigners buying in Slovenia? The principles of taxation of residential real estate within the property tax have been prepared. The tax will be levied on apartments, houses, and building plots, and the taxpayers will be the owners of these properties. The first real estate in which a person lives will be exempt from tax, and each subsequent one will be taxed. The tax will not be progressive, but will be the same rate for all real estate – 1.45% of the total value of the real estate, determined by the Geodetic Administration (GURS). Foreigners will also pay it if they do not register their place of residence in the real estate.
How much real estate in Slovenia is owned by foreigners?
The data was provided to us by the Financial Administration (FURS), which since May 1, 2004, i.e. since Slovenia’s accession to the EU, has been keeping records of real estate buyers depending on their citizenship and the territory of the Financial Administration (FU) in which the real estate is located. They note: “These are data related to the calculated real estate turnover tax (2%), i.e. the sale/purchase of used or old real estate. VAT is calculated on new real estate.”
The Financial Administration reviewed 45,382 cases on the calculation of real estate turnover tax last year, which is a decrease of 19.5% compared to 2022 (56,375 cases). On the other hand, real estate sales to foreigners are growing. According to the latest available data, foreigners have bought almost 7,500 real estate properties in Slovenia over the past ten years and are increasingly competing with locals in the real estate market every year. If in 2014 they bought 418 properties, then last year they already bought 1,158. This means that the number of purchases has more than doubled over the decade.
Despite a significant decrease in the number of cases processed by FURS for the assessment of real estate turnover tax in 2023, sales to foreigners in 2023 increased by 6% compared to the previous year. Foreigners purchased 1,158 real estate properties in Slovenia in 2023.
Where do real estate buyers come from and where do they buy?
We have studied in detail from which countries the buyers who purchased real estate in the past 2023 come from and where they bought it. We do not know the exact location, since, as already mentioned, FURS only indicates in the statistics the territorial financial administration to which the property belongs.
Among the buyers in 2023, the following stand out: Germans – 168 purchases of secondary real estate, Austrians – 130 purchases, Croats – 118 purchases, Serbs – 102 purchases.
Where do foreigners buy real estate in Slovenia?
Germans most often bought real estate in the areas of the financial administrations of Ptuj, Murska Sobota and Maribor. Austrians were most interested in the area of Murska Sobota and Maribor. Croats mainly bought in the area of the financial administration of Brečice. Serbs most often bought real estate in the area of the financial administration of Ljubljana.
Among the buyers coming from countries outside the EU, in addition to the Serbs, the most active were: citizens of North Macedonia – 57 real estate purchases, Switzerland – 45 purchases, the UK – 39 purchases, the US – 34 purchases.
The list includes 15 more countries outside the EU. Among them, for example, are Israelis, who last year purchased 28 real estate properties in Slovenia, with the largest number in the Ljubljana financial district (11 properties), Ukrainians bought 19 properties, most often in the Maribor and Koper financial districts (9 in total), there were no buyers from the Russian Federation in 2023, while there were two a year earlier.
Who cannot buy real estate in Slovenia?
There are clear rules for foreigners regarding the possibility of acquiring ownership of real estate in Slovenia. Citizens and legal entities from EU countries, OECD and European Economic Area members can purchase real estate without restrictions.
Citizens and legal entities from EU candidate countries (Republic of North Macedonia, Republic of Serbia, Montenegro, Republic of Albania, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia) must obtain a positive conclusion on reciprocity.
Who cannot purchase real estate or can only receive it by inheritance subject to reciprocity?
“Citizens and legal entities from all other countries that are not included in any of the above groups (including the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation)”, says the website of the Ministry of Justice, where you can find a more detailed classification of foreigners.
