build Vs. buy

[grane]

I've been looking for houses/villas to buy for two years.
I spent lots of time/money in journeys to Croatia seeking properties which had not matched my expectations.
Therefore I decided to change my target and now I 'm looking for residential land plot in Dalmatia (from Zadar to Sibenik, Murter and Ugljan included).

I already met a reliable house-builder who has been building apartments and houses for the last 5 years in Dalmatia by combining quality construction and craftsmanship with nice design.
I understood from him that building a house with high quality finishes would cost to him about €650 per sq. meter
1 sq. meter of residential land average price in center-dalmatian coast (within 200 meters from the sea) may cost between €260 and €350 .

Due to these fees, I would prefer planning and building a new house rather than buying an old one......or I'm wrong?
What do you think?

[mambo]

260 to 350 euro for a square meter within 200 meters of the Sea ?

That is a bit steep if you ask me for land not even on the coast. Even in Istria you won't pay that much for land not directly on the coast.
Last year I was looking for land near Vinisce, also 200 meters from the sea and they were asking 60 euro for a square meter.

Don't know with whom you are dealing, but you may want to keep searching for a little bit.

Building yourself is of course much cheaper than buying it. I made a calculation for what we wanted to build and came to under 750 euro for a square meter, so that 650 euro for luxury build seems reasonable. If you do a bit more yourself you can get much lower.

There are a lot of people who will tell you that construction should be much more expensive, but I always compare the prices to the Caribbean, where every single piece of material has to be imported, where the labor cost are almost identical as well as the building style. At the moment you can build there for 400 to 500 euro/sqm, so anyone claiming that it should cost double here is either a building constructor who wants an enormous profit on your project or he is not good in calculating.

[prkbrk]

Not that I can back it up to any real extent - but folk i know have been pricing land in Dalmatia at around 150 Euro. I live about 200 metres from the sea and have been looking at paying around 80-120 euros for some additional land.

[grane]

Thanks for your answer.

mambo said:

260 to 350 euro for a square meter within 200 meters of the Sea ?

It sounds strange to me as well..... but I was told this is the demanded price for a plot of residential land in Zadar (Diklo zone).

I know you don't like comparisons , but it's the same money you would pay for a residential plot in Rome (urban zone) . And Rome is EXTREMELY expensive

I also searched the internet, oglasnik, etc. and I've been on the spot (Zadar, Muline, Vodice, Betina, Srima, Jezera) for Easter, but I didn't find anything cheaper.

mambo said:

Last year I was looking for land near Vinisce, also 200 meters from the sea and they were asking 60 euro for a square meter.

This is more or less the price I was expected to pay for a plot, but maybe I'm searching the wrong way....

Any suggestions? ;D

Thanks a lot

[valiant]

land about 10 km south of split also costs between 250 and 350 euros!!! and may not even have a view. and forget about the building permit.

[mambo]

Grane,

Just a tip.

Forget the websites for Europeans, simply look at the sites for Croatians..........you'll be amazed !

There is enough land for sale and if you want to have a normal price it will probably mean going there yourself, with a trusted person and let him/her find the land for you. Forget the real estate agents and others, they will only take you to the cleaners.

[splitska]

Grane I sent you a PM

[Carol]

Why can't people get it into their heads that land prices are set by the sellers not the agents and so the nationality of the agents doesn't come into it?

Blatantly obvious but lets say it anyway...
Land prices per m2 vary greatly depending on size, zoning, location, position, views, permissioning, gradient, proximity to infrastructure and the sellers greed. 60 is a starting point for building land. 600 is the most I've ever seen. 3 is the starting point for agricultural land in Dalmatia.

You need to ask about cost and time for getting permits, maximum footprints and communal charges.

[rijekafan]

My ex's brother has a brick house and land near Benkovac. It was stripped of doors and windows during the war but is structurally ok. It also has an old orchard. Besides cheap land the advantage is all services are there and there are 4 walls. The last time we spoke he was wanting to sell it and it will not be expensive. I will be seeing him in 2 weeks. If you would like some more info let me know.

[grane]

Mambo,
Thanks for your advice.

I have to say that I've not been looking only at websites for Europeans.
My girlfriend is from Zagreb and we extended our search to a lot of Croatian websites, but we didn't find anything better....

We also have a good (Dalmatian) friend of ours, helping us in property seeking in loco, but, so far, he only found out lands which stay in the same price-range.

If there are any Cro-websites you could give me, or any further kind of tips that could help my search, that would be great.
Thanks

Splitska,
I replied your PM

Carol,
Prices above were referred to:
600 sq. meter parcel. City of Zadar. Sea distance:200m. 180 degrees sea view.
maximum footprint=33%
FAR(Floor Area Ratio)=1.0.
Permits : all set
According to your statements, 260€ per sq.m. is fair enough..


Rijekafan,

Thanks, but I know the area between Benkovac, Lisicic, Mirinje and Polac very well and I don't like it at all; anyway, I'm looking for something much closer to the sea.

[Carol]

Would love to tell you that I can get you better value, but if it really has permits and you can build 1/3rd then I'd say go for it because it is fair to good value IMO.
So many sellers want 400 or more once they have the permits in place, so this sounds good.

[zoran]

I have land with permit 30 m from the sea for 200 €/m2 if someone is interested let me know.The prices with view few hundreds metter from the sea without permit costs from 150 €/m2,without view from
100 €/m2 ,few kilometers from the sea from 30 €/m2.
Please dont put a information from year or so and the land you didnt check .60 €/m2 near sea that was long time ago.

[darcy]

You may try www.gohome.hr .

Just make sure you can get a building permit, check there are no disputes with the neighbours, make sure you should have an easy access (with no disputes as well) and, funny to say, 250-350 is the price these days. I like islands, but there are always troubles with the ferries, so it is up to you.

On environmental side, try to avoid Kastela Bay near Split, area between Rieka and Bakar and also maybe an area north-east of Zadar (in the nuclear safe perimeter of the Vir island).

[ray51]

Where in Istria or KvarnerPrimorje would a decent-size
( 120sq.m++ ) pre-fab house be allowed , any ideas ?
( Not keen on any islands ! )