April 27, 2023 - The Governor of the Croatian National Bank (CNB), Boris Vujčić, stated in the parliament that there would be no recession in Croatia, pointing out that all indicators point to a slight recovery of the economy, while the data for the upcoming tourist season are also very good.
"There was a risk of recession in the autumn of last year, but I think we have come out of it. There will be no recession, and the growth rate will be lower than the 6.3 percent in 2022," said Vujčić in the parliament during the debate on the financial situation, the degree of achievement of price stability, and the implementation of monetary policy, writes Index.
This was his answer to Davor Bernardić (Social Democrats), who was interested in whether Croatia is rushing into recession. Stating that at the moment, the risk of recession has fallen below 30 percent, Vujčić also said that all indicators point to a slight recovery of the economy, while the data for the upcoming tourist season are also very good.
Vujčić: We expected an increase in real estate prices, but not this much
Anka Mrak Taritaš (Glas) was interested in the impact of the Law on subsidizing housing loans given by APN on the increase in real estate prices. Vujčić replied that anything subsidized leads to a rise in prices. Also, the increase in prices in the country was influenced by the increased share of foreigners buying real estate in Croatia.
"We expected an increase in prices, but we didn't expect this much. It was partly motivated by the entry into the eurozone," said the governor. He considers it encouraging signs for the real estate market that the number of transactions on that market fell and that the share of foreigners on the market fell last year compared to 2021. Also, he added that this is the last cycle of APN subsidized loans, and interest rates have risen to 3.5 percent.
"All the factors that contributed to the increase in real estate prices are now turning in the other direction," said Vujčić.
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