“Real estate purchases are still driven more by habit than by the quality of location. Buyers are not yet avoiding traffic chaos or overcrowded zones,” said Andrea Serafimovski, President of the Association of Construction, Building Materials, and Non-metal Industries at the Economic Chamber of North Macedonia, speaking on Telma TV’s “Business Objective.”

With property prices continuing to rise, a specific trend is emerging on the market: owners who had not previously planned to sell their apartments are increasingly putting them up for sale, motivated by high market prices and the opportunity for financial gain.

“We are witnessing a strange phenomenon — people who never intended to sell their apartments are now deciding to do so, simply because of the profit they can make. As a result, we are seeing some extreme sale prices per square meter in the listings,” Serafimovski noted.

Commenting on the proposed measure by the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia to support young people in purchasing their first home, he said its impact would be limited.

“We believe the proposed measure will improve conditions for young buyers only marginally. To truly regulate prices, much more is needed. The state has instruments at its disposal that can ensure citizens pay prices per square meter that reflect the actual quality of construction,” he explained.

According to analyses by the Association, in municipalities with higher transactional activity, apartment prices have reached levels that exceed the financial capacity of an average family.

Serafimovski also addressed the factors influencing buyers’ decisions when choosing housing.

“I hope the concept of living in higher-quality conditions will prevail and become one of the key criteria when selecting an apartment. At present, decisions are still driven by other parameters — proximity to schools, kindergartens, workplaces, parks, or malls. But I believe that in the next decade we will see a shift, similar to what already functions in Western European countries,” he added.