APN received 2,734 subsidy requests for young people purchasing or constructing first residential real estate

By November 12, 2025, the Agency for Transactions and Mediation in Immovable Properties (APN) received a total of 2,734 tax refund requests for purchasing or constructing first residential real estate, after opening the application process on June 5, 2025, when the Ordinance on subsidies for the acquisition of first residential real estate entered into force. This is a permanent measure intended for young citizens and young families aimed at helping them solve their housing situation.

Of the overall number of received requests, 2,395 requests have been processed - 1,738 being complete requests, all approved. So far 266 requests require additional documentation, and 391 requests have been declined because they do not fulfil legal requirements or because the applicant has withdrawn the request. Out of the total number of declined requests, only 115 requests (4.8%) have been declined due to the real estate price, which exceeds the legally prescribed threshold of 50% above the average published price.

The most common reasons for declining a request, apart from too high a price or too many square meters, include purchase and sale contracts concluded prior to January 1, 2025, applicants who are older than the legally prescribed age, possession of other real estate or multiple requests submitted by members of the same family.

The total worth of the so far approved subsidies is 13,521,827.81 euro - out of which 9,796,387.24 euro refers to value added tax (VAT) refund and 3,725,440.57 euro to real estate transfer tax (RETT) refund. The average subsidy amount is 14,665 euro for VAT and 3,481 euro for RETT. Out of the 1,738 approved requests, 668 refer to VAT refund and 1,070 to RETT refund. The average subsidy per family is 7,780 euro.

Overview by counties - most requests coming from the City of Zagreb

The majority of the 1,738 approved requests is from Zagreb - 842 of them. Then there are 159 approved requests from Zagreb County, followed by 147 requests from Split-Dalmatia County and 139 from Primorje-Gorski Kotar County.

There are 78 approved requests from Osijek-Baranja County, 41 from Vukovar-Srijem County, 38 from Istria County, 37 from Zadar County and 32 from Dubrovnik-Neretva County and Karlovac County each. In Brod-Posavina County 31 requests have been approved, in Bjelovar-Bilogora County 25, in Varaždin County 23 and in Sisak-Moslavina County 21. Moreover, there are 20 approved requests from Koprivnica-Križevci County, 18 from Međimurje County and 16 from Krapina-Zagorje County. In Šibenik-Knin County there are 13 approved requests. Virovitica-Podravina County records 11 approved requests, Lika-Senj County eight and Požega-Slavonia County seven.

The subsidy requests have been submitted across Croatia; hence, subsidies have been paid to young people in all Croatian counties. The leading cities are Zagreb (842), Split and Rijeka (90), Velika Gorica (60), Osijek (50), Zadar (35), Zaprešić (30), Slavonski Brod (25), Dugo Selo, Karlovac and Vinkovci (20), Dubrovnik and Samobor (16), Koprivnica and Pula (14), Šibenik, Viškovo and Vukovar (12), and Solin and Varaždin (10).

The average applicant’s age is 32. The youngest applicant is 18 years old and coming from Zagreb, while the oldest is 44 years old, which is also the upper age limit prescribed by the amendments to the Act on State-Subsidised Housing Construction. The average number of household members is two people, while the largest household is a family of 12.

Regarding real estate floor area, the average is 70 square meters. The smallest real estate with an approved subsidy request is in the City of Zagreb and it comprises 18 m2, while the largest real estate, comprising 259 m2, is registered in Istria County.

The average real estate price based on the 1,738 approved requests is 2,170 euro per square meter. The highest price registered amounts to 5,013 euro per square meter and it is in Split-Dalmatia County, while the real estate with the lowest price, 186 euro per square meter, was purchased in Virovitica-Podravina County.

Useful information for applying

The Ministry has created two calculators for calculating a potential subsidy amount - one for VAT refund (for new construction), and one for RETT refund (for older construction).

The Ministry has also published average prices of real estate by square meter for all counties and cities, including cadastral municipalities for the City of Zagreb. The information is based on the study conducted by the Institute of Economics based on the sale and purchase contracts registered by Tax Administration in 2024. Average prices for each county are available here.

The law also prescribes maximum apartment and house sizes acceptable in order to obtain a refund, with a possible deviation of 50% depending on the number of household members. A table showing the prescribed sizes is available here.

Additional information on obtaining a subsidy, submitting an application and the required documentation is on the Ministry’s website, here, while a list of frequently asked questions and answers is available at APN and the Ministry’s websites.

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