By September 17, 2025, the Agency for Transactions and Mediation in Immovable Properties (APN) received a total of 1,830 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, 1,109 requests have been processed - 838 being complete requests. So far 837 requests have been approved, 124 require additional documentation and 147 requests have been declined because they do not fulfil legal requirements or because the applicant has withdrawn the request.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 processed requests (1,109), only
44 or 3.9% of them refer to real estate whose price per square meter exceeds the allowed price, i.e. whose price exceeds the average price by more than 50%.
The total worth of the so far approved subsidies is 6,846,458.20 euro - out of which 5,157,137.98 euro refers to value added tax (VAT) refund and 1,689,320.22 euro to real estate transfer tax (RETT) refund. The average subsidy amount is 14,692 euro for VAT and approximately 3,476 euro for RETT. Out of the 837 approved requests, 351 refer to new construction (VAT refund) and 486 to existing construction (RETT refund).
Overview by counties - most requests coming from the City of Zagreb
The majority of the 837 approved requests is from Zagreb - 453 of them. Then there are 74 approved requests from Zagreb County, 71 from Split-Dalmatia County and 69 from Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. There are 29 approved requests from Osijek-Baranja County and 15 from Zadar County and Vukovar-Srijem County each, followed by 14 from Istria County and Brod-Posavina County each. Bjelovar-Bilogora County and Karlovac County include 11 approved requests each. Then there are 9 approved requests from Krapina County, Sisak-Moslavina County and Dubrovnik-Neretva County each, 8 from Šibenik-Knin County and 7 from Koprivnica-Križevci County. In Lika-Senj County and Varaždin County 5 requests have been approved, followed by 4 requests in Međimurje County and Virovitica-Podravina County each. In Požega-Slavonia County one request has been approved. The subsidy requests are submitted across Croatia; hence, subsidies are paid to young people in all Croatian counties.
The average applicant’s age is 32 - the youngest applicant is 19 years old and coming from the City of Zagreb, and 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.
With regard to real estate floor area, the average is 66 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 225 m2, is registered in Karlovac County.
The average real estate price based on the 837 approved requests is 2,214 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.
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