Shaken real estate market in Croatia due to viruses and earthquakes

Until the coronavirus pandemic struck, real estate prices in Zagreb and the Adriatic had been increasing by about 10 percent annually. That trend has come to halt at least temporarily, but even real estate specialists are currently able to predict what the longer-term impact on pricing will be. With the added shock of the earthquake now being factored in, it appears than rental prices in Zagreb have fallen by up to 20 percent, while apartment sales slowed significantly.
There are still interested buyers, but contacts are being carried out primarily by phone and are merely informational because of the enforced policy of social distancing. The city of Zagreb and in particular its central areas have been heavily affected, as have settlements near the quake's epicenter. City authorities report that earthquake damage to 7,000 buildings and they've received with some 30,000 damage reports from individuals.
The earthquake will have more long-lasting effects on the market, since banks have to value the properties they provide mortgage loans for periodically. In recent time, they've tended to use forecasting models to calculate these values. However, following the earthquake, the appraised value of apartments could change in far less predictable ways. The rental market could see important shifts as tenants will have a tendency to move into neighborhoods with newer housing or lower levels of damage.