WE INVESTIGATED!
Apartments for rent in Zagreb disappear in an instant, prices jump 15 percent: 'Just look at what they ask of subtenants... You are well prepared.”
By: Jelena Cvetko Published:August 30, 2025 08:30
Ahead of the imminent start of the academic year, we investigated what is offered on advertisements and social networks
Although during the summer the activities on the Zagreb real estate market usually calm down, and the focus is real estate on the coast - this year, it seems, the continental market only “stopped” for a short time. Diana Perger from the Zagreb agency Euro-interiorspoints out that “this summer the break in Zagreb lasted a maximum of a month and a few days”, while there was almost none on the coast.
Such a rhythm has resulted in the fact that each, as assessed by our interlocutor, at any quality property for long-term rental in Zagreb, with a realistically set price, is rented within a few days. And while apartments for families and singles already had a stable demand at the beginning of summer, at the end of August and the beginning of September, students again enter the scene. The recent start of the academic year always marks the return of increased activity in the rental market. In addition, employees from the tourism sector are traditionally activated on the market, who, encouraged by earnings after the end of the tourist season, are looking for real estate to buy in the capital.
That is why the transition from summer to autumn for the real estate market is one of the liveliest periods of the year, where students, although they make up a large part of the demand, face challenges that are more and more pronounced every year.
-The season of renting apartments for students begins in September and lasts almost until mid-October, and if we talk about what to expect, the situation is not at all promising. According to the statistics available on the basis of “our” properties that we rented last year at this time, which returned to us at the end of the one-year contract and that, of course, at a higher price, we can say that the total price increase is on average 15.58 percent - emphasizes Diana Perger.
He also notes a trend that makes the situation difficult for future tenants: a sufficient number of interested parties come to each quality apartment, so the owners, in accordance with their criteria, are able to choose tenants.
-Depending on the categories, some of the most common criteria of landlords are proof of permanent income, if it is an employed person, then recommendations from former landlords, for students, a guarantee of parents related to payment, for foreign workers an employment contract, and it is also required that the tenant briefly describe himself and his housing habits... Therefore, we recommend that future tenants prepare well when touring the apartments, as this will give them a certain advantage -advises Diana Perger.
In addition, such a practice, in which tenants must present themselves in the best possible way with as concrete arguments as possible that they are able to cover the cost of renting and maintain the property, approximates European standards when renting real estate, which sometimes includes a recommendation from the employer.
-Also, given the higher demand than the supply, some owners have additional requirements, some of which are reasonable, and some may fall into the category of unreasonable: no pets, no relaxation, no children, exclusively to single people, no visits, no foreignworkers... - he lists.
Speaking about foreign workers, he adds, their owners divide them into two categories, namely foreign workers with an indefinite contract in one of the stable Croatian companies, for example in “Rimac” and the like; the second category is workers with temporary employment, for example in Bolt, Wolt and the like.
-Both categories made it difficult for students to have access to real estate. The first category gladly rents high-quality, well-decorated apartments and can pay for the same, while the second category rents “beds”. More and more owners, if their opportunities are such - a larger area, low quality of decoration - decide to rent “beds”. Their price ranges from 150 euros upwards, so the calculation looks like this; in a 60-square-meter property, the owners inhumanely “shove” at least six beds, which brings them a monthly rent of 900 to sometimes 1200 euros. We will agree that this amount is unattainable for students, even under the condition of roommates. It is important to note that we as Agencewe are not engaged in the rental of “beds”, but we follow the market and are familiar with this situation - points out Diana Perger.
If students could choose, which in the current market conditions they cannot, our interlocutor continues, they would look for a modernly decorated apartment, with an area of about 50 square meters with a separate bedroom, with low overhead costs and a rental price of up to 450 euros per month, near the university and in the tram zone.
-However, the reality looks like this: a minimum rental price of 500 -600 euros or a roommate for a minimum of 350 euros per person, choosing between a studio apartment for independent living or living with roommates, a compromise related to the location (they should be aware that there is bus and rail transport), then poor floor plans, payment of utilities per consumption... It should also be noted that attractive furniture and equipment drastically raise the rental price - he points out.
The most sought after neighborhoods are already traditionally those near the college, and according to the agency Euro-interiorsfor rent of apartments of about 50 square meters in Borongaj and Dubrava it is requested from 550 euros per month upwards, in Cvjetni settlement from 590 euros, on Jarun from 600 euros, on Maksimir and Knezija from 650 euros, in Trešnjevka from 680 euros, in Lanište from 700 euros per month...
-The alternative is apartments in single-family houses in neighborhoods"covered” by bus or train transport, where prices are much more affordable - he says.
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Although Diana Perger emphasizes that the rental season is not even close to its peak yet, in social networks, in open and locked groups dedicated to renting and students who come or are already studying in Zagreb, more and more queries and advertisements have been “spinning” in the past few weeks.
A number of them are posted by students (and even their parents) in search of an apartment, and individual posts resemble a kind of personal profiles in which they present themselves, list their qualities and daily habits such as neatness, decency or the fact that they do not smoke and do not have pets, and mention hobbies. Enquiries mainly relate to studios or apartments with a separate bedroom, if it is a rental for one person, and larger apartments with several bedrooms, which implies room-sharing.
Students who want a studio apartment mention maximum budgets of about 400 to 550 euros, exceptionally and slightly more, and the most inquiries are for neighborhoods such as Maksimir, Kvatric, Borongaj, Upper and Lower Town, Trešnjevka and Trnja, with the desired deadline of moving in from September 1 or October 1.
Peščenica-Žitnjak most favorable urban district.
According to the Nekretnine.hr portal, during July 2025, rental of residential real estate in Zagreb was requested on average 15.01 euros per square meter per month, which is an increase of 5.04 percent compared to the same period last year (14.29 euros per square meter per month).
During July this year, the highest requested average price was recorded in the area of Peščenica - Žitnjak with 15.77 euros per square meter per month. The lowest asking price was in the city district Podsused - Vrapče, with an average of 13.16 euros per square meter per month.
Judging by the ads on social networks and in the classifieds, it is possible to find studios with the mentioned budget, but also those with increased prices, and even up to 700 euros. Here are a couple of examples: a newly built studio apartment of 25 square meters is offered near the Sports House at a price of 350 euros per month, in Šubićeva Street for 450 euros without utilities, while in Degenova, opposite the park Ribnjak, 600 euros are asked for 30 square meters, the same as on the ground floor of the building on Knežija.
Not infrequently they are also part of family houses: a newly renovated studio apartment of 20 square meters is rented near Kvatrić, and the price is 400 euros with utilities included. The same amount is required for a furnished studio of 24 square meters in Bukovac, in a private house with a separate entrance.
Smaller apartments with a separate bedroom are most often requested for the needs of one student, for which few are willing to allocate up to 750 euros plus utilities, noting that for this money they expect new construction and modern decoration. In the case of a slightly larger quadrature in such apartments there may be more students, which “per head” turns out to be more advantageous. So, for example, a 25-year-old woman through Facebook searches for a roommate in a 60-square-meter apartment in Borovje; one will sleep in a separate room for 300 euros, and the other in the living room.
There are many inquiries related to more comfortable apartments with two separate bedrooms. We have come across publications where two sisters or two friends are looking for such an apartment in the east of the city or near Kvatrić for 700 - 800 euros per month plus utilities or, conversely, those where the subtenant in an already rented apartment is looking for a roommate - in this case, for “own” room, for example, 200 euros plus utilities in a residential building on Ravnice, 220 euros with utilities in Maksimir, 250 euros plus 75 euros of utilities in Sloboština, 350 euros with utilities included in a completely renovated apartment in Dubrava... The amounts go up to 430 euros, which he asks for a room in a new building of 85 square meters in Rudeš or 450 euros in a second-hand apartment in Srednjaci.
There is also the option of multi-bed rooms in larger apartments: the tenant-student is looking for two roommates for an apartment of 93 square meters in Ilica, in one room he is, and in the other, larger, he offers accommodation on a double bed and a sofa bed. The monthly rent is 1100 euros, which in the case of three roommates turns out to be 367 euros plus utilities. Furthermore, two students are looking for a third roommate for a four-room apartment in Dugave priced from 260 euros per month; in Tranj, a double room is rented for 290 euros per person in an apartment of 120 square meters, and on the advertisement we also came across a two-storey apartment of 140 square meters in Maksimir, whose owner is looking for three students, and asks for a total of 1200 euros per month.
It is worth mentioning that the deposit is most often in the amount of one monthly rent, and judging by the comments on certain posts on social networks, often accompanied by a photo gallery, any good opportunity quickly “flies”.
