Villas inside and out

Property value will positively increase in Croatia if it finally joins the European Union by mid-2013.

And, as the Union completed and concluded the negotiations on the Balkans state's accession on Thursday 30 June, its chances are better than ever.

A reformed political and economical system since breaking away from Yugoslavia 20 years ago has been a key factor in the accession talks, according to EU Enlargement Commissioner, Stefan Fuele.

Croatia has also been criticised for failing to tackle corruption, reform its judicial system and not dealing with Balkan war criminals. But it will be "closely monitored" said Fuele, who added: "We are confident that Croatia has reached a critical mass. But reforms need to be continued."

The next step of the accession process would be the signing of the Treaty, expected to be completed by the end of 2011. Then it will has to be ratified by all existing EU member states before Croatia can officially enter the European Union.

Another process to go through is a binding referendum on EU accession that the country is due to hold within a month of the treaty being signed.

The subsidies Croatia should receive once it has joined the EU and the tourism boost that its membership would suppose, make a sure bet for those planning to buy property there in due course.

According to AFP economic experts expect entry will also boost investors' optimism, pushing growth in the country of 4.4 million whose economy is still in recession.

The government in Zagreb has also calculated financial benefits from joining the EU, around 3.5 billion euros from structural funds.

Along with the EU admission possibility goes the fact that property prices in Croatia are cheaper than a few years ago. A Global Property Guide investment analysis on the global housing market released on July 2010 indicates that  prices in Croatia have fallen around 25 to 30% since peak of the market in 2007.

Investors are already alerted. Croatian real state company First informs that searches for  property in the Balkans country have increased 20% month on month due to lower advertised real estate prices combined with recent press reports of Croatia's imminent EU entry visible across European media.

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