Skopje flats got 10.3 percent more expensive in a year, and the National Bank talks about buyers being in a stronger position

The National Bank has good news: house price growth in Skopje is slowing. The bad news is in the number that explains the good news. According to its index, annual price growth in the third quarter of 2026 slowed to 10.3 percent. In other words - flats are still getting more expensive, just slightly more slowly than before.

Governor Trajko Slaveski says this increases buyers' bargaining power, so they might now be able to negotiate a lower price. Maybe. But when a flat costs ten percent more than it did a year ago, "bargaining power" sounds more like consolation than relief. The index, moreover, covers Skopje only.

The new rules from December 1. The National Bank is cutting the maximum repayment period for loans on a second or any subsequent flat from 30 to 25 years. For a first home the term stays at up to 30 years, and last year's concession still applies: a minimum down payment of 10 percent instead of 25 percent for people with no flat or house in their name. According to the governor, first-home loans now make up around 25 percent of approved housing loans, and half of this year's new loans have terms longer than 25 years.

The logic is clear: flats should be for living in, not for parking money. But the maths of a smaller down payment has another side. A calculation for a 100,000-euro flat, a 30-year loan and a fixed 3 percent interest rate shows that a first-time buyer needs 15,000 euros less up front - but in return pays roughly 7,800 euros more in interest over the life of the loan.

The banks, meanwhile, are competing with introductory rates of 2.9 percent, fixed for the first few years. After that, some offers tie the rate to EURIBOR. If it rises from 3 to 5 percent, the monthly payment on such a loan can go up by more than 100 euros - and that in the years when the family has nowhere left to retreat.

The central bank's measures are sensible for the stability of the banks. But they don't change the basic ratio between wages and the price per square metre. Young people paying rent or living with their parents aren't asking whether growth has slowed. They're asking how many years of work a home costs - and no institution has an answer to that question yet.