This morning I stumbled upon an amusing article about the Istrian real estate market in the leading local newspaper, Glas Istre (The Voice of Istria). It begins with the sorry state of the market. The number of transactions is way, way down. But then it moves on to the prices. Some realtors believe the prices are too high, but the majority of them maintain that they are just right. If the market is almost dead, how can you possibly believe in anything of this sort? The article goes on and on about the conundrum. Amazingly, the notion that the real estate market on the peninsula was lifted to unsustainable heights by the real estate bubble behind the last economic boom is nowhere to be found. The bubble and boom are not mentioned even once. It appears that the old and inane idea that Istrian real estate got to be so valuable only because of its unsurpassed attractiveness is still afoot. Stupidity incarnate. Even after three full years in the doldrums, the local dullards cannot fathom what is happening in the world around them. The bubble is gone. And the bust may last for many years. The prices of real estate in Istria are way too high, for sure. Minus the bubble and boom, the underlying value of real estate in Istria is pretty low. Say, about a third of what the realtors currently have in mind. By the time they learn this, most of them will be out of business, anyhow. But the stupidity will surely remain.

Addendum (September 7, 2016)

Five years later, the Istrian real estate market is still moribund. Amazingly, the reason is the same to this day. The prices are way too high, that is. Eight years after the onset of the global financial crisis, Istrians are still at sea when it comes to the reason behind it. One and all, they believe that the real estate boom in the early years of the new millennium was due to the insuperable beauty of the peninsula. Stupidity incarnate, indeed. For the proof, it is enough to walk around Motovun during the tourist season. For sale signs are literally everywhere, but there is no movement in the market because of inane prices the owners ask for. Bubble, what bubble? The leading local newspaper has never even hinted at such a strange thing. Istria’s beauty is past compare, and that is all there is to the bloated prices!