A house for €53,000 and a sharp rise in prices: is it worth investing in Albania?

Asaf Mehlalal bought a house in the village of Shijak, Albania, for €53,000 and plans to rent it to European pensioners. The article examines the Albanian real estate market: rising prices, barriers such as high homeownership rates and long selling times, alongside advantages like no need for a local passport to purchase.

Asaf Mehlalal, a former Israeli who worked as an electrician in Tel Aviv, purchased a private 93-square-meter house with a yard and a 150-square-meter storage shed in the village of Shijak, west of Tirana, for €53,000. Mehlalal, who moved to Albania with his wife and works as a tour guide, plans to rent the house long-term to European pensioners, mainly Italians. According to him, the required renovation is more extensive than expected, and the house has not been rented out after six months. The article surveys the Albanian real estate market: rising prices in the Astir neighborhood of Tirana from €800-900 per square meter five years ago to €1,500-1,700 today, alongside barriers such as a high homeownership rate (over 90%) limiting the rental market, and an average selling time of ten months. The local currency, the lek, has strengthened against the euro. No local passport is required to purchase apartments, but local banks do not provide financing to Israelis. Attorney Ohad Shefek predicts that within five to eight years, Albania will be part of the average Israeli's investment map.