Hayley Wright and her husband, Jack, moved from the southeast of England to Montenegro in the Balkans 15 years ago. They have since watched the small country transform from a newly independent republic into a tourist destination.
“Living in a country in transition has not always been easy,” says Hayley, 48, who with Jack and their two children lives in Herceg Novi on the Bay of Kotor and runs the adventure tour operator Black Mountain. “But infrastructure and services have improved and we love our life here.”
Before Covid struck, tourism — which increased by 34 per cent between 2017 and 2019 — was the country’s top revenue earner. This poses a post-pandemic challenge for the country’s first new prime minister in 30 years, Zdravko Krivokapic, who took office in December.
The dip in tourism has had its benefits, though, according to Hayley: “[In the summer] we were kayaking across an empty Kotor Bay, uncrowded for almost a year with no cruise ships. [In winter we went] snowshoeing in the mountains. The outdoor lifestyle has saved our mental and physical health this past year.”
Montenegro has changed dramatically in the past decade, especially along its breathtaking 293km Adriatic coastline where historical coastal towns such as the Unesco-listed Kotor are being complemented by a new generation of resorts such as Lustica Bay, perched on the steep slopes between the Adriatic and the Bay of Kotor, where more than 1,500 homes, seven hotels, two marinas, a school, a hospital and an 18-hole golf course are being built.
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At Porto Montenegro near Tivat there is an established superyacht marina with a thriving expat community. The resort has pushed up property prices in the area and put the tiny country — with its population size of only about 622,000 — on the map for wealthy buyers.
“Prices in Tivat have increased the fastest, from €900 in 2009 to €2,600 per sq m now,” says Kieran Kelleher of the Savills associate Dream Estates Montenegro. “There are two distinct markets around Kotor Bay: prime resort properties, €4,500 to 9,000 per sq m; and historic homes at €2,500 per sq m that are incredible value compared to those in Dubrovnik in [neighbouring] Croatia.”
Kelleher says that British buyers in Montenegro typically look to spend between €150,000 and €250,000 for a two-bedroom home with a waterside view near Tivat, Kotor or Herceg Novi.
With travel restrictions in place, regional buyers (especially Serbians) dominated the market last year, but Russian and Chinese buyers are the predominant applicants for the country’s citizenship-by-investment programme (CIP). This offers the right to free movement across Europe’s Schengen area with a property purchase of €450,000 plus a €100,000 donation in the south of the country (or €250,000 plus €100,000 in the north).
“Apart from the CIP [which is due to end this year] the flat personal income tax rate of 9 per cent is an attraction for buyers, some of whom move here to start their own businesses,” says David Margason, the managing director of Porto Montenegro. Apart from the fiscal incentives, buyers in the resort are attracted by a branch of Knightsbridge Schools International, as well as by Ozana Business Club, a co-working facility and private office hub overlooking the superyacht jetty.
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There are plans to expand the country’s airports in Tivat and the capital city of Podgorica, but many British visitors fly into Dubrovnik in Croatia, where pre-pandemic there was a greater choice of flights, and drive across the border.
Margason says British buyers love the resort’s five-star Regent hotel and residences — one- to three-bedroom Pool Club Residences are selling from €412,000. British residents are also behind the resort’s cricket and croquet clubs, while the admiral at the yacht club is Surrey-based Sir James Wates, the chairman of the Wates construction group.
He says: “Ten years ago when we bought our apartment and berth there, Tivat was a tired-looking communist-era town, but the area is maturing fast, with flights going into Tivat airport making it a weekendable destination. I like the fact it’s not so busy — you can still get a restaurant reservation for lunch on a summer’s day, unlike more established areas like the Côte d’Azur.”
This may well change though, with the country’s ultra high net worth population (worth $30 million or more including their primary residence) set to increase by 36 per cent between 2019 and 2024, according to the Knight Frank Wealth Report.
Meanwhile, more and more wealthy buyers are considering a move to the Balkan country, with Portonovi Montenegro’s latest destination vying for the attention of the super-rich thanks to the addition of a One&Only resort and spa with branded residences, the company’s first outpost in Europe. The ten One&Only-branded villas with private jetties cost from €9.5 million to €15 million, and for those whose pockets aren’t quite so deep there are 218 unbranded residences — from €345,000 for a studio apartment — of which 30 per cent have sold so far.
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Thinking about buying property overseas? To learn how the process differs from the UK, see Times Money Mentor’s guide to buying property abroad
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