The Decline of Russian Real Estate Investment in Montenegro 2026 — Who Is Filling the Gap?

Before the war in Ukraine, Russia was by far the largest foreign investor in Montenegrin real estate. cite According to the Russian ambassador, Russia invested at least 1.5 billion euros in the Montenegrin economy over a 15-year period, averaging around 100 million euros per year. It is estimated that between 2005 and 2010, Russian citizens purchased around 100,000 properties in the country. According to data from the Real Estate Administration from 2022, Russian citizens own approximately 19,000 properties in Montenegro.

Immediately after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, demand paradoxically increased in the short term — Russians were fleeing economic uncertainty at home and seeking a safe haven for their capital. However, this was only a brief wave.

Montenegro joined EU sanctions against Russia on March 1, 2022. Measures followed immediately: a ban on Russian flights through Montenegrin airspace, suspension of transactions with the Central Bank of Russia, and joining the SWIFT ban on seven Russian banks. Russia responded on March 7, 2022, by placing Montenegro on its list of "unfriendly states."

The financial effect was gradual but profound. According to data from the Central Bank of Montenegro, total direct investments from Russia moved as follows:

The decline was not linear — in 2024, real estate investments from Russia decreased by 32% compared to 2023, while in the first quarter of 2025, Russia dropped out of the top five investors for the first time, with Cyprus taking its place. By mid-2025, according to some sources, Russia had fallen as far as seventh place.

While Russian presence was weakening, the market did not remain empty. On the contrary — total foreign direct investment in Montenegrin real estate remained at record levels, but with entirely different players. In the first half of 2025, the five leading buyer markets were: Serbia, Turkey, the USA, Germany, and Cyprus.

The shift in investor structure has not halted price growth — quite the opposite. According to data from the DreamEstate database and the Estitor portal, prices in 2026 look as follows, with the note that luxury projects are significantly above city averages:

According to MONSTAT data cited by Al Jazeera, the average price per square metre of a newly built apartment in the first quarter of 2025 was 2,158 euros — a 126% increase compared to 2020, when the same price was 951 euros. Prices on the coast, where foreign demand is highest, are rising even faster: according to Estitor data, the Budva real estate market is recording steady growth of 9.4% annually over the past three years.

Luxury projects that once attracted Russian oligarchs are now increasingly in the hands of Western European and Turkish buyers. Porto Montenegro in Tivat — a former military base transformed into the largest marina in Southern Europe — records an average price of around 8,694 €/m² according to an analysis of active listings on the Estitor portal. In May 2025, the Siro Boka Place wellness hotel opened within the complex, and construction of the Porta Rai Beachfront Hotel & Residences, valued at 170 million euros, is currently underway.

Lustica Bay, a golf resort on the Luštica peninsula, is attracting a growing number of buyers from the USA and Western Europe. The Chedi complex at Luštica Bay records rental income of up to 20,000 euros per year per apartment. Portonovi in Herceg Novi — with its One&Only hotel and residences — remains one of the most prestigious addresses on the Adriatic, and Herceg Novi is recording steady price growth and an increasingly noticeable rise in its foreign resident community.

Turkish investors invested a total of 451.7 million euros in Montenegro between 2019 and August 2025, of which 217.9 million went into real estate purchases. The economic crisis in Turkey, high inflation, and lira instability are pushing Turkish citizens to seek a safe haven for their capital — and Montenegro, with the euro as its currency and the prospect of EU membership, is an ideal fit. According to data from the Ministry of Interior, approximately 13,000 Turkish nationals currently reside in Montenegro with temporary or permanent residency.

However, this story also has its complication. In 2025, Montenegro temporarily introduced a visa requirement for Turkish citizens as part of the process of aligning with EU visa policy. According to the Reform Agenda 2024–2027, the abolition of visa-free travel with all countries for which the EU requires a visa is planned by 2027 — which also applies to Russia, Turkey, China, and Belarus. This could further slow investment from these countries.

It is important to distinguish between two phenomena: the decline in new Russian purchases and the fate of already-purchased properties. Russians who own real estate in Montenegro find themselves in a specific situation — according to data from the Real Estate Administration, there are approximately 19,000 properties in Montenegro owned by Russian citizens. The sale of some of these properties is taking place for several reasons: changed economic circumstances, rising prices that enable profit-taking, stricter tax oversight, and geopolitical uncertainty.

Cities that were traditionally "Russian enclaves" — Bar, Herceg Novi, Petrovac, and Budva — are now seeing increased property sales by Russian owners, with new buyers being predominantly Serbs, Turks, and Western Europeans. According to a Balkan Insight report from May 2026, the decline in Russian presence is particularly felt in coastal towns such as Bar and Budva.

The change in investor structure has not negatively affected rental yields — quite the contrary. Turkish and Western European buyers arriving for long-term residency or as investors are increasing demand for quality properties. According to data from the Investitor portal, Montenegro's real estate price growth of 23% in the first quarter of 2025 is even faster than growth in the EU (3.6% according to Eurostat), placing Montenegro among the most promising European markets.

What Russia is losing, Montenegro is compensating for with its European perspective. Montenegro has the ambition to close all negotiating chapters with the EU by the end of 2026, with a target accession date of 2028. At the 26th accreditation conference in March 2026, 14 of 33 negotiating chapters were closed, and Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos publicly confirmed that Montenegro is "on the right track." The example of Croatia is not far off: after joining the EU in 2013, coastal property prices rose by 40% over the following five years. Buyers who entered before accession captured that gain.

In addition, Wizz Air opened a base at Podgorica Airport on March 30, 2026 — its 37th in Europe — and launched 17 new routes to Paris, Hamburg, Barcelona, Rome, and other cities. Better air connectivity directly means a greater number of potential buyers discovering Montenegro. For investors seeking an alternative to expensive Greece, Italy, or Spain, Montenegro remains one of the most affordable Mediterranean options.