What Europeans Love (and Struggle With) When Buying Property in Albania

I’ve lived in Saranda long enough to remember when there were more olive trees than tourists. When the promenade was quiet at sunset. When you could still find beachfront property for €500 per square meter (hard to believe now, I know).

These days? The Albanian Riviera is buzzing. Especially with foreign buyers.

Over the past few years, I’ve worked with clients from Italy, Germany, Sweden, Poland, France—you name it. Some fall in love instantly. Others? They’re intrigued, but cautious. And some are just confused by how things work here.

So I thought I’d write a little something honest. A mix of what Europeans love when they come to buy property in Albania—and what they often struggle with, at least at first.

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What They Love: Nature, Prices, and That Laid-Back Energy

Let’s start with the obvious: the views.

It sounds cliché, I know. But you really don’t get tired of them.

Last week, I showed a client a stunning seaview apartment just above Ksamil. The kind of place where the balcony floats above the turquoise water and the sunset lights up the whole bay in pink and gold. He turned to me mid-visit and said: “How is this not Greece?”

That one moment reminded me why I love this job.

And he’s right. The nature here feels untouched. Especially in places like Borsh, where the beaches stretch out for kilometers and you can still hear crickets at night instead of club music.

(By the way, the tiny taverna near the bridge in Borsh—just a few steps from the beach—is my go-to place for relaxed property viewings. Ask for the grilled eggplant. Thank me later.)

But beyond the views, what really surprises most buyers is the price. You can still find affordable properties here that would cost 3–4x more in Italy or Croatia. Especially when you look at pre-construction deals.

For example, we’re currently working on a beautiful villa development up in the hills of Borsh. Three villas, each with private pools, sea views, and Mediterranean stonework. It’s one of our favorites. You can take a look here if you’re curious:

Villa 1 & 2 – VivaView

I truly believe Saranda offers the best value on the entire Mediterranean coast.

And then there’s the vibe. Life here moves at a different pace. Morning coffee lasts an hour. No one rushes you at the market. People say “mirëmëngjes” even if they don’t know you.

That slower rhythm? Europeans love it. Especially those coming from big cities.

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What They Struggle With: Bureaucracy, Logic (or Lack Thereof), and Timing

Now… let’s be honest.

Not everything is smooth sailing.

One of the first things I usually tell foreign buyers is: “Things move differently here. Be patient, and you’ll be fine.”

The paperwork process can feel confusing at times. You might hear four different answers to the same question, depending on who you ask. Some clients expect things to be standardized like in Germany or Norway. But Albania has its own way.

Not worse. Just different.

You might need three visits to the notary to sign one paper. Or wait a week for a document to be translated. And the property registration system, while much better now than years ago, still has its quirks.

Another thing: not everything has a clean, official floor plan. Sometimes you’ll walk into a 1+1 apartment, and it’s been converted to a 2+1—creatively. I once had a client from the Netherlands look at a unit and say, “This wall wasn’t here in the photos.”

She wasn’t wrong. But in Albania, improvisation is practically an art form.

Oh—and timing.

Many foreign buyers assume a property listed as “ready in September” means you’ll be living in it by October. But here? September might mean December. Or January. I always recommend factoring in a buffer. Builders here work hard, but the concept of deadlines can be… flexible.

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