28.12.11

CORRECTION: $Total Value of Real Estate in Slovenia Estimated at EUR 140BN$

Ljubljana, 28 December (STA) - Please note that the costs of the

property census, stated in paragraph 10, were EUR 11m and not EUR 111m.


 

Total Value of Real Estate in Slovenia Estimated at EUR 140BN

An

estimate issued by the Surveying and Mapping Authority (GURS) on Wednesday

on the basis of the first property census in Slovenia's history put the

total market value of real estate in the country at EUR 140bn.

The

figure, considering the market situation as on 1 July 2010, has been

lowered from the EUR 160bn test estimate released in October last year and

takes into account the proposals for reevaluations that owners were able to

file only until now.

Based on the census carried out between 2006 and

2009, presumably as part of plans for a real estate tax that appear to be

shelved for now, the data - owner and estimated value - is publicly

available on the internet.

Dusan Mitrovic of GURS explained for the

press that houses account for the largest share of the total value, around

36%, and are followed by apartments, public buildings and other

property.

He added that houses also contributed the most to the

lowering of the total estimate, as their value went down from EUR 60bn to

EUR 50bn after the reevaluation.

The relative changes were largest

with farm and forest plots, where the most complaints were filed and

appraisal models were adjusted as a result.

GURS plans to look at the

changes on the market now, indexation will however only follow if the

established value difference exceeds 10%.

Mitrovic believes the

change between July 2010 and 1 January 2012 will not exceed 10%, but does

not exclude this possibility in the future. The entire appraisal procedure

will be repeated every four years, while indexation will be carried out

in-between.

Like in autumn 2010, owners of real estate are also

expected to be notified of the value of their property by post. However,

GURS head Ales Seliskar said that the operation, costing EUR 500,000,

remains uncertain as funds have not been secured yet.

The census cost

EUR 11m, while another EUR 4.5m was spent on the appraisal. The

notification of owners accounted for the bulk of the latter figure, EUR

2.6m.

Some 550,000 houses, 300,000 apartments, 380,000 farm

buildings, 30,000 industrial buildings, 80,000 bars and offices, 1.7m

forest plots and around 3 million farm plots are registered in

Slovenia.

The total number of pieces of property is around 6.1m,

1.16m of which are buildings. The number of owners is 1.17m.