The story of the construction of the observation deck and the development of the town as a tourist center influenced the increase in prices in Ovčar Banja.
The news about the construction of a glass viewing platform on Kablar raised prices in Ovčar Banjaso, unofficially, for an apartment of 40 square meters, which a year and a half ago was worth from 18,000 to 20,000 euros, now he offers 90,000 euros.
In the protected area of the Ovčar-Kablar Gorge, a dilapidated house is also sought after, but the owners have stopped selling the property, and the demand is increasing day by day.
“This story about prices started immediately after the state began to rebuild the center of the town. Shortly before that, a couple of apartments were sold and the trade stopped there. There are more and more interested buyers, but no one wants to sell apartments and houses yet. Everyone recognized a chance to make money from tourism, which in Banja has never been as profitable as it is today,” says Nenad Stojković, a resident of Ovčar Banja, who himself had an offer to sell his family home, which he renovated a long time ago and rents out to tourists.
He says that recently more guests have been coming to Ovčar Banja, including foreigners, and due to limited capacity, accommodation must be reserved in advance.
Ovčar Banja has about 100 inhabitants, and Stojković noticed, he says, something incredible.
“In a year, no one moved away, which I don’t remember happening! People want to come back and make a profit. Even those who went to the surrounding towns of Čačak and Lucana for work, and have households here, come back, renovate their buildings, no one thinks about selling them. However, how will the spa really become a top destination, customers are still asking, so this further raises the prices,” says Nenad.
Well-acquainted with the happenings in the town, Stojković says that there is no official data on the price of a square meter, but word of mouth is spreading that the owners are raising prices to the sky with the clear intention of turning away buyers. The price of a square meter in Čačak in a new building goes up to 1,650 euros, and a square meter of a modest cottage 800 meters from the center of Banja, downstream of the Morava, is already 200, 300 euros more expensive. In the majority of cases, it is about prefabricated buildings that were built on the land of the Sretenje monastery, without a permit.
Recently, a railway carriage was arranged for overnight accommodation, sold for an incredible 10,000 euros, that is, that’s just how much a place by the water costs. Currently, a small cottage is for sale for 30,000 euros, but the owner raises the price with each new call.
“There is also one for sale for 70,000 and I am convinced that it will soon find a new owner, even though it is not worth that much. All of these prefabricated buildings have been flooded several times and many have solutions for demolition. Renting out cottages by the water has become a very profitable business, and from what I hear, their rent has also become more expensive,” says Čačan’s BS, who pays the monastery an annual land lease of around 150 euros for the cottage next to the river.
(World/Informer)