New builds - Zadar

Zadar sits on a narrow peninsula and has, over the past two decades, turned from a quiet administrative centre for northern Dalmatia into a destination with a character of its own — the Sea Organ and the Greeting to the Sun did more for that than anyone expected. Property here differs from Split's because the city is flatter, more spread out and less hemmed in, so flats with terraces and houses with gardens still exist inside the city limits. The peninsula holds stone buildings around the Roman forum and the cathedral; Voštarnica and Arbanasi are densely settled, long-established quarters; Borik and Puntamika carry the hotel and apartment belt along the shore; and Bili Brig and Stanovi are year-round residential estates. Zadar is well connected: the airport at Zemunik takes low-cost flights through much of the year, the A1 motorway runs above the city, and the Gaženica ferry port serves Ugljan, Pašman and Dugi otok. That is why some buyers deliberately choose an island within sight of town instead of a flat in Zadar itself.

Families from Zadar and its hinterland looking for a year-round home, alongside buyers from Zagreb and central Europe who use the property in high summer and let it for the rest of the season. A notable share are Croatian emigrants from Germany and Austria returning to the region their family left.

Neighbourhoods: Poluotok, Borik, Voštarnica, Bili Brig, Diklo, Arbanasi