SLOVENIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Blaž Ogorevc and Miha Štravs, Šelih & partnerji, o.p., d.o.o.
country. These projects are expected to deliver sev - eral thousand additional rental units in the coming years, primarily targeting middle-income households and young professionals. Another distinctive feature of the Slovenian residential market is the strong preference among households for investing in residential real estate. Apartments are widely perceived as a relatively safe store of value, particularly in a context of rising property prices and historically low financial market participation. As a result, many owners acquire additional apartments as long-term investments and may choose to keep them vacant rather than actively renting them out. Accord - ing to some statistical estimates, Slovenia may even have up to 100,000 unoccupied dwellings (although not all of them are suitable for immediate use in the housing market), which is frequently cited as one of the factors contributing to limited rental supply and rising rents in major urban centres. In response, ini - tiatives have been made regarding the possibility of introducing a tax on vacant residential properties. Institutional rental housing – including build-to-rent developments – remains relatively underdeveloped in Slovenia compared to more mature European mar - kets. In our view, this segment will not develop unless Slovenian pension fund schemes evolve and institu - tional investors recognise the long-term demand for rental housing, as in several other European countries. Private investors remain primarily focused on residen - tial developments in Ljubljana and other major urban centres. At the same time, premium residential pro - jects targeting tourism destinations such as the Slo - venian coast, Lake Bled and alpine resorts continue to attract both domestic and foreign investors. Office Market The office market in Slovenia has demonstrated con - siderable resilience despite structural changes in workplace organisation following the COVID-19 pan - demic. Vacancy rates in prime office buildings remain relatively low, while rents for modern Class A office space in Ljubljana generally range between approxi - mately EUR16.5 and EUR20.5 per square metre per month.
In past years, the market has experienced a shortage of large, modern office premises capable of accom - modating multinational tenants and regional corpo - rate headquarters. This has occasionally contributed to some international companies considering alterna - tive locations for regional offices. However, several major projects currently developed or under develop - ment are expected to improve the supply situation in the coming years. These include the modern DCB Montana building, L33, Vilharia complex, the Emonika mixed-use development and the WestLink Campus project. Together, these developments are expected to add significant new office capacity to the Ljubljana market. Hybrid working arrangements have also somewhat influenced tenant expectations. Some companies are now seeking smaller but higher-quality office spaces that emphasise collaboration, flexibility and employee wellbeing. As a result, modern office developments increasingly incorporate shared amenities, flexible lay - outs and improved workplace environments. Environmental sustainability and energy performance have become increasingly important considerations for tenants and investors. Modern office develop - ments are expected to incorporate advanced build - ing technologies, high energy-efficiency standards and improved workplace amenities. The new devel - opments mentioned above are in most cases acquir - ing sustainability certificates such as DGNB or LEED. At the same time, there is growing interest in the refur - bishment and repositioning of older office buildings. Retrofitting existing properties to improve energy effi - ciency and tenant experience is becoming an impor - tant strategy for maintaining competitiveness in the office market, particularly as EU energy efficiency requirements become stricter. Such assets will remain attractive specifically to tenants who do not have a budget for an office in a premium newly developed building or are drawn by the specific location in the city centre. Retail Market The Slovenian retail sector remains very mature and well developed. Large-scale shopping centre devel - opments have already been completed in most major
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