What it costs to buy property in Montenegro
A foreign buyer should budget roughly 5.4%–6.3% of the purchase price on top of the price itself. No licence or permit is required.
What you pay
- Property transfer tax4.3% of the price$21,611
- Legal fees1.0%–1.5% of the price$5,000–$7,500
- Notary fees0.1%–0.5% of the price$500–$2,500
| On a purchase of | $250,000 | $500,000 | $1,000,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property transfer tax | $9,111 | $21,611 | $50,962 |
| Notary fees | $250 – $1,250 | $500 – $2,500 | $1,000 – $5,000 |
| Legal fees | $2,500 – $3,750 | $5,000 – $7,500 | $10,000 – $15,000 |
| Total on top of the price | 4.7%–5.6% | 5.4%–6.3% | 6.2%–7.1% |
Who carries the taxes and fees
What the seller pays — not you
- Agency commission — 3%Customarily the seller's, around 3%.
Guides that add every tax together and present the total as a buyer's bill overstate the cost. These are the seller's.
Can you buy as a foreigner?
No licence required
Apartments, houses and urban land are open to foreign buyers with no permit and no surcharge. The exclusions are what to watch: agricultural land, forest, cultural monuments, islands and anything within a kilometre of the border are closed to foreign ownership — though a foreigner may hold up to 5,000 m² of agricultural land if a residential building stands on it. Montenegro uses the euro without being in the eurozone.
No approval to wait for
With no permission to obtain, the timeline is set by conveyancing rather than by a government queue.
Take it with you
These figures as a PDF, worked out at the price you enter, with every source and the date it was checked.
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Nearby markets compared
What a foreign buyer pays on top of a $500,000 price, here and in the markets around it nearest in cost.
An estimate for budgeting, not legal or tax advice. These rates are traced to published sources but have not been reviewed by a practitioner in this jurisdiction. Confirm the current position with an attorney before you commit.
The banded rates come from a Montenegrin agency's costs guide and are internally consistent with the statutory base-plus-excess formulation. The restricted categories are traced to Multilaw's real estate guide. Worth confirming with a Montenegrin lawyer, particularly the border-zone and island exclusions, which are defined by decision rather than on any public map.