How to sell a property in Serbia: a step-by-step guide
Selling a property in Serbia takes nine steps: valuation, document preparation, preparing the property itself, appointing an agency, marketing, viewings, negotiation and a preliminary contract with a deposit, notarisation of the sale contract, and finally handover and registration. A realistically priced property in a desirable Belgrade location sells within 30 to 90 days. If you live abroad, two additional questions matter from day one: whether you need to travel, and how the proceeds leave the country. Both are answered below.
What are the steps to selling a property in Serbia?
The sale runs through nine steps, in this order:
- Valuation — establishing a realistic market price from comparable sales.
- Documents — verifying ownership and gathering everything the notary will require.
- Preparing the property — cleaning, minor repairs, professional photography.
- Appointing an agency — a brokerage contract setting out commission and obligations.
- Marketing — the agency's own channels, portals, and the global Sotheby's network.
- Viewings — arranged and accompanied.
- Negotiation and preliminary contract — terms agreed, deposit paid as security.
- Notarisation — the sale contract is certified before a Serbian public notary.
- Handover and registration — payment, keys, and the buyer's registration with the cadastre.
Steps 1–3 take the longest when the paperwork is not in order. Steps 7–9 move quickly once a buyer is found.
Do I have to be in Serbia to sell my property?
No. A property in Serbia can be sold through a power of attorney granted to a person you trust in Serbia, which allows them to sign on your behalf.
The power of attorney must be issued in the form Serbian law requires for property transactions and, if signed abroad, will generally need certification and legalisation — an Apostille under the Hague Convention for most countries, or full consular legalisation for the rest.
Getting this wrong is the most common delay for owners abroad: a power of attorney drafted in a foreign format, or missing an Apostille, is refused at the notary and has to be reissued from abroad. Have the wording confirmed by a Serbian lawyer before it is signed.
How is the asking price determined?
The realistic price is determined by analysing comparable sales in the same building and neighbourhood, current competing supply, the condition and floor of the property, and demand trends. What the property cost some years ago, or the figure the owner needs, are not market inputs.
Overpricing at launch is the expensive mistake. The property loses its most valuable weeks of exposure, and when the price is later reduced, the market reads it as a problem property.
KADENA Sotheby's prepares an indicative valuation free of charge for clients selling through us, using our own data on prices per building in New Belgrade and Belgrade Waterfront.
What documents are required to sell a property in Serbia?
The core set is proof of ownership (the title deed from the cadastre), the basis of acquisition (a purchase contract, inheritance ruling or other instrument), the owner's identity documents, and proof that utility obligations are settled.
Verify these before marketing begins. An unregistered property, an unresolved inheritance or an old mortgage that was never deleted from the register can delay notarisation by weeks — and buyers who are kept waiting tend to walk away.
The full list, with what each document is and where it is obtained, is in our guide to the documents required to sell a property.
What does the agency commission cover?
KADENA Sotheby's standard commission is 2.5% of the achieved sale price. It covers the indicative valuation, professional presentation, advertising, viewing arrangements, negotiation and guidance through the entire legal process up to handover.
The brokerage contract signed before the engagement begins defines the commission, its duration and both parties' obligations. Anything not in that contract has not been agreed.
For non-resident sellers, the practical value is less about marketing and more about coordination: one point of contact managing the notary, the buyer's lawyer and the bank across time zones. Details in our guide to the real estate agency commission.
How does the preliminary contract and deposit work?
Once terms are agreed, they are fixed in a preliminary contract secured by a deposit — most often 10% of the purchase price — certified before a public notary.
Under Serbian law the deposit is a security instrument rather than a mere advance — but it does not by itself buy either side a way out. Unless the preliminary contract expressly grants a right of withdrawal, the buyer cannot walk away by leaving the deposit, nor the seller by returning double.
Where one side fails to perform, the other chooses: demand performance, or claim damages, or keep the deposit — or claim double the deposit where the seller is at fault. A court may reduce a deposit that is excessive. The familiar "forfeit it, or return double" outcome applies where a right of withdrawal was agreed alongside the deposit, which makes it withdrawal money. The preliminary contract must therefore state exactly what happens in each scenario, including a buyer's mortgage being refused.
What happens at the notary?
A contract for the sale of real estate must be certified (solemnised) by a Serbian public notary to have legal effect. The notary verifies the identity of the parties, the contents of the contract and the supporting documents.
If you are not attending in person, your attorney under the power of attorney signs instead. The notary's fee is set by tariff and depends on the value of the property: solemnisation is charged at 60% of Tariff no. 1, calculated in points worth RSD 180 each, excluding VAT.
What taxes apply when a foreign owner sells?
A seller should account for the agency commission, a share of notarisation costs where agreed, and potentially capital gains tax if the property is sold for more than it was acquired for.
Non-residents face an additional layer: whether the gain is also taxable in your country of tax residence, and whether a double taxation treaty between Serbia and that country applies. Serbia has such treaties with a large number of states, but the treatment differs by treaty and must be checked for your specific case.
Full breakdown of Serbian taxes and fees in our guide to costs and taxes in a Serbian property transaction.
How do the sale proceeds leave Serbia?
Sale proceeds are transferred abroad through a Serbian commercial bank, which will require the notarised sale contract and evidence that the applicable taxes have been settled as the basis for the transfer.
Open the account and confirm the bank's documentary requirements before the sale completes, not after. Non-resident account opening takes longer than most sellers expect, and a completed sale with no account to receive the funds is a common and entirely avoidable delay.
How long does a sale take?
A realistically priced property in a good Belgrade location sells within 30 to 90 days of listing. The luxury segment takes longer, because the pool of buyers is narrower.
For non-resident owners, add time for the power of attorney and for opening a bank account, if neither exists yet. Both are administrative rather than difficult — but neither can be rushed once a buyer is waiting.