The Albanian real estate market generally offers modest returns from buying properties for rental. Although rental prices have increased in recent years, following the upward trends in sales prices and driven in particular by the growing demand for daily rentals brought by tourism, the measure of return on investment remains weak compared to benchmark property investment returns.

According to AirDNA data, for the first half of 2026, the monthly rental income for properties listed on AirBNB in ​​Tirana was 765 euros per month or 9180 euros per year, in gross terms. Meanwhile, according to the Keydata Albania index, the average sale price in Tirana in the middle of this year reached 2100 euros per m2. If we calculate the value of an apartment for an average area of ​​​​about 80 m2, the purchase price would result in about 168 thousand euros (without counting the costs of furnishing).

Based on these figures, the annual return on rental income is around 5.5%, but always estimated in gross terms. If we were to take into account the costs of furnishing the apartment and further maintenance, taxes, costs, as well as depreciation of the building and furnishings, the net return would be significantly lower than 5%. Based on the above figures, the gross return on investment through rental would be at least 19 years. According to global standards, the optimal return on investment in a property through rental is 12 to 15 years.

Based on the above assessments, it can be concluded that the return from renting in the housing market in Albania is not very attractive. For comparison, currently the yield of 20-year bonds of the Albanian government is 6.5%, while that of 15-year bonds is 6.22%, with an increasing trend. The yields of financial instruments with zero risk are higher than the average gross return from investing through renting a house./Monitor