Apartments in Durrës Beach and Shkëmbi i Kavajës: areas, prices and what to check in 2026

In 2026, buying an apartment by the sea in Durrës costs from 1,200 to 2,500 € per m² in the most sought-after areas, from Vollga to Shkëmbi i Kavajës, according to a Vizion Plus report on the property market in May 2026. For the front line with a sea view, the figure repeated in the media since 2025 is around 2,000 € per m². The official reference price is still 67,500 lek (ALL) per m², about 736 €: it is a tax value, not a market price. Before you buy, check the building permit and the occupancy certificate of the building, and work out the rent with year-round averages, not with August.

Main photo: Shkelzen A. Rexha / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Per m² in the most sought-after areas of Durrës, according to Vizion Plus (May 2026)

1,200 to 2,500 €

Official reference price per m² of housing in Durrës, about 736 €

67,500 lek

Average time to sell a home in coastal areas, first half of 2026

8.2 months

Unoccupied homes in Durrës according to the 2023 Census

about 44%

Where Durrës Beach is and what its areas are

Durrës Beach (Plazhi i Durrësit, locally just "Plazh") is the sandy strip southeast of the centre, from the Dajlani Bridge (Ura e Dajlanit) to the Plepa overpass: about 4 km as the crow flies, crossed by Rruga Pavarësia, which runs parallel to the sea. Rrota e Kuqe, Hekurudha and Iliria, names you often see in listings, are part of it.

After Plepa begins Shkëmbi i Kavajës, which, despite its name ("Kavaja Rock"), lies in the Municipality of Durrës. Vizion Plus lists it, together with Qerret, among the most sought-after areas (May 2026). Golem, further south, is in the Municipality of Kavaja and has its own guide to apartments in Golem.

Photo: Pasztilla aka Attila Terbócs / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

For comparison, two other areas of the city:

• Vollga and the centre: the promenade and the port, a city that lives all year round, with old and new buildings.
• Currila: the hill in the northwest, with land still available, but with infrastructure problems according to an engineer quoted by Shqiptarja (2024). In September 2025, IKMT (the National Territory Protection Inspectorate) began demolishing unpermitted buildings that blocked the "Unaza Spitallë-Currila" road.

How much an apartment by the sea in Durrës costs

There are no official price statistics by neighbourhood for Durrës: the Bank of Albania (Banka e Shqipërisë) publishes its index only for the whole country and for Tirana. The table therefore gathers the prices per m² that agents and engineers have given in the media, with the date of each source. They are market estimates, not official data.

The figures differ because they measure different things, but the order repeats: the front line with a sea view is the most expensive, old buildings and back rows the cheapest. When a source gives both figures, the row further from the sea comes out 15 to 17% cheaper: 1,500 versus 1,800 € (Shqiptarja, 2024) and 1,700 versus 2,000 € in Qerret (Monitor, 2025). Our page on apartment prices in Durrës will publish listing averages as soon as it has at least 5 apartments for sale; on 10 October 2026 there were not yet enough.

The reference price: 67,500 lek per m²

For tax purposes, the city of Durrës has a single value: 67,500 lek per m² of usable area (Council of Ministers Decision, VKM no. 457/2023), about 736 € at the official rate of 1 € = 91.65 lek (Bank of Albania, 9 October 2026). When the price in the contract is lower, the notary calculates the fee on this value (Joint Instruction no. 22/2020); its use for tax is explained in the article on the reference price in 2026. For Shkëmbi i Kavajës, which is outside the city, the decision allows a reduction of up to 35% compared with the nearest zone, except in residential areas: ask the notary which value they apply.

A Ministry of Finance draft, under consultation in July 2025, proposed zones for Durrës from 45,000 to 200,000 lek per m² (Monitor). As of 10 October 2026 it had not been approved: in the Official Gazette (Fletorja Zyrtare), VKM no. 132/2018 was last amended by VKM no. 457/2023.

How quickly a home sells on the coast

In the first half of 2026, a home in coastal areas sold in 8.2 months on average, faster than in Tirana (9.7) and the national average (9.9), according to the Bank of Albania survey. The indicator fluctuates a lot from one half-year to the next. Most sales in the country closed at the asking price or up to 5% below it, so do not expect big discounts.

What rent brings in, summer and winter

According to AirDNA, as published by Monitor, from January to June 2026 Durrës had about 4,500 short-term rental units, at 49.4 € per night and about 800 € of income per month per apartment. In June the nightly rate reached 76 €, occupancy 60.3% and monthly income about 1,380 €; Monitor links this to the proximity to Tirana and a relatively long season. These averages do not deduct expenses and tax: you will find the comparison with other cities in short-term rentals by city, and the obligations in tax on Airbnb and Booking.

Winter is the other side. According to the 2023 Census, quoted by Monitor, about 44% of homes in Durrës were unoccupied, compared with 22% in Tirana: many apartments by the sea are holiday homes. Ask the building manager how many families live in the building all year round and how the maintenance fee is collected (building management).

There is no official figure for long-term rents in Durrës. If the season turns out weak, the alternative is renting by the month: work it out with the rents you find in rental listings, not with summer income.

Getting there: the motorway, summer traffic and the train

The Tirana-Durrës motorway is being widened: in June 2026, IKMT demolished a petrol station at the Kashar overpass for the construction site of the new overpass. Summer remains the weak point. Rrahman Kasa, of the Albanian Tourism Union, told Monitor that transfers from Tirana Airport to Golem took up to four and a half hours (19 September 2026). How the season affected the coastal market is explained in the article after summer 2026.

The Tirana-Durrës-Rinas train is expected to start passenger service in the fourth quarter of 2027 (Monitor, 9 June 2026). It will stop at Durrës station, in the centre, about 2.5 km as the crow flies from Rrota e Kuqe and 4 km from Iliria, so from the Beach you will still need the bus or a car. The details are in the article on the railway, and the comparison for those who work in Tirana in Tirana or Durrës.

What to check before you buy: the permit, the earthquake and the building

Little new is built on the Beach itself: an agent told Shqiptarja in 2024 that "even on the beach there is no construction", while the big building sites have moved towards Golem, Mali i Robit and Qerret (Euronews Albania, 2025). Most apartments for sale are therefore in existing buildings. The earthquake of 26 November 2019, with a magnitude of 6.4, destroyed several buildings in Durrës (VOA), so the first question is when the building was built and with what permit. How the structure is assessed is explained in the article on the earthquake and building safety.

Since 1 September 2016, building permits have been applied for only electronically, through e-Albania (the government services portal) and AZHT (the Territorial Development Agency); for older buildings, the permit is requested from the municipal archive. For every completed building, also ask for the occupancy certificate. In 2025, according to IKMT's annual report, 11 structures were demolished in Durrës, fewer than in the other areas reported (Bulevard, 27 March 2026); the cases in the south are in the article on demolitions on the coast.

You will find the physical inspection, point by point, in checking an apartment before you buy.

Who buys on the Beach and how the purchase is financed

Buyers in Durrës are mainly Albanians, from the country and from the diaspora: according to Shqiptarja, about 15% were foreigners (2024), and an agent told Euronews Albania that emigrants look especially for apartments near the beach (2025). Across the country, about 20% of homes sold in the first half of 2026 went to non-residents, 85% of them EU citizens, a share that has grown over the past five years (Bank of Albania). If you are buying from Kosovo or from abroad, the steps are in buying property from Kosovo and buying from abroad; the comparison with the other coast is in where to buy a holiday apartment.

For a second home or one to rent out, a mortgage has stricter limits: up to 80% of the value in lek and 70% in foreign currency, with instalments up to 35% of income in lek and 30% in foreign currency (Bank of Albania, decision no. 25/2025, for loans from 1 July 2025). About 58% of properties sold in the first half of 2026 were bought with a loan. The calculator starts at 120,000 € (e.g. 60 m² at 2,000 € per m²), a 20% down payment and an example rate of 4%: change them according to the offers in home loans, while the notary and ASHK are calculated on the buying costs page.

Frequently asked questions