Blloku, Tirana: what it costs to buy or rent an apartment in 2026

Blloku is the most expensive area in Tirana to buy an apartment. According to the Keydata Albania index, in the second quarter of 2026 the average price in the former Blloku was 2,962 €/m², about 40% above the city average (2,116 €/m²): a 70 m² apartment at this price costs about 207,000 €. To rent, a 1+1 (one bedroom plus living room) cost on average 700 € and a 2+1 (two bedrooms plus living room) 1,100 € a month from January to June 2026, according to Century 21 data published by Monitor and Shekulli. We checked all figures on 10 October 2026.

Main photo: Sophie Peng / Unsplash

Average price in the former Blloku, Q2 2026 (Keydata Albania)

2,962 €/m²

Median price in the former Blloku, same quarter

3,337 €/m²

Average monthly rent for a 1+1, January to June 2026 (Century 21)

700 €

Average monthly rent for a 2+1, same period

1,100 €

Where Blloku is and why it has this name

Blloku lies south of the Lana river and west of Dëshmorët e Kombit Boulevard, opposite the Prime Minister's Office and the Pyramid. Its best-known streets are Ismail Qemali, Pjetër Bogdani, Brigada VIII, Vaso Pasha, Sami Frashëri and Abdyl Frashëri, and administratively it belongs to Unit no. 5 of the Municipality of Tirana. Skanderbeg Square is about 800 metres away as the crow flies, while the Grand Park begins a little more than 500 metres to the south and the Artificial Lake is about 1 km away.

The name comes from the communist regime. From 1945 to 1991 the communist leadership lived here, including Enver Hoxha and his successor Ramiz Alia, in an area guarded day and night by the Republican Guard and by officers of the Sigurimi (the State Security service), according to a BalkanWeb article based on archive documents. Ordinary citizens could not enter: Blloku opened to the public in 1991.

Photo: Lorenzo Moreno / Unsplash

Hoxha's former villa on Ismail Qemali street is called Villa 31 and, according to the Art Explora foundation, houses its artist residency; in April and November 2025 it hosted art events open to the public. At the entrance from the boulevard, the Postbllok memorial, inaugurated in March 2013, brings together a bunker on the site of the former checkpoint, concrete supports from the mine of the Spaç prison camp and a piece of the Berlin Wall. After 1991 the ground floors filled with cafés, restaurants, shops and offices, while tall buildings went up between the old villas and apartment blocks.

How much an apartment in Blloku costs in 2026

On average 2,962 €/m², according to the Keydata Albania index for the second quarter of 2026. The median was even higher, 3,337 €/m²: half of the apartments in the index calculation for Blloku had a price per m² above this level. Compared with the first quarter, the average fell 1.4% (from 3,003 €/m²), while the median rose 11.1%. Since 2020 the quarterly average for Blloku in the index has ranged from 1,462 to 3,003 €/m², and since the second quarter of 2019 it has risen by 117%. The index mixes resales and new builds, mostly resales, so the price of a specific apartment depends heavily on the year of construction, the lift, parking and the floor.

Blloku costs about 40% more than the Tirana average and about 18% more than the average for the whole of Unit 5, which also includes the Lake area and Komuna e Parisit. With 200,000 € and at average prices, you buy about 68 m² in Blloku, compared with about 95 m² in Tirana in general. You will find the comparison for every unit in apartment prices in Tirana by area, and the official reference prices for the 32 zones on the Tirana market page.

According to the Bank of Albania (Banka e Shqipërisë), in the first half of 2026 home prices in Tirana were almost 10% higher than a year earlier, but the average time to sell in the capital lengthened to 9.7 months, from 8.1. Most sales closed at the asking price or up to 5% below it.

The reference price in Blloku: 228,400 lek/m²

For the notary and for taxes, what matters is the official reference price. In the zoning used by the Keydata index, the former Blloku is cadastral zone 5/1, which in the table of Council of Ministers Decision (VKM) no. 457/2023 has the highest reference price in Tirana: 228,400 lek/m², about 2,490 €/m² at the official rate of 9 October 2026 (1 € = 91.65 lek (ALL), Bank of Albania). This is about 16% below the market average. Your notary or ASHK (the State Cadastre Agency, Agjencia Shtetërore e Kadastrës) can confirm the exact zone of the building.

The reference price is used in three cases: the notary calculates the fee on it when the price in the contract is lower; for the 15% tax on the seller's gain, the higher of the contract price and the reference price is used; and, when the municipality has no higher recorded value, the annual property tax on a home is calculated on it at 0.05% of the value, i.e. 7,994 lek a year for 70 m². If the apartment is used as an office or for business, the building tax rate is 0.2%. The details are in the reference price for property and property tax 2026.

The calculator below works out the notary and ASHK fees for a 70 m² apartment at the average price, at the day's exchange rate. Who pays them is explained in the article on notary fees.

How much rent costs in Blloku

From January to June 2026, a 1+1 in Blloku rented for an average of 700 € a month and a 2+1 for 1,100 €, according to Century 21, with data for 13 areas of Tirana published by Monitor and Shekulli. The rent for a 1+1 rose 7.6% in a year, from 650 €, while that for a 2+1 stayed almost the same.

For a 2+1, Blloku is not the area with the highest rent: in Myslym Shyri and near the Air Albania stadium a 2+1 costs 1,400 to 1,500 €. According to a real estate agent quoted by Shekulli, demand in Tirana's preferred areas is also driven by young professionals, employees of foreign companies, diplomats and foreigners living in Albania, and this shows most in areas such as the former Blloku, near the Artificial Lake and in the centre. Foreigners also weigh on sales: according to the Bank of Albania, about 20% of homes sold in Albania in the first half of 2026 were bought by non-residents, about 85% of them EU citizens.

For a single tenant, the rent on a 1+1 in Blloku takes about 95% of the average net wage, according to Monitor's calculation based on INSTAT data (about 740 € net, Q1 2026), far above the threshold of about 30% that Monitor uses as the affordability limit. You will find the comparison with other neighbourhoods in rent in Tirana by neighbourhood, and how to protect your deposit in the rental contract in 2026.

What rent returns compared with the price

With the two published averages, the gross yield comes to about 4.7 to 5% a year, before empty months, maintenance, the building fee and furnishing. The sizes in the table are examples.

For individuals, rent is taxed at 15% of the gross amount, with no expenses deducted (Law no. 29/2023, articles 15 and 24). The net yield is explained in investing in property in Albania, and the comparison by apartment type in the article studio, 1+1 or 2+1 for investment.

Long-term rent or short-term rent

According to Monitor, in the first half of 2026 an Airbnb apartment in Tirana earned on average about 25.5 € a day, roughly 765 € a month, before energy, cleaning, maintenance, commissions and tax. That is a little more than the 700 € of a 1+1 on a long-term lease in Blloku, but with much more work. According to the Tax Administration, short-term rent on Booking or Airbnb must also be declared in the DIVA (the annual personal income declaration) once it exceeds 50,000 lek a year without tax withheld; the new checks are covered in short-term rent on Airbnb and Booking. Before you buy for short-term rental, ask the building administrator about the rules.

Living in Blloku: noise, nightlife and parking

Blloku is one of Tirana's liveliest neighbourhoods at night, and that is its main drawback for residents. Cafés, bars and restaurants occupy the ground floors of many buildings, so two apartments on the same street can be one quiet and the other noisy. Visit the apartment on a Friday or Saturday after 23:00 as well.

The noise law defines evening as 19:00 to 24:00 and night as 24:00 to 06:00 (Law no. 9774/2007, article 10, amended in 2023). For any source of noise in the city, enforcement starts with a written complaint (article 28) and is carried out by the environmental inspection bodies, the State Police and the Municipal Police (article 29). For noise above the permitted level, including music, the fine is 200,000 to 400,000 lek and the business can be closed temporarily or permanently (article 32). If a bar or restaurant bothers you, note the dates and times, file a written complaint with the Municipality of Tirana (free number 0800 0888) and, when the noise continues at night, call the State Police on 129.

Parking is the other problem: in such a dense neighbourhood, street spaces are scarce. The Municipality's pavement project for Ismail Qemali, Pjetër Bogdani and Brigada VIII streets provides for wider pavements, streets open to cars and a loading and unloading bay on each street. A parking space or garage registered with ASHK as a separate property is worth a lot; how to check it and what it costs is explained in the article on parking spaces and garages.

Old building or new build in Blloku?

In Blloku you will find villas and apartment blocks from before 1991, buildings from the 1990s and 2000s, and new towers, with different prices and different things to check.

• Old buildings. Check the structure, the roof, insulation, heating and the lift, and ask whether the building was technically assessed after the November 2019 earthquake. The documents that show a building is safe are explained in the article the earthquake and your building.
• New builds. Ask for the building permit, the occupancy permit and the apartment's ownership certificate at ASHK. For off-plan purchases, read how to buy an apartment under construction and what to check before buying off-plan.

You will find the full comparison of price, renovation and risks in new apartment or one in an old building.

Who Blloku suits

Blloku suits people who work in the centre and want to get around on foot, foreigners coming to Albania for work and investors looking for long-term tenants. Families who want quiet and parking, or buyers with a tighter budget, often find more space for the same money in nearby neighbourhoods such as Komuna e Parisit or Pazari i Ri and central Tirana. For a specific apartment, compare the asking price with the free property valuation.

What to check before buying or renting in Blloku

You will find the technical points to check in an apartment in inspecting an apartment before you buy, and how to get and read the certificate in the ownership certificate online.