The capital of Albania is experiencing a rapid and contradictory urban transformation, with dozens of skyscrapers changing the landscape of Tirana, while thousands of apartments remain empty and real estate prices are skyrocketing.
As the European website writes in an extensive report: voxeurop, the city center has been transformed into a permanent construction site, with projects by internationally renowned architects such as Stefano Boeri and Marco Casamonti, as well as offices such as the Dutch MVRDV. These big names, according to the publication, are being used by Prime Minister Edi Rama to lend international prestige to the new wave of development.
But behind the impressive facades, the reality is different. According to INSTAT data cited in the report, in 2023 one in three apartments in Albania was uninhabited. In the Tirana region alone, more than 85,000 empty houses were recorded, of which 52,000 were in the capital. At current demographic rates, it would take about 45 years to absorb the existing stock.
Despite the oversupply, prices continue to rise. According to data from the Bank of Albania cited in the publication, housing prices increased by 32.6% year-on-year in 2025, while in central areas selling prices now range between 2,500 and 4,500 euros per square meter. At the same time, the average monthly salary is around 850 euros, while rents for a two-room apartment hardly fall below 600 euros.
Particular reference is made to the urban plan "Tirana 2030", approved in 2017 and designed by Stefano Boeri's office, aiming for vertical development and the creation of more public spaces. However, as architects and researchers featured in the report note, the demolition of historic buildings and the lack of basic infrastructure show that the reality is far from the initial announcements.
The report also links the construction boom to concerns about corruption and the "distorted" functioning of the real estate market, citing a report by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, according to which the construction sector has been collecting a significant portion of revenue from tax evasion and corruption over the last decade.
The picture described by VOXEUROP is of a city that is changing at a rapid pace, but without resolving its deepest social and economic imbalances, while the country's European perspective for 2030 remains an open question.
