A total of 17,200 real estate transactions were made in the first half of 2017, the latest period for which the Mapping and Surveying Authority (GURS) has data. The value of deals totalled EUR 1.07bn, down from the EUR 1.13bn in the second half of 2016.

The number of transactions involving apartments was 4% higher than in the second half of 2007. The number of house transactions was however 5% lower.

Prices of used flats increased by 3% in the first half of the year, but they remained 14% below the record prices in 2008.

The Real Estate Association of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) stated that the growth continued in the second half of the year, with the number of deals increasing even further, especially in the north-western region of Gorenjska, on the coast, and in Maribor.

On the other hand, real estate agencys, says the number of transactions has started edging down in the second half of the year because of higher interest on loans.

Smaller apartments with prices ranging from EUR 50,000 to EUR 200,000 are the most sought after in Slovenia, he said. Most of the real estate was bought for housing, while the number of properties purchased as an investment is growing.

According to the Real Estate Association, the number of apartments bought as investment is increasing primarily in Gorenjska and in Maribor.

Looking at 2018, Veleski believes that growth will continue at least through the first half of the year, with the highest increase expected in central Slovenia as well as in places interesting for tourists.

Veleski believes price growth will slow down due to new developments, while Đukić expects prices will actually start edging down next year.

ABC nepremičnine real estate agent Alen Komić, on the other hand, believes that prices will continue to grow as there is "enough demand and limited supply".

Real Estate Association data show that 1,000 new apartments are to be built by 2020 in Ljubljana, which will also affect the prices of used flats.

But the head of the apartment portfolio at the Bank Assets Management Company (BAMC), Domen Nahtigal, is not dismayed: "It's hard to say by how much the prices will grow. But there is a lack of supply at the moment, and some growth may be expected in prime location such as Ljubljana and the coast in 2018."

The situation is somewhat different in commercial real estate where it might seem at first glance that supply outstrips than demand, but in fact this is not the case. Demand and the number of transactions are growing too, although the growth is somewhat slower than in residential real estate.The supply of commercial real estate was still higher than demand, which had not changed since the crisis.