Allegations of money laundering in construction and claims of informal power networks, including the case of Ergys Agasi, fuel concerns over a distorted housing market
Tirana Times, TIRANA, 05 January 2026 – For many middle income families in Tirana, buying an apartment has shifted from a realistic life goal to an almost unattainable ambition. Wages have risen slowly, while apartment prices and rents have surged far beyond international affordability standards, increasingly locking ordinary citizens out of the housing market.
New residential projects on the capital’s outskirts are now offered at prices approaching 2,000 euros per square meter, while in central areas such as the former Blloku district, prices have climbed to around 5,500 euros per square meter. Rents have followed the same trajectory, with monthly payments often consuming well over 30 percent of household income, the threshold commonly used to define housing affordability, and in many cases approaching levels considered financially unsustainable.
The widening gap between incomes and housing costs is stark. Albania’s average gross monthly wage in 2024 stood at roughly 770 euros, according to official statistics. By contrast, housing price indices show rapid acceleration. The Bank of Albania Fischer Index recorded a 14.6 percent increase in housing prices in the first half of 2025 compared with the previous six months, and a jump of more than 40 percent compared with 2024. International assessments, including a Deloitte review of European real estate markets, ranked Albania among the countries with the fastest rising property prices on the continent.
By local calculations cited in economic reporting, purchasing a standard 70 square meter apartment in Tirana now requires the equivalent of about 19 years of gross income for an average Albanian. This ratio exceeds that of several major European capitals. Experts estimate that couples with average earnings may need between 15 and 19 years of income to buy a home, compared with a European benchmark of roughly 10 to 12 years.
Rents have become equally burdensome. One bedroom apartments near central areas commonly rent for 600 to 900 euros per month, while peripheral neighborhoods offer little relief, with prices typically between 400 and 500 euros. The pressure is compounded by Albania’s cost of living structure, where food alone accounts for nearly 40 percent of household spending, far above European Union averages.
Economists and urban planners point to multiple drivers behind the surge, including rising construction costs, higher taxes and fees, growing tourism demand, and the rapid expansion of short term rentals. Yet a growing number of experts argue that these factors do not fully explain the scale or persistence of price increases. Instead, they point to the role of informal money flows and suspected money laundering as a central force distorting the market.
A study by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime has become a frequent reference point in this debate. According to the study, about 67 percent of construction companies in Tirana that received permits to build structures higher than six floors lacked demonstrable financial capacity and had not obtained bank loans. Experts say this strongly suggests that a significant share of investment in high rise construction is being financed through undeclared cash rather than formal credit channels, raising concerns about the use of proceeds from organized crime and systemic corruption.
Another indicator reinforcing these concerns is the scale of vacant housing. By 2024, estimates indicated that more than 100,000 apartments in Tirana were empty. Analysts say this figure is likely to have increased further as new projects continue to come online. The combination of soaring prices and mass vacancy has fueled the perception that apartments are increasingly treated not as homes, but as vehicles for storing capital.
Urban planning experts warn that these dynamics resemble a speculative bubble. They note that prices have continued to rise despite stagnant purchasing power, population decline, and emigration pressures, particularly among young people. Surveys consistently show that a large share of Albania’s youth aspire to leave the country, deepening the paradox of a booming construction sector in a society experiencing demographic contraction.
The housing debate has taken on a sharper political edge following a series of anti corruption investigations. In mid December, Albania’s Special Anti Corruption and Organized Crime Structure, SPAK, arrested senior officials linked to AKSHI, a state agency considered part of the country’s national security infrastructure. While the case itself is not directly related to real estate, critics argue it exposed the existence of informal power networks operating across institutions, reinforcing concerns about how large scale construction projects are enabled.
Some local experts and investigative journalists allege that such networks have helped coordinate relationships between state power, business interests, and parts of the criminal economy, including in the construction sector. In that narrative, one figure repeatedly mentioned is Ergys Agasi, described by critics as an informal power broker with leverage over state agencies, including, they claim, AKSHI and structures connected to the Interior Ministry and the State Police. These allegations are politically explosive and legally sensitive, and have not been established as fact in court.
Investigative reporting has also drawn attention to a planned 20 story tower in a densely built courtyard area near the Emin Duraku school in Tirana. According to complaints filed by residents and information cited by local investigative journalists, the central reason the project was referred to SPAK is the alleged role of Agasi as the real power broker behind the development, acting through intermediaries rather than holding any formal government position. Residents argue that their repeated objections and legal requests to halt the project were ignored precisely because of this alleged political protection. In their filing, they have asked SPAK to seize the project, describing it as a clear example of how construction linked to politically connected figures can proceed despite sustained public opposition.
These claims remain unproven in judicial proceedings, but they have intensified public skepticism toward a construction model that critics say has become inseparable from informal influence and weak institutional oversight.
For ordinary citizens, the political and investigative dimensions offer little immediate relief. Mortgage credit remains costly, down payments are increasingly out of reach, and rental prices continue to absorb a growing share of household income. Existing social housing programs and affordability schemes are widely viewed as insufficient to counterbalance market forces.
The implications extend beyond housing. Albania is a candidate for European Union membership, yet critics question why international partners have been largely silent in the face of persistent claims that the country’s real estate sector functions as a major channel for laundering illicit funds. The question has gained urgency as anti corruption investigations expand to senior levels of government, including recent arrest requests involving top officials over alleged mismanagement of public funds.
For now, construction cranes continue to dominate Tirana’s skyline, and prices show little sign of retreat. But behind the glossy renderings and rising towers, Albania’s housing boom increasingly tells a story of exclusion, a market that builds more, costs more, and leaves a growing share of its citizens with fewer options, except the possibility of leaving the country altogether.
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