Real estate can be indeed tricky and, like all sectors, prone to Black Swan events. Good example is Croatian capital city of Zagreb, where home prices were going insane. Like in most European cities, the most attractive locations were those in the city centre, partly because of vicinity to government institutions, partly because historic monuments and cool looking 19th Century architecture which made renting those properties to tourists quite lucrative.

So, the most expensive and most sought of locations in Zagreb were those in city centre. At least until March 22nd 2020 when the city was hit by an earthquake that happens once in 140 years. It turned out that all those 19th Century buildings were liabilities rather than assets; they were old and poorly maintained and, consequently, suffered a lot of damage in that earthquake and aftershocks that followed. Many are still in danger of collapsing and it isn't uncommon for debris still to fall down on street. Needless to say, some of those buildings will have to be demolished (although much more slowly than expected, due to COVID and latest developments in Ukraine) and even those that haven't damaged much would need extra costs for renovation. I'm certain that people who bought homes there in hopes of flipping them are now wish they hadn't.

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