In the latest instalment of our Meet Our Expert series, we chat with Jelena Cvjetkovic, a director in Savills Global Residential, to discuss the allure of international property and why she finds her work “infinitely stimulating”.

Raised in Croatia where she consumed a steady diet of the BBC and Brideshead Revisited, Jelena Cvjetkovic acts as a lynchpin for our Global Residential Division and is often the first port of call for international clients.

Before moving to London and joining Savills in 2008, Jelena lived and worked in Italy for 13 years. What compelled the change of scene? A desire to make use of her knowledge of European culture and languages, while interacting with clients every day. International property fit the bill perfectly.

Her role has two main focuses: the first is managing the associate offices across Europe, making sure they are plugged into the extensive assets that Savills offers. The other is acting on behalf of clients who have a pan-European search criteria - for example, those looking for a historical property along the Mediterranean, or a discreet off-market purchase.

“It’s hard not to get carried away by the beauty and breadth of properties we have on offer; I find myself mentally moving somewhere on each trip – Lisbon is my current favourite,” she says. “For me, tapping into different cultures, markets and places is infinitely stimulating.”

Jelena’s work takes her to some extraordinary places and homes. Over the last few years, a particularly memorable journey was travelling with a client across Europe in search of a large period property.

“The highlight of the trip for me was seeing something that had been very close to ‘home’ for a long time. We went to visit a castle in Tuscany that used to be along my dog-walking route, but that I never got to visit the inside of and it has an absolutely incredible interior.”

To find out more about Jelena and the European residential property market, watch her video update below.

Below are some of the properties Jelena currently has on the market below:

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