In four of Russia’s largest cities, a decrease in prices for secondary housing was recorded for September 2023. This was reported by the director of the federal company Etazhi, Ildar Khusainov, in an interview with Izvestia .
“The average selling price per square meter of finished housing has been steadily declining for the third month in a row. Before that, it was growing, showing only minor monthly corrections in response to the reduced availability of market mortgage programs and the increase in the time it takes to sell properties,” Khusainov said.
According to the expert, the largest price reduction on the secondary market was observed in Perm (0.7%), Chelyabinsk and St. Petersburg (0.5% each), as well as in Volgograd (0.3%). In other cities with a population of over a million, a slight increase was noted.
Khusainov noted that over the past 12 months, the average price per square meter of secondary housing in Russia has grown by 4.5%, which is lower than the actual inflation. The expert explains this by a change in the supply structure: the cheapest apartment options are being bought out from the market with maximum discounts.
“In the context of expensive loans, owners prefer to rent out their apartments in parallel with the sale, instead of reducing the price for a quick sale,” Khusainov explained.
The largest monthly price growth for secondary housing was recorded in Kazan and Voronezh (+1.3%), Rostov-on-Don and Nizhny Novgorod (+1%), Omsk (+0.9%) and Yekaterinburg (+0.8%). In Moscow, the average price per square meter of secondary housing remained unchanged.
Before this, the head of the Guild of Realtors of Russia Konstantin Aprelev said that closer to the New Year, a decrease in prices is expected on the new buildings market. The cancellation of preferential mortgages will force developers to revise prices, despite the strict conditions of credit agreements with banks.
Earlier, the expert advised Russians to buy real estate now.