Prices for apartments in Moscow and Sochi collapsed: sellers of new buildings are discounting up to 20%

The capital lost first place in the ranking of real estate values

The experts summed up the results of the January real estate market in 69 major cities of Russia and the Moscow region. Prices for apartments in new buildings have reached a peak – and if somewhere slightly increased, then, rather, by inertia, say the authors of the study, specialists from the federal portal World of Apartments. There are completely different trends – everything that is possible is being reduced: offers from developers, demand from buyers, prices for new apartments.

The top ten cities with the most serious decline in housing prices included, not surprisingly, Sochi (minus 5.1% per month, the average price of an apartment is 11.4 million rubles) and Moscow (minus 1.2%; 17.8 million rubles).

At the same time, Sochi ranks first in terms of the price per square meter – 321 thousand rubles. Moscow – on the second position: 314 thousand.

Interestingly, the area of ​​apartments in the southern capital is much smaller than in Moscow: an average of 35 square meters. m against 57 sq. m. However, this fact is quite easily explained: Russians often buy housing in Sochi as a prestigious dacha, where they can come several times a year for vacation, and Moscow is a city for permanent residence and work.

In addition to the two capitals, prices decreased in 27 cities, in four remained the same. 1% cheaper housing in the Moscow region.

Most of all, prices increased in new buildings in Novokuznetsk – by 4.9% on average per apartment (up to 6.4 million rubles), by 3.7% – per square meter (its cost reached 110 thousand rubles). In some cities, the average cost of housing has increased, but the price per square meter has decreased. For example, in Yakutsk apartments rose in price in January by 4.1% (up to 7.4 million rubles), while the “square” fell by 0.7% (up to 143 thousand rubles).

The cost of a square meter in Tomsk increased by 3.4% (109 thousand rubles), by 2.1% – in Ulan-Ude (93 thousand rubles). Another 36 cities per square meter rose in price by 0.1-1.9% and basically did not exceed 110 thousand rubles. St. Petersburg is out of this range: plus 0.7% per month; 226 thousand rubles per square meter (third place in Russia).

However, the developers announce the above prices only at the proposal stage. In the course of communication with buyers, there is an active bargaining, and directly at the conclusion of transactions, the cost per square meter drops by at least 10%. Developers have long tried to delay the moment when they still have to cut the price, but political and economic events have accelerated the process.

MIEL Chief Analyst Ekaterina Berezhnova recalls that in 2022 there were two serious sales declines. The first – from March to May: then sales of apartments fell by more than two times. By September, the situation began to improve, but the news about the mobilization again brought down the market. In October 2022, the number of transactions decreased by half compared to September.

In November-December, developers began to offer buyers all sorts of promotions, discounts reached 20% – and sales increased again. But the backlog compared to December 2021 was almost a third (minus 28%. “Against the background of a decrease in sales of new buildings, there was an accumulation of balances, as new objects entered the market,” says Ekaterina Berezhnova. “The growth of balances for 2022 amounted to 20%.”

– The beginning of 2023 in the primary housing market continues the trends of the end of 2022. Prices are not rising, demand has fallen even more. The average area of ​​apartments is still decreasing. The offer is also gradually declining: perhaps the developers have begun to postpone the implementation of the planned projects, – sums up Pavel Lutsenko, General Director of the World of Apartments portal.