A certain type of two-room apartments on the “secondary” in Moscow flies away in just a week

Where will the capital’s housing market go in May

In January-March, the capital’s secondary housing market took a breather after lowering prices for eight months of 2022. The cost of “square” is still under pressure from a large volume of supply, “overheated” prices for new buildings and finished apartments, as well as falling real incomes of the population. When and in what direction prices will start to move – understood “MK”.

In the first quarter of 2023, there was a lull in the secondary real estate market in Moscow. But in mid-April, experts recorded the first signs of recovery. “Activation is not associated with an increase in the purchasing power of the population or some kind of hype, it is explained by the transition of some customers from the new-build market to the “secondary market,” explained Sergey Shloma, director of the Secondary Market direction of INCOM-Real Estate.

“From May to December 2022, ready-made housing has fallen in price by about 10%. Since the beginning of this year, the prices for the “secondary”, one might say, are marking time, ”said Ekaterina Berezhnova, chief analyst at Miel Group of Companies, to MK. In March, according to her, 51.3 thousand objects were put up for sale in the secondary market of Moscow, which is 5% more than in the previous month. And this is the highest figure in the last two years. In conditions of reduced demand, more and more sellers agree to discounts. On average, bargaining is about 5-8%. The average price of apartments sold in the secondary market of Moscow (within the old boundaries) reached 14.7 million rubles. The average check for a one-room apartment was 10.4 million rubles, for a two-room apartment – 14.1 million rubles, for a three-room apartment – 19.5 million rubles. At the same time, the cost of “squares” in all districts of Moscow remained virtually unchanged in March.

Yulia Dymova, director of the Est-a-Tet secondary real estate sales office, noted the increased demand for newly renovated apartments: “It is more convenient for people to purchase a ready-made object so as not to waste time and effort on updating the premises, but immediately transport things and live. In addition to repairs, it is preferable that the apartment already has appliances.”

In addition, transport accessibility is again a priority. People choose housing within walking distance from work or school.

Realtors also record an increase in the number of alternative deals. “Most of them take place with the participation of guardianship authorities and those who have used maternity capital. The average term of transactions involving guardianship authorities is 1.5 months. If this is an ordinary alternative deal, then the term does not differ from the terms for preparing ordinary deals,” Dymova said.

“As always, the most economical and liquid objects — 1- and 2-room apartments — are popular, but the main thing is the adequate price of the object. An apartment at a normal market price can be sold in just a week, after several views,” Shloma noted.

According to Dymova, small lots of 38–45 sq. m. are also popular. m, “evrodvushki”, they are purchased for subsequent leasing. More often, for these purposes, they choose apartments in newly commissioned houses or in houses with a close deadline.

Of course, both buyers and sellers of the capital’s “squares” are concerned about the question: “Where will the prices for finished apartments go?” According to experts, the main factor influencing price dynamics today is demand. “Now the demand in the secondary market is stable. But it may rise if prices for new buildings do not decrease or the state introduces preferential mortgage programs for the secondary segment. In the short term, we do not expect sharp fluctuations in prices, there are no prerequisites for their fall. The housing market was extremely overheated, so a rise in prices is also unlikely,” Sergey Shloma emphasized.

The head of the AC “Real Estate Market Indicators” Oleg Repchenko thinks differently. In his opinion, the cost per square meter is still under pressure from the huge volume of supply. The market for new buildings is also overstocked due to lower demand and high developer activity. At the same time, the cost of a meter remains very high relative to the incomes of the population, which, to put it mildly, are not growing. “The struggle of the Central Bank with too cheap mortgages from developers also helps to reduce the cost of apartments – not only in the primary market, but also in the secondary market, which is largely focused on the “primary”. So, most likely, in May, when activity on the market falls due to the holidays, housing prices will again creep down, ”concluded Repchenko.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 29018 dated April 25, 2023

Newspaper headline:
Prices for the “secondary” marking time