Luxury housing overheated in Sochi – Business – Kommersant

A serious shortage of supply in the market of elite new buildings in Sochi dispersed the prices for such real estate. Over the year, the cost of luxury housing here has grown more noticeably than in Moscow: by more than 30%, to 2.4 million rubles. per sq. m, which has already led to a decrease in demand. This year, developers can focus on new formats and projects in nearby villages, experts say.

In 2022, average prices on the Sochi elite new-build market grew by more than 30%, to RUB 2.4 million. per sq. m, calculated in NF Group. The dynamics outpaced the growth in the cost of Moscow elite projects, which rose in price by an average of 13%, to 1.52 million rubles. per sq. m year by year. The average check for the purchase of luxury real estate in Sochi grew even more significantly – by 45%, to 23.7 million rubles. year on year, Nedvex CEO Yulia Khludneva calculated.

NF Group partner Olga Shirokova notes that the statistics on the elite housing market in Sochi were influenced by exchange rates: one of the large residential complexes in this segment in the city was valued in dollars at the beginning of the year, and by the end of the year all projects were already exhibited in rubles – at a higher cost.

But the main reason for the sharp rise in prices is the lack of supply. According to NF Group, at the end of 2022, about 1.8 thousand luxury apartments and suites were exhibited in Moscow, which is 42% higher than at the end of 2021. And in Sochi, according to analysts, the volume of supply in elite projects decreased by 19% yoy, to 109 lots. Elite projects in Sochi are a piece product: now only 16 buildings are exhibited in 12 projects, bnMap.pro confirms.

The sharp rise in prices has already negatively affected the demand for luxury resort real estate. According to NF Group estimates, about 70 lots were sold in Sochi in 2022, which is 42% lower than the record year of 2021 and comparable to 2020.

The chairman of the board of directors of Best Novostroy, Irina Dobrokhotova, notes that in the city, as in other regions, there was a March peak in demand, when investments in real estate grew as a protective asset, and then there was a serious drawdown. The market began to recover only in August – early September, she adds.

According to Olga Shirokova, restrictions on movement around the world for some Russians and the tightening of Western sanctions create the preconditions for an increase in demand for luxury real estate in Sochi, but very high prices will restrain buying activity. Dmitry Alekseev, head of primary real estate at Avito Nedvizhimost, adds that a moratorium on the construction of multi-storey buildings remains in Sochi, which means that there will be a limited number of objects being built, which will not allow demand and prices to decrease. The city today has the only open airport on the entire southern coast, which will help maintain the interest of buyers, points out Irina Dobrokhotova.

Ms. Shirokova expects that in 2023, due to high prices and the gradual saturation of the elite real estate market in Sochi, adjacent segments and locations will actively develop. In particular, the expert says, there is potential for the format of the reconstruction of Soviet sanatoriums into apartment complexes for further sale. Also, new high-quality projects may appear outside of Sochi, for example, in Lazarevskoye, Yakornaya Shchel, Loo and Tuapse, Olga Shirokova lists.

Daria Andrianova