Prices for new buildings have frozen – Business – Kommersant

Due to the gradual expansion of the exposition and the launch of new projects, the cost of primary real estate in the largest regional markets of the country has slightly decreased over the month. At the same time, demand for new buildings is gradually recovering, in particular, due to investment transactions. This may increase the price of liquid lots of small area, but the consultants do not yet see the prerequisites for a general market increase in average prices: sales have not yet reached the pre-crisis level.

The average cost of new buildings in the 18 largest regional markets of the country (16 million-plus cities, Moscow and Leningrad regions) in August amounted to 136.4 thousand rubles. per sq. m. Over the month, this value decreased by 0.2%, but the growth relative to the same period last year is estimated at 26%. Such data is provided by Cyan.Analytics. In the company “Etazhi”, the average cost of primary real estate in Russia as a whole is estimated at 99.5 thousand rubles. per sq. m. Relative to July, the indicator decreased by 0.11%, relative to August last year – increased by 18.7%.

The most pronounced price reduction for the month, Cyan.Analytics experts noted in Chelyabinsk, where the average rate decreased by 4.7%, to 83.5 thousand rubles. per sq. m. In Omsk the value for the same period decreased by 2.9%, to 102.8 thousand rubles. per sq. m. Simultaneously in Krasnodar average offer price per month increased by 2.7%, up to 125.6 thousand rubles. per sq. m. Analysts of “Etazhy” note an increase in the average cost in Volgograd and Yekaterinburg by 0.81% compared to July, up to 77.5 thousand rubles. and up to 103.6 thousand rubles. per sq. m respectively.

In Moscow, according to the calculations of Cyan.Analitiki, the average cost of new buildings is now 321.2 thousand rubles. per sq. m. For the month, the indicator decreased by 0.7%, for the year it increased by 13.2%. In St. Petersburg the indicator is estimated at 240.1 thousand rubles. Relative to July, the growth was 0.8%, relative to August last year – 31.6%. Analysts are talking about a gradual recovery in demand. So, in the Moscow regionaccording to Cyan.Analytics, the number of transactions in July increased by 13%, in the St. Petersburg agglomeration – by a third.

Alexey Popov, head of Cyan.Analytics, points out that now the pressure on prices is exerted by the active withdrawal of new offers by developers: at the start of sales, objects traditionally cost less, this affects average performance. For example, in the Moscow region, according to him, 90.7 thousand lots are now available, which is 2% higher than in July. The dynamics in other million-plus cities was 4%.

“In fact, in terms of supply, the market has returned to the beginning of the pandemic, as of February 2020,” says Mr. Popov.

Demand for new buildings is recovering, but has not yet reached pre-crisis levels. Alexey Popov talks about an increase in audience activity in million-plus cities in the first ten days of August by 5% compared to the values ​​of the end of July. The head of the primary direction of Avito Real Estate, Dmitry Alekseev, adds that in Yekaterinburg, user activity in the segment of new buildings increased by 72% over the month, in Moscow – by 61%, in St. Petersburg – by 49%, in Ufa – by 35%.

Aleksey Popov connects the revival with the approaching business season and the increased availability of mortgage lending. At the same time, deferred demand is realized. “The limited list of investment instruments contributes to the fact that the real estate market is increasingly being considered for investment, especially against the backdrop of lower deposit rates,” the expert argues. Against this background, the head of the center of new buildings “Etazhy” Sergei Zaitsev notes a more confident price dynamics for liquid options for one-room apartments and studios, while apartments with a large area or with an initial overpriced price are getting cheaper.

But in general, Alexey Popov does not yet see any prerequisites for an increase in prices for new buildings, recalling that the market has been stagnating since April. “Near-zero dynamics will remain in the next month, developers are still carefully approaching pricing,” he says. Sergei Zaitsev adds that the prices for new buildings are significantly holding back the growing volume of supply and discount in the secondary housing market. In such conditions, according to him, only liquid, interesting offers to buyers can rise in price. Dmitry Alekseev also sees no prerequisites for a noticeable adjustment in the cost of new buildings, the dynamics, according to him, will largely depend on the construction readiness of projects or on general changes in the structure of the exposition.

Alexandra Mertsalova