Prices look down: the most unpopular houses in the secondary housing market are named

A year has passed since the beginning of the special operation in Ukraine. The large-scale event affected many areas of the Russian economy and, of course, affected the real estate market. Analysts found out in which areas of Moscow and the region prices have fallen, and in which apartments have risen in price, and talked about the preferences of buyers in this situation.

According to the Real Estate Market Indicators, since February 24, 2022, prices have fallen most of all – by 2.7% – in New Moscow – to 197 thousand rubles on average per “square”. In the “old” boundaries of the capital, the cost of a meter decreased by 0.4% – to 252 thousand, but in the Moscow region it rose by 3.2% – to 151 thousand rubles. What are these trends?

Throughout the year, housing prices in the Moscow region rushed up and down, analysts remind.

In March-April 2022, the average cost per square meter jumped up to 7% in the Moscow region. A price surge is a standard reaction to a crisis. The Russians rushed to save money, and real estate sellers inflated prices in response.

But already in April, demand began to fall. By November, housing in Moscow cost about the same as in February before the start of the special operation. In December, prices continued to decline, and only at the beginning of 2023 did the decline slow down.

– The housing market in New Moscow was overheated even before the start of the special operation, – says the head of the analytical center “Real Estate Market Indicators” Oleg Repchenko. – Therefore, in the spring of 2022, prices here jumped less than in the “old” Moscow and the region, but then they fell as quickly as inside the Moscow Ring Road.

Secondary housing in the Troitsk and Novomoskovsky administrative districts is located mainly in modern houses and costs only a little cheaper than apartments in new buildings. At the same time, preferential mortgages do not apply to him, says Nadezhda Korkka, managing partner of the Metrium company,

– In “old” Moscow, the price gap between old and new housing is much higher than in New – more than 70% – continues Nadezhda Korkka. – Some clients prefer secondary housing precisely because of its relative affordability. Therefore, despite the lack of state support, prices for the old fund in the capital fell slightly.

The region, where demand from overvalued Moscow began to flow even during the pandemic, is still resisting the decline in the cost per square meter the most. Most notably – by 8.2% per year – apartments in the far suburbs have risen in price, which is quite understandable: because of falling incomes, buyers, like it or not, are leaving farther and farther from the Moscow Ring Road.

– Housing in the Moscow region has risen in price primarily due to the entry into the market of apartments from owners in modern residential complexes, – the expert comments. – Such apartments are much more expensive than housing in houses of the Soviet era. At the same time, every year, as Moscow Region developers develop new territories, the share of such apartments on the market is growing, which leads to an increase in average prices.

Apartments in which houses in Moscow and the region are most in demand?

– Residential complexes built in the 2010s, which are called “new resale”, remain the most popular among buyers, – says Korkka – Apartments in these houses have ergonomic layouts (without small kitchens, narrow corridors and rectangular rooms), and the surrounding area is often good landscaped (children’s and sports grounds, green areas). If we take the Western Administrative District of Moscow as an example, one-room apartments in such residential complexes cost an average of 11.5 million rubles.

For several years now, the demand for “Khrushchev” has been growing. This is primarily due to the fact that many clients expect to subsequently move into a modern home during renovation. In addition, the architects have developed convenient standard projects for the redevelopment of “odnushki” in “Khrushchev” and “Brezhnevka” into fashionable studios. The average cost of one-room apartments in Khrushchevs in the Western District of Moscow is 9.5 million rubles.

Housing, commissioned in the 1980s and 1990s, attracts buyers with a combination of economy and durability. It is obvious that these houses are able to serve for at least another half a century, if major repairs are carried out in time. But they have low energy efficiency and inexpressive architecture, and the apartments in them often have not very convenient layouts. One-room apartments in such houses in the Western District are sold for an average of 10 million rubles.

Clients of the secondary market rarely buy “Stalinka” because of the high cost and specificity of this housing. On the one hand, apartments in houses of the 1930s-1950s have a number of advantages: high ceilings, thick walls, large windows, and sometimes several bathrooms. But on the other hand, in many “Stalinka” there are fire-dangerous wooden floors, in the kitchens there are ledges for stove heating, a significant part of the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe apartments is occupied by non-functional corridors, and elevators are not provided in houses up to five floors high. The cost of one-room apartments in the “Stalinka” buildings of the Western District ranges from 10 to 18 million rubles.

As for the preferences for building material, buyers love monolithic houses – but they are also the most expensive. In “old” Moscow, according to INCOM-Nedvizhimost, the average cost of a “square” in monolithic houses is 348 thousand rubles, in New Moscow – 213 thousand, in the region – 161 thousand. “Panel” is cheaper than “brick” only in “old” Moscow (246,000 against 306,000 rubles). In New Moscow and in the region, a square meter in panel houses is offered for 197 thousand and 131 thousand rubles, respectively, in brick houses – for 189 thousand and 130 thousand rubles.

– Discounts in economy-class housing average 5-7%, but the basic offer price continues to decrease, – states the head of the Analytical Center INCOM-Real Estate Dmitry Taganov.

– Higher quality and modern, which means that expensive housing always becomes cheaper more slowly than budget housing. But over time, the expensive segment always catches up with the cheap one. So prices will continue to “look” down, Oleg Repchenko concludes.