Russians have begun to use a new way of buying apartments

Over the past month and a half, demand for “shared” real estate has quadrupled

Several years ago, a trend began to emerge in Russia for joint rental of apartments for two or three families. Now experts are noting a new phenomenon: people are showing an active interest in buying a home together. For many, this is the only option to purchase square meters without taking out a mortgage.

Because home prices are so high, some buyers find it easier to team up to buy a property rather than service an expensive mortgage. We are talking about both new buildings and the secondary market.

The predominant interest in two-room apartments among pool buyers is explained by the fact that each owner will formally have one room. As a rule, buyers plan to rent out housing to third-party tenants for some time, and then resell the share to the second owner.

In the Moscow region, the demand for apartments for joint purchases is concentrated on two-room apartments – 69%. The share of “three rubles” accounts for 6%, “odnushki” – 25%.

The price of apartments purchased in this way usually does not exceed 12 million rubles. In New Moscow, each owner invests a maximum of six million rubles, in the region – 4-5 million. As for the most popular two-room apartments worth up to 12 million rubles when concluding deals, located within the borders of “old” Moscow, there are too few of them. According to analysts, there are now only 250 apartments for sale in the capital that meet these characteristics.

“Since December 2023, the number of calls asking about buying together has increased fourfold,” says bnMAP managing partner, founder of the BEST-Novostroy company, Irina Dobrokhotova. – This fact is explained by the tightening of mortgages, including an increase in the down payment for preferential programs and an increase in rates for market programs.

Of course, it is difficult to find two or more buyers at once who completely trust each other and have the same plans for the further disposal of the property. Therefore, the share of transactions using the new mechanism in the total number is still small. But in the absence of affordable mortgage programs and a further increase in housing costs, there is every chance that there will be more joint purchases, Irina Dobrokhotova is sure.