For potential buyers, war is not the best time to buy real estate. However, many apartment sellers in the secondary market keep their price tags at the pre-war level. Focus learned when real estate prices in Ukraine will fall and what are the prerequisites for this.
During the war in Ukraine, activity in the secondary housing market decreased by about 85%. Focus “It won’t be expensive. How do the prices of one-room apartments in Kiev and Lvov change?” However, the situation in prices is not in favor of buyers, unfortunately.
Usually, the response to a sharp drop in demand is a noticeable drop in prices. However, there has not yet been a noticeable price correction in the Ukrainian real estate market. In addition, the value of real estate in the hryvnia has increased significantly due to the depreciation of the national currency.
According to OLX platform statistics In 2022, the average cost per square meter of second housing in Ukraine increased by 35% and amounted to UAH 24,277 ($ 657.5).. For comparison: During this period, the price of the cash dollar rose 49% from UAH 27.40/USD to UAH 40.80/USD.
in response to a request Focus OLX analysts note that the most favorable prices for residential real estate in the secondary market are established in the regions of Sumy and Chernihiv, at UAH 14,581 ($395) and UAH 17,130 ($464) per square meter, respectively. At the same time, the price per square meter in the Dnepropetrovsk region is about UAH 24,218 ($ 655.9), in the Lviv region – UAH 34,137 ($ 924.5), and the highest prices are traditionally kept in the Kiev region – about UAH 41,872 ( $1,134) per square meter.
According to real estate market watchdog Victoria Bereshchak, the cost of one-room apartments in the secondary market has not changed much since the war began in Kiev and Odessa last year. At the same time, in Lvov, where IDPs took refuge from the war, and some other regional centers of western and central Ukraine, prices rose by 10-20% during this period.
Interlocutor Focus Names the average weighted prices of one-bedroom apartments in the secondary market as of February 2023 by cities:
- Kyiv: 50-65 thousand dollars
- Lviv: 45-55 thousand dollars
- Odessa: 45-50 thousand dollars
- Ivano-Frankivsk: 40-45 thousand dollars
- Uzhgorod: 40-45 thousand dollars
- Vinnitsa: 35-45 thousand dollars
- Ternopil: 35-45 thousand dollars
The question that worries citizens, when real estate prices in Ukraine will fall in 2023, was addressed by experts. Focusanswer vaguely.
Forecast of the Ukrainian offensive, intense fighting in the East and South and their absence in other directions, Viktoria Bereshchak does not exclude even a slight increase in apartment prices by 10-15%, against the backdrop of a revival in demand.
But Address.ua portal experts, citing the protracted nature of the war, high security risks and the slow recovery of citizens’ incomes, believe that demand for apartments will remain low for a long time and the real estate market will be stagnant. .
“I don’t see a general trend towards lower prices yet and I don’t think this is very successful for the market. All in all, If apartment prices in Ukraine fall globally, as in 2015-2016, the market will revive, which will benefit the economy.“, – continues Irina Lukhanina, an independent real estate specialist. That is, a decrease in property prices would be a logical step in response to a decrease in demand and a decrease in citizens’ incomes.
But the capital’s real estate agent, Bogdan Makovetsky, thinks only: Apartment prices in the secondary market in Kiev will fall to 10-15% by the end of 2023. At the same time, the price of large-scale apartments with the lowest demand will fall particularly markedly.
However, hidden price cuts are already being made. After all, according to Makovetsky, in real transactions, vendors can reduce the price by up to 7% for economy class objects and up to 15-20% for business and premium class objects.. Irina Lukhanina adds that motivated sellers who urgently need money give up 25-35%, and sometimes even up to 50% of the declared price. Therefore, potential real estate buyers can be advised not to hesitate to bargain anymore.
Previously Focus I learned that during martial law, contractors can resort to force majeure and investors can suspend payments on a loan or installment, or refund the money.
Moreover Focus reported that the prices for new buildings in Lvov during the war were almost equal to those in Kiev.
Source: Focus
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