Latio: The average apartment price in April has increased by 1%; during eight months – by 13.6%
30 April 2010
Riga
The average apartment price in Riga has increased by 1% in April compared to March, reaching 568 euros per square meter, show the data of the Latio market report.
In March, the average apartment price was 562 euros per square meter, and compared to February it has increased by 2%. During one year the average apartment price has grown by 2.3% – in April 2009 it was 555 euros per square meter. The apartment prices were continuing to fall in the spring and summer of last year.
The average apartment price during the past eight months has increased by 13.6%. In September 2009, after two years of decline, the price of apartments built during the Soviet period increased again and reached 500 euros per square meter.
“Even though the increase of the average apartment price in April is not large, it cannot be considered stagnation. Overall, there is a stable uptrend in the average apartment price, as during the last eight months it has only increased without any declines,” notes Latio market analyst Māris Grīnbergs.
The rise of apartment prices is mainly connected with the decline of high-quality offer matching the buyers’ requirements. The offer of smaller-sized and cheaper apartments is also continuing to fall, as these are purchased first upon the returning of activity in the real estate market. The amount of transactions has slightly grown, but overall it remains at the average level of last year.
“In April, the activity of people and the interest in housing purchases has grown. With the coming of spring, those who have decided to change their living conditions and are able to afford it are beginning to show more interest in the offer of apartments or houses. Banks are now also more willing to finance housing purchases,” explains Vija Gailīte, head of Latio’s apartment and private house sale department.
Compared with March, in April the offer of apartments priced from 10,000 to 25,000 euros has fallen, but the offer of apartments priced from 60,000 to 100,000 euros has increased. The latter category mostly includes apartments in new buildings. The offer of apartments priced from 25,000 to 50,000 euros has remained stable.
In April it was possible to observe a quite steady and stable apartment price increase in all neighborhoods of the capital and in all types of apartment buildings. The largest average price increase was shown in three- and four-bedroom apartments in 119th series buildings in Purvciems and Zolitūde, as well as one- and two-bedroom apartments in 602nd series buildings in Pļavnieki, Mežciems, Imanta and Vecmīlgrāvis. The largest price decline has been experienced by apartments in Khrushchev-period buildings in Ziepniekkalns and Sarkandaugava.
The prices of apartments in good technical condition in such popular neighborhoods as Purviems, Pļavnieki and Zolitūde in April were as follows: for one-bedroom apartments: 21,000–30,000 euros;for two-bedroom apartments: 30,000–36,000 euros;for three-bedroom apartments: 34,000–45,000 euros;for four-bedroom apartments: 39,000–56,000 euros. The prices of apartments in neighborhoods farther away from the center of Riga, such as Vecmīlgrāvis and Bolderājs, are lower by 20–30% on average.
