Latio: Buyers show greatest interest in renovated or fully completed apartments
01 April 2010
Riga
Both in buildings in the center of Riga and in the new projects, buyers wish to purchase renovated or fully completed apartments;the offer, however, is limited, shows Latio’s market report on March.
“The offer of apartments in the new buildings if falling, as the current apartments are slowly getting bought up, while newly constructed buildings are not entering the market. The changes in offer are mainly connected with resale of apartments. The demand for apartments in new buildings, in turn, has remained at the level of the previous months of this year,” explains Vija Gailīte, head of Latio’s apartment and private house sale department.
The prices of apartments in new buildings have not significantly changed in March, but there is a slight trend of price increase. The typical apartment prices offered by developers in March were between 850 and 1300 euros per square meter, depending on the type of finishing, project and location. There are also apartments being offered at higher prices, e.g. from 1800 to 2000 euros per square meter.
Buyers, however, are mostly unwilling to accept such prices. In the new buildings of Riga district, such as in Babīte and Mārupe, buyers wish to purchase fully completed apartments at a price of 800–900 euros per square meter. In good buildings in good locations, buyers accept a price of 1000–1100 euros;in the outer center: 1200–1400 euros per square meter.
In the resale market, the usual price of new, finished apartments in March was 1200–1500 euros per square meter. The owners of these properties are not lowering their prices, as in most cases their credit obligations do not permit it.
The prices of apartments in the new buildings of Jūrmala vary. In some projects they still remain high, while in others the price reduction has been as large as 60%. In the secondary market, the average prices of new apartments in Jūrmala are from 2000 to 3000 euros per square meter.
“The market of new projects cannot currently be considered vacant, because in most buildings the apartment sale prices are established by banks. They are essentially future prices that do not correspond to the present economy and the purchasing power of people. With the economy recovering, the amount of new apartments sold ought to increase, but not their price,” assesses Latio market analyst Māris Grīnbergs.
In both historical buildings in the center of Riga and in new projects, buyers wish to purchase renovated or fully completed apartments that allow moving in right away. As some of the buyers are foreigners, they do not wish to undertake the additional effort that comes with renovation and improvement of an apartment.
“In the center of Riga, there is limited offer of good apartments in good buildings. Sellers usually demand the price of renovated apartments for apartments that have not been renovated or have finishing whose improvement would require the same investment as a renovation. There are good office buildings in Riga, but there is a lack of A-class residential buildings in the city center. Buyers are also refusing renovated apartments in buildings whose condition does not meet their requirements – e.g. the staircase is not in good condition,” underlines Ināra Grīnberga, head of Latio’s Elizabete department.
The price per square meter for a renovated apartment in the center of Riga is currently higher than the price of a non-renovated apartment by an average of 500 euros, show the data of Latio’s market report.
The average sale prices of apartments in good condition in the inner center are from 1500 to 2000 euros per square meter. Demand is greatest for apartments priced from 1000 to 1200 euros per square meter.
Some owners that are planning to sell their apartments are currently holding it off, expecting an increase of prices in the future. Some apartments that have been leased out are also not being made available for sale.
Latio
Phone: +371 67032300
E-mail: latio@latio.lv
