In the second quarter of 2012, as many as 44% more new apartments were sold in Vilnius

Tomas Žiaugra, a market analyst at the real estate company Eika, estimates that real estate developers in Vilnius sold about 400 new apartments in the second quarter of 2012, an average of 130 per month. Over the year, the prices of new apartments in Vilnius remained almost unchanged – the average price per square meter decreased by 2%.

During the second quarter of this year, the greatest interest from buyers was shown by economy-class apartments, which accounted for about 52% of new apartments sold. The price of apartments of this class in Vilnius ranges from 3,000 to 4,700 litas per square meter. Compared to the same period last year, 28% more economy-class apartments were sold. About 35% of new apartments sold in the second quarter of the year were in the middle class, where prices range from 4,700 to 6,600 litas per square meter. The number of middle-class apartments sold was 31% more than in the second quarter of last year. The remaining 13% of apartments sold were luxury housing, with average prices starting at 6,600 litas per square meter. Sales of luxury apartments increased by as much as 50%.

The Eika analyst also notes that the supply of new apartments is growing much faster than sales. Real estate developers are currently offering about 2,500 new apartments for sale in Vilnius, which is 20% more than in April this year and even 66% more than a year ago. “As we predicted at the beginning of this year, the number of new apartments on the market is increasing very rapidly. During the quarter, twice as many new apartments were offered to buyers than were purchased. The situation should stabilize in the second half of the year, because we will no longer have the number of new projects that we had in the first half of the year,” says T. Žiaugra.

The largest share of supply, about 52%, is currently made up of economy-class apartments. Middle-class apartments account for 40%, prestigious apartments – 8% of the new apartment market. “Since the second quarter of 2011, the supply of middle-class apartments has exceeded the economy class, but in the second quarter of this year the supply structure returned to the previous situation. During the quarter, the supply of economy-class housing increased by as much as 42% – about 500 new apartments were offered to economy-class buyers in eight projects,” calculates the market analyst of “Eika”.

The growing supply of new apartments in Vilnius not only increases the choice of buyers, but also the competition of developers. “Some developers compete with innovative solutions that allow to reduce the operating costs of housing and improve the quality of life, others – with a low price. When purchasing housing, buyers should evaluate not only the instant discount, but also the maintenance costs of the housing, the durability of materials, the added value created by innovative solutions and architecture. We should not forget about the quality of construction work and the warranty service provided by the developer,” –  notes T. Žiaugra.

Founded in 1992, the company “Eika” is one of the largest real estate development and construction groups in Lithuania. The group of companies consists of: UAB “Eika” – a leader in the real estate market, valued for its innovation, reliability and responsibility; UAB “Eikos statyba” – a construction company with extensive experience in the construction and renovation of administrative, public, commercial, industrial and residential buildings; UAB “Inžinerinės idėjos” – specialists in the design, installation and maintenance of engineering systems. The quality of the services of the group of companies is ensured by the implemented quality and environmental standards ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004.