Sales of new apartments in Vilnius increased by 46%

Tomas Žiaugra, a market analyst at the real estate company Eika, estimates that real estate developers in Vilnius sold over 400 new apartments in the third quarter of 2012, an average of 136 per month. The greatest interest from buyers was shown by economy and middle-class apartments, whose sales each accounted for 46% of the market for new apartments sold. Compared to the same period last year, as many as 70% of economy-class apartments were sold, and 33% more middle-class apartments. The remaining 8% of apartments sold were luxury housing, whose sales increased by about 30% compared to the previous year. Over the year, the average price per square meter of new apartments in Vilnius decreased by 1%, i.e. by about LTL 70 per square meter and currently stands at LTL 5,450.

The largest share of supply, about 56%, is currently made up of economy-class apartments. Middle-class apartments account for 39%, while prestigious apartments account for only 5% of the new apartment market. “During the quarter, the supply of middle-class apartments decreased the most – by as much as 15%. Economy-class apartment markets decreased by only 2%, as the supply of apartments in this class was supplemented with new projects in the third quarter. There is currently the least amount of prestigious housing in Vilnius, because there are the fewest buyers of these apartments. Only 10 luxury apartments are purchased in Vilnius per month,” calculates the market analyst at Eika.

The Eika analyst notes that the supply of new housing in Vilnius is in line with 2009, and sales activity is reaching the pre-crisis level of 2008. Real estate developers are currently offering about 2,300 new apartments in Vilnius for purchase, which is as much as 40% more than in October last year. “As we predicted, in the second half of the year the supply of new apartments in Vilnius will slow down and begin to decrease. Although about 300 new apartments were offered to buyers during the quarter, the total supply decreased by 8% due to increased sales of new apartments. We should not expect any new projects in Vilnius by the end of the year,” says 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.