Real estate developers are in no hurry to invest in Kaunas and Klaipėda

During the third quarter of this year, about 70 new apartments were purchased directly from real estate developers in Klaipėda, which is 38% less than in the previous quarter and 20% less than in the corresponding quarter of 2013. In Kaunas, sales of new apartments decreased by 40% compared to the previous quarter and the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Only 40 new apartments were sold in the primary housing market of Kaunas in three months.

Similar trends in sales decline are also observed in the secondary housing market.  According to preliminary data from the Center of Registers, in the third quarter of 2014, about 1,060 apartments were sold in Kaunas, or 3% less than in the second quarter of this year. In Klaipėda, about 660 housing sales transactions were concluded during the quarter, i.e. 9% less than in the previous quarter.

According to the data of the company “Eika”, the average price of new construction apartments in both Klaipėda and Kaunas did not change during the quarter. In the port city, the average price remained at 4,400 litas per square meter, and in the temporary capital – 3,800. “In the past quarter, neither in Klaipėda nor in Kaunas did real estate developers change project pricing or make discounts. If sales decrease, pressure on prices may arise, since real estate developers will be interested in selling their existing warehouse,” says Tomas Žiaugra, head of development projects at “Eika”.

The Eika representative notes that more than half of new construction sales transactions in Klaipėda are apartments worth 200,000–250,000 litas, while in Kaunas the most popular apartments are those costing from 150,000 to 200,000 litas.

In Klaipėda, the supply of new apartments decreased by 5% in the third quarter of this year and currently amounts to about  620 apartments. The initial supply was supplemented by three projects, in which 70 apartments have been designed. In Kaunas, the supply of new construction apartments also decreased by 5% in the third quarter of this year and currently amounts to about 520 apartments. In the temporary capital, only one small project was launched in three months, in which only 16 prestigious class apartments were offered to buyers. “By the end of the year, the supply in Klaipėda should increase to 750 apartments, and in Kaunas – to 650, if the houses designed in the drawings are transferred to construction sites. ”, – says the representative of “Eika”.

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.