This post was automatically translated into English
2016 began with particularly active sales in the primary housing market of Vilnius. During the first three months of this year, real estate developers in the capital sold almost 1,100 new apartments – that is, 32% more than during the same period last year. The high activity of buyers means that for the second quarter in a row, more apartments are being purchased in Vilnius than are being built.
2016 began with particularly active sales in the primary housing market of Vilnius. During the first three months of this year, real estate developers in the capital sold almost 1,100 new apartments – that is, 32% more than during the same period last year. The high activity of buyers means that for the second quarter in a row, more apartments are being purchased in Vilnius than are being built.
In Vilnius, about 1,100 new apartment transactions were concluded in the first quarter of this year, which is 26% more than in the last quarter of last year and even 32% more than in the same period last year. “The activity of the primary housing market continues to be surprising. The number of apartments sold in the first three months of 2016 even exceeds the record volumes of 2014, when the market was greatly influenced by the upcoming euro adoption,” says Martynas Žibūda, Development Director of Eika.
Real estate developers have launched sales in eleven new or phased projects over the past three months. A total of about 700 apartments have been offered to the market. All market segments have seen an increase in supply, but the greatest increase in choice was seen for buyers looking for middle-class housing – almost 350 new apartments. Despite the overall increase in supply, the supply of new housing has lagged behind demand for the second quarter in a row. The total number of vacant apartments on the market has decreased to 3,340 apartments, while in October last year there were almost 4,200 vacant apartments on offer. Buyers looking for economy-class housing can currently choose from 1,360 apartments. The supply in the middle segment reaches 1,440 apartments. Buyers of luxury housing can currently choose from 540 apartments.
According to the development director of Eika, the supply of new apartments in Vilnius has decreased due to high buyer activity and seasonality in the construction sector, but it is likely that in the second quarter of this year the number of apartments offered will again approach the 4,000 mark. “Growing sales and decreasing supply create the prerequisites for price growth in the most attractive areas of Vilnius. There is a noticeable trend when new projects offered to the market start with a slightly higher price than the remaining apartments in already built projects are being sold at that time. Buyers are offered a choice of whether to settle in an already built house, but in the least attractive apartments for a lower price, or to be the first and purchase housing at the beginning of the construction of an apartment building for a higher price, but with better views and the opportunity to plan the spaces of future homes at the initial stage,” says the representative of Eika.
After almost a year of hiatus, sales of mid-range apartments exceeded sales of economy class apartments. Mid-range apartments accounted for 47% of market sales, economy class – 44%, and the remaining 9% was in the luxury housing segment. “It seems that the largest gap between supply and demand is felt in the prestigious housing segment. In 2016, the need for more expensive housing remains, but real estate (RE) developers are not able to satisfy it – only 2 larger projects were offered to the market. Currently, the options for choosing prestigious housing are significantly smaller than we had in 2015,” notes M. Žibūda.
Since the beginning of the year, the average price of new construction apartments in the capital has increased by 6% to 1,700 euros per square meter. This was mainly influenced by changes in the prices of economy and prestige class apartments. The price of economy class apartments in Vilnius increased by 9% in the first quarter of this year and currently amounts to 1,330 euros per square meter, while the price of prestige class apartments increased by 4% to 2,620 euros per square meter due to new projects that have added to the supply. Meanwhile, the price of mid-class apartments has not changed significantly since the beginning of the year and amounts to 1,710 euros per square meter. The most popular new construction apartments in Pilaitė (16%), Naujamiestis (13%), Pašilaičiai (10%) and Baltupiai (10%) in the first quarter were new construction apartments.
About the group of companies “EIKA”
Founded in 1992, the company “Eika” is one of the largest real estate development and construction groups in Lithuania, successfully developing residential, commercial, public and other purpose building projects, creating a new quality of life and work. The company has already built more than 3,000 apartments and 270 thousand square meters of buildings. “Eika” has been awarded many times as the best real estate developer in Lithuania, and the company’s projects “Santariškių namai” and “EIKA namai Pilaitė” have also become the best in Lithuania.
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