Located right next to Vilnius’ Old Town, the Užupis neighborhood has experienced a true revival over the past two decades. The once bleak and abandoned area has become prestigious, and over the past 10 years, the value of housing here has increased by as much as 2.8 times.
During the Soviet era, the Užupis microdistrict did not shine with luxury: old housing with a lack of utilities, poorly lit streets and an unkempt environment overshadowed even the fact that the district was located so close to the city center, which is why this place was not attractive to Vilnius residents. However, at the end of the last century, one of the oldest places in Vilnius began to change for the better – the district became the “Independent Republic of Užupis”, housing prices and investments began to grow, and the long-standing image of the district of artists, entertainers and bohemians became the uniqueness of the place. Today, the Užupis district is considered prestigious both in the eyes of the majority of the capital’s residents and real estate (RE) developers, and only a few microdistricts can boast such a status.
“When assessing the location and investments in the project implementation, real estate developers divide new construction housing into three classes: economic – bedroom districts of Vilnius, average – strategically better locations closer to the center, and prestigious – the central part of Vilnius,” explains Tomas Žiaugra, Director of the Development Department at EIKA Development.
The price of economy-class housing in districts such as Pilaitė, Lazdynėliai or Pašilaičiai averages around 2,760 euros per sq m, while middle-class housing fluctuates in a wide range between 3,180 and 4,240 euros per sq m. Such prices can be expected in Baltupiai, Žirmūnai, Šnipiškės, Antakalnys, Markučiai, Naujamiestis and part of the Old Town.
Prestigious-class housing is found only in four places in Vilnius – Užupis, the New Town near the Old Town, Žvėrynas and the Old Town itself, so in order to have an exclusive home, newcomers will have to pay an average of about 6,300 euros per square meter. T. Žiaugra reminds that it is very important to properly assess the additional costs of housing installation, because most new construction housing in the capital is purchased only with partial finishing. These installation costs in the economy and middle class reach 600-800 euros per sq. m., and in the prestigious class – fluctuate between 800 and 2,000 euros per square meter.
Currently, buyers looking for housing in Vilnius can choose from 109 projects under development, but only 14 of them are in the prestigious class. According to the interviewee, the supply of new housing in this category is decreasing every year, so the growth of real estate values is inevitable. “Before the coronavirus pandemic, there were 21 luxury housing projects in Vilnius, and now there are only 14 of them in total. Moreover, in only eight of them would we find a choice of more than ten apartments. The smallest choice is in Žvėrynas, where only a few apartments are offered in one project, and Užupis, where you can choose from 64 apartments in several active projects,” says T. Žiaugra.
According to data from real estate project development and management company EIKA Development, the average price of new housing in Užupis has increased from 2,030 euros to 5,650 euros per sq m over the past 10 years. Despite this, Užupis remains a more affordable choice than the Old Town, where the average price per sq m is 950 euros higher.
The company is developing one of only two real estate projects currently being developed in the Užupis district under the name “Užupis Personos”. Surrounded by nature and adapted to significant terrain changes, the low-rise boutique-style houses are equipped with 56 apartments, the average price of which is 5,348 euros per square meter.
According to real estate developers, there is already a shortage of land plots in the Užupis and Žvėryne districts, so the number of projects being developed in the future should decrease even more, and real estate prices should tend to rise.
“Both Užupis and Žvėrynas can offer an ideal balance of transportation and nature, so it is not surprising that housing here is in great demand. Seeing the attractiveness of the districts, the trends of the last decade and the decreasing number of projects under development, it is easy to predict that housing will become an excellent financial investment in the future,” states T.Žiaugra.