Apartment sales and prices are growing in Kaunas and Klaipėda

According to preliminary data from the Registers Centre, in the first quarter of 2014, about 1,020 apartments were sold in Kaunas, or 14% more than in the last quarter of the previous year and even 44% more than in the first quarter of 2013. In Klaipėda, about 880 housing sales transactions were concluded in the same period, i.e. 20% more than in the last quarter of 2013 and, accordingly, 70% more than in the same period last year. In the first quarter, the most purchased in Klaipėda were new apartments with an area of ​​60-70 square meters, which accounted for about 62% of all sales transactions. In Kaunas, spacious new apartments with an area of ​​over 100 square meters remain traditionally the most popular, which accounted for about a third of sales in the first quarter of this year.

In both Klaipėda and Kaunas, the average price of new apartments has increased over the year. In Klaipėda, the price of new apartments has increased by 5% over the year and currently amounts to about 4,530 litas per square meter. In Kaunas, the average price of a new apartment per square meter has increased by 6% over the year and currently amounts to about 4,000 litas. “The increased demand for new apartments, the growing economy and buyers’ expectations regarding the possible increase in housing prices after the introduction of the euro are already affecting apartment prices. Apartment prices in new projects are about 800 litas per square meter higher than in previously launched projects,” says Tomas Žiaugra, the head of development projects at Eika. According to the specialist, by the end of the year, the prices of new apartments should increase slightly: in Kaunas up to 4,150 litas per square meter, and in Klaipėda up to 4,600.

According to Eika, in Klaipėda, the supply of new apartments decreased by about 12% in the first three months of this year and currently amounts to about 650 apartments. The primary supply of apartments in the first quarter of 2014 was not supplemented by a single new project. In Kaunas, the supply of new apartments also decreased by 12% in the first quarter of this year and currently amounts to about 430 apartments. In the first three months of this year, only one project was launched in Kaunas, offering only 10 new apartments to buyers. With sales growing in both Klaipėda and Kaunas, there is an extremely large shortage of new apartments. According to the calculation of the Eika development project manager, at the current sales volumes, the supply of new apartments in Klaipėda would run out after eight months, and in Kaunas – after less than three months. “It is likely that by the end of this year, the supply in Klaipėda will be supplemented by about 200, and in Kaunas – by about 600 new apartments,” predicts 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.