Balance has returned to the Vilnius apartment market

“Comparing the second quarter of this year with the first, and with the same period last year, we see a slight decrease in sales, but evaluating the results of the first half of the year, we see that in 2016, the number of apartments sold was almost a fifth higher, i.e. 18% more than in 2015:  2,060 and 1,750 apartments in six months, respectively,” says Martynas Žibūda, Development Director of UAB “Eika”.

When evaluating the results of the second quarter of this year on a monthly basis, a significant change in the number of apartments sold has been noticeable since May. “The second quarter of the year started impressively – in April, almost 460 new apartments were sold, while in May and June, 280 and 240 transactions were concluded, respectively. Despite the decreased numbers, this almost exactly corresponds to the monthly results of last year,” says Martynas Žibūda, Development Director of Eika.

In both the first and second quarters of 2016, more mid-range apartments were sold than economy apartments. Mid-range apartments accounted for 51% of market sales, economy apartments – 40%, and the remaining 9% was in the luxury housing segment. The most popular in the second quarter were new-build apartments in Šnipiškės (12%), Pilaitė (10%) and Naujamiestis (9%).

Real estate developers have added to their supply in sixteen new or phased projects over the past three months. A total of almost 1,000 apartments have been offered to the market. Although the total number of vacant apartments on the market remains almost the same as at the end of the first quarter of this year, i.e. about 3,350 apartments, compared to July last year, when there were almost 4,100 vacant apartments on offer, buyers’ options have decreased by almost a fifth, about 18%, over the year. Evaluating the supply by segments, those looking for economy-class housing can currently choose from 1,500 apartments, the supply in the middle class reaches 1,400, and buyers of luxury housing have the fewest options – they can currently choose from 450 apartments.

Since the end of the first quarter of this year, the average price of new apartments in the capital has grown slightly – just 0.5%  from 1,700 euros to 1,710 euros per square meter. The price of economy-class apartments has increased by 1.1% over the last three months and currently stands at 1,350 euros per square meter. A similar increase has been recorded in the middle class – here the price of apartments has increased by 1.5% in the second quarter and stands at 1,740 euros per square meter. The largest price change is observed in the luxury housing segment, where apartment prices have increased by 6.1% to 2,780 euros per square meter.

“We do not expect any special changes in the primary housing market of Vilnius in the second half of this year. Real estate developers, seeing the reduced supply, may activate and accelerate the start of new projects. A special need is felt in the luxury housing segment, where sales have been decreasing for the third quarter in a row due to the lack of project diversity. Recently, small projects scattered in the central part of the city have been replaced by large luxury projects, which results in a greater depth of supply of prestigious housing, but not a greater breadth. Meanwhile, the situation in the economic and medium segments is quite stable, new projects should be offered to buyers, but the number of new unsold apartments should remain similar,” predicts M. Žibūda.

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.