Real estate development company EIKA Development, summarizing the results of the past year 2024, states that they indicate a recovery in the real estate market and predicts that the optimistic mood will continue next year. It is stated that although more and more buyers, who had previously postponed the decision to purchase real estate, have decided not to wait any longer, extremely active competition among real estate developers will not allow price growth to accelerate.
According to EIKA Development data, in 2024, a total of 3,162 apartments were sold in Vilnius, which is 37 percent more than in 2023. Apartment sales increased in all classes compared to the previous year: in the middle class – 22 percent, in the economy class – 54 percent, in the prestigious class – 67 percent.
In total, in 2024, developers in Vilnius added 3,658 apartments to their supply, 32 percent more than a year ago. Of these, 1,781 were medium-class, 1,493 were economy-class, and 384 were prestige-class.
Apartment prices in 2024 increased by an average of 7.6 percent compared to 2023. In the economy class, they increased by 3.2 percent and reached 2,910 euros per square meter, in the average class they fell by 1.2 percent and reached 3,646 euros, and in the prestigious class they increased by 14.9 percent to 6,330 euros.
EIKA Development was the leader in sales in 2024, having sold a total of 368 apartments, compared to Hanner selling 359, Omberg – 293, Citus – 242, and Rinvest – 173 apartments.
In 2024, EIKA Development occupied an 11.6% market share of the real estate market in Vilnius, compared to 7.6% in 2023, thus increasing its market share by 4% per year.
Considering only the last quarter of 2024, 1,097 apartments were sold in Vilnius, which is 53 percent more than in the third quarter of the year, when 717 apartments were sold. The most popular in October-December were middle-class apartments, of which 545 were sold, followed by economy class apartments – 505, and prestigious apartments – 47.
During this period, the supply of 767 new apartments was added to the real estate market in Vilnius, of which 495 were mid-range, 261 were economy, and 11 were prestigious. Compared to the third quarter of the year, 13 percent more apartments were offered to the market in Vilnius.
Tomas Žiaugra, Director of the Development Department at EIKA Development, predicts that next year we will observe a further recovery in the residential housing market – both real estate buyers and developers are welcoming 2025 with optimism.
According to him, the primary housing market in Vilnius showed clear signs of recovery at the end of this year – this year’s sales exceeded the threshold of 3,000 apartments sold, exceeding the results of the previous two years by more than a third. However, this number is lower than the average of the last decade (3,950).
“According to our calculations, over the past three years alone, about 6,000 “postponed” apartment transactions have accumulated. With loan interest rates falling, household incomes continuing to grow, and the buyer expectations index remaining high, the situation forces us to consider scenarios of a gradual or sudden recovery. We expect the market to grow by 20-25% in 2025 and approach the level of 4,000 apartments sold, which, looking at the trends of the last decade, would be the result of a fairly balanced market,” comments T. Žiaugra.
“There are about 4,000 apartments left in the unsold housing stock, but as buyers increasingly actively return to the market, developers will inevitably have to increase volumes. Housing prices will continue to tend to grow, we believe, between 5-7%, but this will largely be determined by the supply and demand ratio. Judging by the activity of the land market, it seems that developers are optimistic and will be ready to offer the market the necessary amount of housing, which should ensure competition and prevent price growth from accelerating,” he explains.