In the third quarter of 2011, apartment sales in Vilnius increased by 6 percent.

Real estate developers in Vilnius sold almost 250 new apartments in the third quarter of this year, an average of 80 apartments per month.  Comparing sales of new apartments with the same period in 2010, sales volumes decreased by 17%, and compared to the second quarter of this year – by 19%. “The new apartment market was traditionally less active in the summer than in the spring, but some buyers postponed their decision to purchase housing due to stricter bank lending policies,” says Tomas Žiaugra, a market analyst at Eika.

In the third quarter of 2011, new apartments in Žirmūnai attracted the greatest interest from buyers. In other projects, sales were distributed quite evenly – new apartment buildings in Santariškės, Lazdynai, Pilaitė and Naujamiestis remained popular. Only 40% of new apartment sales were economy class apartments, the price of which currently ranges from 2800 to 4700 litas per square meter. Since the beginning of the year, prices in this market sector have not changed. About 53% of new apartments sold were middle class, the prices of which range from 4700 to 6600 litas per square meter. Prices in this class decreased by only 1% during the quarter. For the first time in the last few years, more middle class apartments were sold than economy class apartments. The remaining 9% of sold apartments were luxury housing, with average prices starting at LTL 6,600 per square meter. The advertised prices in this sector remained unchanged in the third quarter of 2011.

According to T. Žiaugra, real estate developers are currently offering about 1,400 new apartments in Vilnius. As much as 54% of the supply consists of new apartments in apartment buildings that are still under construction. During the third quarter of 2011, the supply of new apartments in Vilnius decreased by only 6%, as the market was supplemented by apartment buildings in Pilaitė, Žirmūnai and Santariškės. However, since the beginning of the year, the supply of new apartments has decreased by as much as 17%. “This year, the supply of apartments is constantly being supplemented, but the number of new apartments on the market continues to decrease. The largest decrease, by as much as 37%, was in the economy class,” calculates T. Žiaugra.

Currently, the supply of economy-class housing consists of 600 apartments, almost half of which are in the Pašilaičiai microdistrict. “The current supply structure, when economy-class housing accounts for only 42% of all new-build apartments on the market, does not meet demand. The majority of buyers are people looking for economy-class housing, but their choice is limited, they can choose from only 3-4 microdistricts in Vilnius,” says 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; UAB “Inžinerinės idėjos” – specialists in the design, installation and maintenance of engineering systems. The quality of the services of the group of companies is ensured by the implemented quality and environmental standards ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004.