Real estate developers in Kaunas and Klaipėda are in no hurry to increase supply

According to Eika data, about 110 new apartments were purchased directly from real estate developers in Klaipėda during the second quarter of this year, i.e. 26% more than in the previous quarter, and 70 new apartments were sold in Kaunas – two times less than in the first quarter of the year. According to preliminary data from the Registers Center, about 1,100 apartments were sold in Kaunas in the second quarter of 2014, i.e. 6% more than in the first quarter. In Klaipėda, about 730 housing sales transactions were concluded during the same period, 17% less than in the previous quarter.

In Kaunas and Klaipėda, new housing with a larger area is more often purchased. In Klaipėda, the most purchased are spacious new housing apartments with an area of ​​60-70 square meters, which in the second quarter of this year accounted for as much as 62% of all sales transactions. In Kaunas, the most popular new housing has not changed for more than five years. Kaunas residents most often choose spacious housing with an area of ​​over 100 square meters, which in the second quarter of this year accounted for about a third of sales.

According to Eika data, the supply of new apartments in Klaipėda remained unchanged in the second quarter of this year and currently stands at 650 apartments. In Kaunas, the supply grew by 21% in the second quarter of this year and currently stands at around 510 apartments. “We can expect more active sales in Kaunas and Klaipėda at the end of the third quarter and in the last quarter of the year due to more attractive apartments appearing in new projects. Currently, apartments are being sold on the market in previously launched projects, where the most popular apartments have already been purchased, so you have to choose from the remaining ones. By the end of this year, the supply in Klaipėda is planned to be supplemented by around 200, and in Kaunas – by around 300 new apartments,” predicts T. Žiaugra.

In both Kaunas and Klaipėda, the average price of new apartments has remained almost unchanged over the year. In Klaipėda, the price of new apartments has remained the same over the year and currently stands at around LTL 4,400 per square meter. In Kaunas, the average price of a new apartment per square meter has decreased by just 2% over the year and currently stands at around LTL 3,800. According to the development project manager, by the end of the year, the prices of new apartments in both cities should increase due to the pricing of new projects.

When assessing the attractiveness of old-construction housing, one-room apartments of up to 35 square meters dominate in all the largest cities of Lithuania. In Vilnius, 24% of sales are for old-construction apartments, in Kaunas – 25%, in Klaipėda – 27%. “The structure of sales of old-construction housing is the same in the largest cities of Lithuania, but sales in the new-construction segment differ. In Kaunas for almost two years, and in Klaipėda for almost a year, not a single new-construction one-room apartment with an area of ​​up to 35 square meters has been purchased,” says Tomas Žiaugra, the head of development projects at Eika. In Vilnius, during the second quarter of 2014, sales of small new-construction apartments accounted for as much as 8% of the market.

According to the representative of “Eika”, the differences are possible due to the different supply structure. In Kaunas, new-build apartments of this type make up only 4% of the primary market, with a total of about 20 apartments in four projects. The average price per square meter of such an apartment in Kaunas is 3,950 litas. In Klaipėda, the shortage of these apartments is even greater – currently only 10 one-room new-build apartments are being sold on the market, i.e. slightly more than 1% of the supply. The average price of such apartments is 4,600 litas per square meter. Analogous old-build apartments in the port city cost up to 30% cheaper, and in the temporary capital – as much as 40% cheaper.

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.