Experts: discounts for apartments in Russia have reached 30-40%

The average discount on the sale of secondary housing in Russia exceeded 6% — such significant discounts have not been noted for at least the last three years, Alexander Ivanov, a leading analyst at the federal company Etazhi, told Izvestia.

Some owners are interested in the urgent sale of apartments and are ready to make a discount, which in special cases reaches 15–20% of the initial offer price. The market is now divided into those who want to sell as expensive as possible, and those who are interested in urgent sale and therefore are ready to make significant discounts , — he said.

Over the past week in Moscow, average discounts for secondary housing of 5–7% have been recorded, the general director and partner of Welcome , told Izvestia Mikhail Klimenkov. According to him, in some cases the size of the discount reaches 20%. According to Irina Morozova, Marketing Director of Time development, there are also discounts in 60%.

We see two reasons for impulsive decisions on the part of clients in a quick sale: the decision to relocate and the urgency to get money to live in another country, as well as the fear of a significant drop in market prices in the event of a deterioration in the geopolitical situation , — says Mikhail Klimenkov.

According to AREA board member Dmitry Khalin, buyers have been dictating their terms on the market for the past few months, and sellers have already been forced to make discounts. At the end of September, the trend intensified: the number of those wishing to sell real estate increased in the last week, the number of those ready to buy decreased. Conventionally, for each customer there are –20 sellers, he said.

This increases discounts, including in the segment of high-budget housing. Over the past week, from 14% of customers who are currently selling apartments received an offer from the buyer to reduce the price from 7 to 14%, depending on the initially declared by them , — notes Dmitry Khalin.

Also, in the past, in the absence of buyers, sellers have always had an alternative to profitably rent an apartment, and today there are difficulties in this segment, he added. This is especially true for large apartments, the expert said. Sergey Bobashev, LifeDeluxe project manager, noted that discounts of 20% were made before, when a person, for example, urgently needed to get a divorce and share property with a spouse. Now the market is under stress: someone is trying to sell housing quickly and for any money, he added.

Against this background, we do not exclude the growth of interest in discounted apartments from private investors who decide to invest their savings in real estate. In fact, there are apartments on the market now, the final sale price of which is at the level of market prices two or three years ago. Naturally, they are beginning to enjoy the interest of investors , — said Alexander Ivanov.

Primary to the same place

The situation is similar in the primary market, Dmitry Khalin said. The number of transactions has also drastically decreased, despite the fact that developers continue to bring new projects to the market, and buyers can only be interested in very attractive prices at an early stage of construction, he said.

According to Natalia Kuznetsova, Director General of NDV Real Estate Supermarket, it is too early to talk about adjusting prices for apartments in new buildings. A more or less clear picture of the cost can be seen only by the middle — the end of October, she believes. Now the weighted average cost per square meter within the boundaries of old Moscow is 30 thousand rubles and it has grown by 14,5% per year, added expert.

Recent events have had an immediate impact on demand. The plans of many potential buyers have changed. Some took a break for one or two weeks, some immediately canceled the reservation. Information on the completion of partial mobilization can provide clarity on further actions, — said Natalia Kuznetsova.

According to Irina Morozova, the value of the discount for apartments in houses under construction reaches 30%. Given that 30% of transactions took place using mortgage loans, and at the moment in our country, according to the law, no one is exempt from payments on a housing loan, even in the event of the loss of a breadwinner, the further development of the situation will largely depend on state guarantees. In particular, subject to mobilization, mortgage holidays are needed without any penalties for borrowers, insurance in case of loss of a breadwinner, she explained. The State Duma is already considering a bill on credit holidays for the mobilized.

Now the share of potential buyers is no more than 14% of those who could and planned to buy real estate a week ago, says Irina Morozova. According to Vladislav Preobrazhensky, executive director of the Moscow Investors Club, the market is likely to decline during October, and then the situation will return to the trends before the start of partial mobilization. That is, there will be a gradual increase in sales with stable prices, he added.

Source: Izvestia