Resales took up the old
In June and July, the activity of buyers of Moscow apartments unexpectedly increased sharply. A significant part of the citizens decided to spend their holidays talking with realtors, not tour operators. MK dealt with the reasons for the unusual summer rush in the secondary housing market.
The results of June in the secondary housing market of Moscow puzzled the experts a little. Rosreestr registered in the capital almost 15.8 thousand. sales contracts. This is 10% more than in May (14.3 thousand), and 89% more than in June 2022, when only 8.3 thousand purchase and sale transactions were made.
According to the interviewed «MK» analysts, anomalous activity was formed by four factors. Firstly, fear has affected: in the conditions of economic instability, many people are looking for a proven and understandable asset for saving money. And the capital's «squares» in times of previous economic crises have repeatedly proved the status of a safe haven.
Secondly, activity was stimulated by pent-up demand. According to the managing director of Metrium Ruslan Syrtsov, clients who postponed the purchase of housing during the pandemic and at the beginning of the SVO are returning to the secondary housing market. Now, against the backdrop of a certain stabilization of the situation, they decided to complete the deal.
Thirdly, the real estate market has finally noticed that over the past six months, the ruble has weakened by about 30%. At the beginning of summer, the owners of foreign currency savings were in a hurry to take profit from the growth in the value of their savings and converted them into Moscow apartments.
Fourth, the volume of supply has been declining for the third month in a row. If in April 48.8 thousand finished objects were sold in Moscow, then in June it was already 46.2 thousand, said the chief analyst of the Miel Group of Companies. Ekaterina Berezhnova.
As a result of the growing imbalance between supply and demand, the average exposure period was reduced from three months to one, and prices rose for the first time in the last 14 months. «In June, the average prices for Moscow apartments increased by 1% (see table)», — Berezhnova said. According to her, in price competition, the cost per square meter of housing in the secondary market lags behind the primary market (excluding premium and elite segments) by an average of 10-15%. True, this trend is not equally represented in different districts and districts of Moscow: there are locations where the difference between the exposition of the secondary housing and the showcase of new buildings is really stunning, and there are also those where the differences are not very noticeable.
According to the Miel Group of Companies, the average price of apartments sold on the secondary market of Moscow (within the old boundaries) at the beginning of summer amounted to 15.5 million rubles. The average bill for a one-room apartment was 10.1 million rubles, for a two-room apartment — 13.5 million rubles, three-room apartment — RUB 22.9 million
According to the general director of the portal «World of Apartments» Pavel Lutsenko, in general in Moscow (together with New Moscow) «square» the secondary housing costs 300,917 rubles, in the Novomoskovsky administrative district — 230,876 rubles, in the Troitsk joint-stock company — 215,982 rubles, and in the Moscow region — RUB 146,443 There is a sluggish price dynamics. For the second quarter, for example, in Moscow as a whole, «square» rose by 1%, in New Moscow — by 0.5%, and in the Moscow region fell by 0.6%.
Traditionally, expensive housing is sold in the center of Moscow; in elite houses, prices can reach up to 1.5 million per square meter. m and above. The cheapest apartments within the Moscow Ring Road are offered in Chertanovo South (249,755 rubles per 1 sq. m.), Kapotnya (254,090 rubles), Biryulyovo Zapadnoye (257,651 rubles), Chertanovo Central (263,872 rubles), Veshnyaki (263,976 rubles), Printers (271,401 rubles).
In the Moscow region, the most expensive «squares» are sold in satellite cities of the capital: in Reutov (206,943 rubles/sq. m), Krasnogorsk (200,841 rubles), Dolgoprudny (196,064 rubles) and Khimki (195,701 rubles). On the edge of the region in the east, you can find apartments for 80 & ndash; 100 rubles. for «square». “Demand is for those apartments whose owners set adequate prices and are ready to make at least small discounts. Other things being equal, people are interested in relatively new houses or located near the subway, — emphasized Lutsenko.
— Home buyers have become more active in looking at apartments in the Moscow region, the main reason — in improving transport accessibility, — noted the real estate expert of the company «Etazhi» in Moscow, Evgeny Koikelova. — One-room apartments are still the most popular. More and more buyers are seeking to purchase apartments in the «call in and live» format; with a good repair, often with furniture and household appliances, so these apartments are sold faster.
The request of buyers for a secondary property, completely ready for living, was noticed by private investors. Today they are actively buying apartments in unsatisfactory condition at a discount, repairing them in a short time and selling them with a yield of 20–25%.
According to Lutsenko, if the limits for issuing preferential mortgages in the primary market run out (they may end as early as September-October. — Ed.), demand will move to the secondary, and prices will not fall on average. So far, the situation is as follows: 5-10% discounts are given for old housing, and it becomes cheaper. “The new resale — Yesterday's new buildings, bought at high prices, are moving to the regular market at the same prices, thereby raising the average bar. These two vectors are balanced, and it turns out that the average prices stand still, making slight fluctuations, — expert noticed.
Undoubtedly, the recent decision of the Central Bank to raise the key rate by 100 basis points, to 8.5% per annum, will undoubtedly affect the secondary housing market, Evgenia Koikelova noted. In her opinion, any imbalance in terms of the availability of mortgage lending can change the existing trends in the market. “Now the secondary housing market is catching up with stagnant prices in the primary market, this restores the balance and competition that was disturbed due to preferential mortgage programs, which is positive for the market, — analyst added. — Much will also depend on geopolitics, which often causes outbursts of emotions. As long as the situation on the market is stable and we do not expect any price distortions on it in the medium term, rather, these will be near-zero price fluctuations.
Head of the Real Estate Market Indicators AC Oleg Repchenko believes that at the height of the holiday season, the downward movement of prices may resume. Optional in the offer, perhaps by increasing the amount of discounts. In general, according to his forecast, the cost of housing in the medium term should return to the level of early 2020, where it was before the inflation of the price bubble.