There is an unusual excitement in the rental housing market
At the beginning of summer, the national market for rental apartments usually experiences a long-awaited lull associated with the start of the holiday season. But this year you can safely forget about this sweet old tradition. In many large Russian cities, due to the curtailment of preferential mortgages and the massive return of relocants, rental rates unexpectedly jumped, and the availability of rental housing decreased.
As told by «MK» Director of the secondary real estate department of Est-a-Tet Yulia Dymova, today, unusually high for the beginning of summer, the demand for rented apartments is growing due to several specific factors. Firstly, relocants continue to return to Russia en masse, who, after the start of the Northern Military District and partial mobilization, went to live in the former Soviet republics and Turkey.
Secondly, the excitement was supported by increased mortgage rates. For many property formats, it is now objectively more profitable to rent a home than to take out a mortgage. A certain supply shortage also had an impact. It arose due to the fact that many objects that were supposed to replenish the supply volume on aggregators were not released. That is, people continue to live in these objects, due to which the rotation has decreased.
Thirdly, last spring a very interesting trend emerged — the rental period of housing increased. That is, if previously a long-term lease was considered to be six months to a year, now a long-term lease is three, five, seven years. According to Dymova, this is due to the fact that the market now offers quite a lot of mortgage programs designed for the purchase of apartments on the primary market. Even those people who initially planned to buy housing on the secondary market, ended up buying a new building. And therefore they continued to live in those very rental apartments, due to which the supply volume does not increase.
“In addition to those who bought a new building during the construction stage and are forced to rent temporary housing, the main demand is now generated by citizens who, for various reasons, were unable to obtain a mortgage. For example, due to increased requirements for the size of the down payment, or the purchase was postponed, — noted the director of the rental department of the company «Etazhi» Olga Pavlinova. As a result, both are interested in the most budget-friendly housing options. Since some people need to pay off the mortgage in parallel with renting, others — save money to buy your own home in the future. “This leads to a reduction in the volume of available supply on the market, a reduction in the share of the most budget options, and therefore an increase in average rental rates. Plus, the season of active domestic tourism has an effect,” — added by the analyst.
As a result, the national long-term rental housing market experienced price growth that outstrips inflation. “Average rates in large cities are now a third higher than a year ago,” — noted the head of «Cyan.Analytics» Alexey Popov. According to Pavlinova, the most significant increase in average rental rates for one-room apartments in St. Petersburg last month was by 3.3% to 34.7 thousand rubles, in Perm by 3.2% to 25.4 thousand rubles. and Chelyabinsk by 3% to 22.86 thousand rubles
In Moscow, average rental rates on the mass market have remained virtually unchanged. As explained by “MK” Deputy Director of the Apartment Rental Department of «INCOM-Real Estate» Oksana Polyakova, after a significant increase in prices last year, landlords did not raise the cost. The minimum rental rate for an apartment in old Moscow (without ZelAO) starts from 25 thousand rubles. in the 1st quarter of 2023 increased to 30–32 thousand rubles. in the 1st quarter of 2024. Currently, the minimum rental rate for a 1-room apartment in the old borders of Moscow (without ZelAO) is 33 thousand rubles. per month — such options can be found on 16th Parkovaya Street (Vostochnoe Izmailovo district), on Mikhailova Street (Ryazansky), on 40 Let Oktyabrya Avenue (Lublino). In the mass segment, the average rental rate for a 1-room apartment in the old borders of Moscow (without ZelAO) is 48.9 thousand rubles. per month, 2-room – 60.8 thousand rubles. However, landlords do not provide discounts.
According to Dymova, potential tenants can save money by turning their attention to New Moscow or metropolitan areas located at a distance from infrastructure facilities. “Sit out the troubled times” It is also possible in those properties that are currently under sale. Such objects also exist, given that the period of exposure of objects has increased, many people simultaneously put the object both for sale and for rent. There is another suitable option — More and more often, homeowners are renting out apartments without renovation; here you can also save money.
The availability of rental housing is declining. This is especially noticeable in Moscow. If in 2023, Moscow residents, according to Popov, spent an average of 39% of their income on rent, now — already 48%. And this picture is observed in many large cities.
From the end of June to the end of July, Yulia Dymova expects a short “respite” from work. in the rental housing market. But that doesn't mean potential tenants can relax. On the contrary, they should think twice and not wait for the start of the business season, which will begin in mid-August. “It is better to rent housing in the low season, and to rent it out in the high season— here is the formula for profitable rental business success for both parties,” — noted the specialist.
“In August, a new round of price growth is possible, since traditionally at this time activity in the market increases,” — says Polyakova. But this year, in her opinion, it is difficult to predict where tariffs will go: there was no lull on the part of employers either in the winter or in the spring. And in the summer, most likely, it is not expected. “Until the volume of rental supply is restored, until mortgage rates decrease, the number of tenants will be greater than the number of vacant apartments,” — the analyst concluded.