Demand for land is up and deals in existing housing market down by third in Tatarstan
How the situation in the republic’s real estate market has changed in 2024
Tatarstan residents signed almost 30% fewer deals in the existing housing market in May compared to the same period last year. So the number of sale and purchase agreements in this segment reduced from 9 to 6,500. At the same time, during the first five months of the year, residents of the republic broke a record in land purchase. Read more about it in Realnoe Vremya’s report.
Record fall in existing housing market
In May, Tatarstan residents signed nearly 6,500 home sale and purchase agreements. Moreover, a year earlier, the monthly number of deals reached 9,000. The decline in the demand in this segment was 28.5%, Realnoe Vremya calculated.
The biggest fall in the interest in existing housing is seen among Kazan citizens. In the last year, the number of deals reduced by 29.3% — from 3,000 to 2,200. The decreased demand in the republic’s districts was 28% — from 6,000 to 4,300 agreements.
It is noteworthy that this is a general tendency this year — in the last five months, Tatarstan residents bought 31,600 flats in the existing housing market, which is 26.5% less than a year earlier (40,000).
This tendency is often linked with rising prices for existing housing. Kazan ranked 2nd among big Russian cities in expensive existing houses in May. At that moment, the price for a square metre in the city’s market rose by 0.8% — to 163,000 rubles. The growth across the country on average totalled an insignificant 0.2%. The market of second-hand real estate property has been going through hard times since the Central Bank raised the refinancing rate. Mortgage became almost unaffordable for most buyers.
Demand for land this year increased by 18%
At the same time, another segment of the real estate market had a record-high growth — Tatarstan residents are interested in land parcels. In May 2024, the republic’s citizens had almost 10,000 deals, which is 12% more than in 2022 (8,900). Such a surge in demand has to do with the grown popularity of individual housing development.
Tatarstan residents bought a total of 43,600 land parcels from January to May inclusively — it is 18% more than during the first five months last year (36,900).
The biggest demand for land was registered in the capital of the republic. Here, the number of sale and purchase agreements in May amounted to 1,213 against 1,058 during the same period last year, which is 15% more.
Unstable demand for new-builds
The activity of Tatarstan residents in the new housing market during the first five months of the year notably loses to the numbers in January-May last year. Then, the republic’s residents purchased 36,900 new flats.
This year, they did 10% less — 33,600. The montly figures in the republic in general didn’t change a lot. Last May, Tatarstan people signed 8,000 sale and purchase agreements. This May, they did 8,500 (+6%).
Moreover, the number of deals in new-builds exceeds the numbers in the existing market — by 30%. This is quite explicable — on the eve of the end of preferential mortgage, most Tatarstan residents as well as all Russians rushed to manage to buy a new house on good conditions.
There is also a notable rise in deals with new-builds in Kazan. 2,888 agreements for new homes were signed in the capital of the republic in May, whereas just 2,632 were a year earlier (+10%).
Head of Happy House real estate agency Anastasia Gizatova said that there is active construction of small flats not only in Kazan itself but also in the periphery. “Laishevo District is among popular destinations, for instance, near Sokury. There is active construction there, there are many residential areas in this direction.”
Zelenodolsk, Vysokaya Gora, Verkhny Uslon and Pestretsy areas are among popular districts. According to the expert, all these destinations are popular among both Kazan citizens and residents of other cities and districts of the republic as well as representatives of other Russian regions.