Specialists attribute this trend to the overall economic situation in the country: people prefer to rent housing and wait for the situation to improve rather than buy. At the same time, those who have managed to sell their property profitably also prefer to rent and wait until prices stop falling (apartments became cheaper by 2.8% in a month).
The current purchase and sale transactions are indicative in that housing is bought when the monthly rental cost equals the monthly loan payment. According to information from the company Balsts, as cited by the publication, the most in-demand apartments are small-sized ones, particularly two-room apartments with separate rooms.
The era of private investors in Latvia has come to an end. According to Aigars Zariņš, head of the company Balsts, the market will henceforth be interesting to those who want to buy housing for themselves. The same situation will continue next year.
In the long term, the biggest problem for the housing market of the Latvian capital is the growth of non-performing mortgage loans, which in turn will lead to the emergence of a huge number of repossessed apartments on the market, with prices possibly falling to €800 per square meter. According to Zariņš, this will set the market back ten years. Analysts say the reality of this scenario can be assessed by the end of this year.
• During the economic crisis, the real estate market freezes in many countries around the world. Sellers are reluctant to lower prices, and buyers are not willing to overpay. Therefore, rental and real estate transactions without intermediaries are becoming particularly popular. Thus, according to experts, in Kyiv alone, apartment rentals without intermediaries account for more than half of all residential real estate listings. Companies in need of office space also prefer to save money – during the crisis, they prefer to solve their problems independently without involving intermediaries.
_