Experts: Real Estate In Minsk May Sharply Depreciate

Demand fell due to changes in lending conditions and the rise in the dollar exchange rate.

Realtors have recorded a downward trend in demand for apartments in Minsk and predicted a further decrease in prices. According to experts, demand fell due to changes in lending conditions and the rise in the dollar exchange rate, writes Telegraf.

According to the real estate agency Tvoya Stolitsa, 1,737 apartment purchase and sale transactions were registered in October. This is slightly more than in September.

“First of all, the market lost a decent share of buyers from the regions who took out preferential loans for housing construction. Let us recall that they can now purchase real estate on credit in those cities where they are on the waiting list. In addition, banks have raised the rate,” Andrei Chernyshau, deputy head of the consulting and analytics department of the agency, explained the situation.

In his opinion, home buyers have reached the ceiling of their capabilities. According to the real estate agency, the average price per square meter in Minsk is now $1,560, and its maximum price was recorded in October 2013 — $1,730. But at that time, the dollar cost 0.92 rubles (in today's money, that is, after the denomination).

“Sellers hope for the better, but they are realistically assessing the situation: the end of the year is approaching, the currency is becoming more expensive, so they are preparing to make discounts so as not to carry over the apartment they are selling into the new year, and thus not to play the lottery,” Chernyshau said.

At the same time, according to him, some buyers do not want to miss out on a “good opportunity”, while others, on the contrary, are waiting for prices to fall. The agency representative emphasized that buyers never receive “any benefit” from the growth of the dollar exchange rate. “As a result, the price of apartments decreases by a maximum of 25% with a 100% increase in the currency,” he shared his calculations.

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