RIA Real Estate: Prices for housing in Moscow and the surrounding region remained almost unchanged during the first half of the year.

The prices of housing in Moscow and the Moscow region for the first half of 2015 have remained virtually unchanged, despite a significant decrease in demand, according to experts surveyed by RIA Novosti.

Decrease in demand for new housing

"The demand for new buildings in the first half of 2015, as seen by the number of concluded shared construction agreements, has shown a decrease of 10.4% compared to the same period last year," said Maria Litinetskaya, Chief Executive Officer of Metrium Group.

During the first six months, shared construction agreements were concluded for 9.4 thousand units of housing, compared to 10.5 thousand units during the same period last year, according to data from the Moscow Rosreestr, Litinetskaya cited.

"Nevertheless, despite the decrease in buyer activity in the primary real estate market, there were positive changes during the first half of the year. In the second quarter of 2015, demand increased by 17.6% compared to the first quarter - 5 thousand shared construction agreements were concluded, compared to 4.3 thousand agreements," the expert noted.

According to her, this was largely due to the strengthening of the ruble and the launch of preferential mortgages with state support. Compared to the first quarter, there was an increase of 26% - from 6.7 to 8.5 thousand mortgage transactions," Litinetskaya added. However, she pointed out that even this positive trend did not help reach last year's figures, and in the first half of 2015, there was a decrease of 25% compared to the same period last year - 20.3 thousand agreements versus 15.2 thousand agreements.

Regarding the supply volume in the primary housing market of the capital, it increased by 3.6% during the first six months, reaching 400 buildings with a total area of over 2 million square meters, according to Est-a-Tet company data.

Situation in the secondary market

Litinetskaya believes that the secondary housing market in the capital is currently in the most difficult situation. The number of property rights transfers for apartments in the secondary market has decreased by 32% compared to the same period last year.

In the first half of 2014, this indicator was 83.2 thousand units, and in the first half of 2015, it was 56.6 thousand units, according to the agency's source.

"The sharp decrease in demand has led to the return of alternative schemes to the market, namely direct exchanges," noted Sergey Shloma, Director of the Secondary Market Department at Inkom-Nedvizhimost. According to him, the share of exchanges in the market is about 3-4% of the total number of transactions for the company's secondary housing.

In terms of percentages, the supply in the economy, comfort, and business segments in the secondary housing market increased by only 1% in six months, with 39.1 thousand properties for sale with a total area of 2.3 million square meters, according to the Inkom-Nedvizhimost.

Capital prices

The weighted average price of new buildings in Moscow decreased by 1% in the first half of the year to 227.4 thousand rubles per square meter, according to experts from "Azbooka zhilya" company.

A square meter in an economy-class new building increased by 12.1% over the six months. The average cost now stands at 131.5 thousand rubles. In the business class, however, the price per square meter decreased by 0.6% to 293.9 thousand rubles. According to analysts from Barclays Corporation, the weighted average price for apartments in luxury new buildings increased by 2.8%.

The Moscow secondary housing market showed moderate growth in ruble rates in the first half of 2015. From December to June, the asking price increased by 0.6%, noted by "Ikom-Nedvizhimost". According to the company's analytical center, the average cost per square meter in the secondary market reached 196.3 thousand rubles in June.

A one-room apartment in the "economy" segment costs a little over 174.1 thousand rubles per square meter, in the "comfort" segment - 193.1 thousand rubles, and in the business class - 289 thousand rubles per "square", analysts of the company note.

The price per square meter in luxury housing is equal to 19.8 thousand dollars, which is approximately 1.1 million rubles, according to Kalinka Group.

Experts from "Miel" note that thanks to the recovery of the ruble exchange rate, which was observed in the first half of this year, the price per square meter increased by 7% in dollar equivalent.

If at the beginning of the year, the square meter cost 3.7 thousand dollars, then in June the price increased to 4.5 thousand dollars, notes Alexey Shlenov, the executive director of "Miel-Network of real estate offices"

Surcharge area

In the Moscow region, overall, primary real estate increased by 5% by July compared to the end of last year, reaching 81 thousand rubles per square meter (an annual growth of 8.8%), according to "Azbooka zhilya" company.

According to the company's data, in the economy class, the cost per square meter was 76.8 thousand rubles, and in the business class - 137.1 thousand rubles.

On the secondary market in the Moscow region, housing prices increased by 7% in the first half of 2015, reaching 88.2 thousand rubles per square meter, with an annual increase of 9.2%, according to experts from "Inkom-Nedvizhimost" company.