Fastest price increase for relatively old apartments in Vilnius
2017-08-17
The Ober-Haus Lithuanian apartment price index (OHBI), which records changes in apartment prices in the five major Lithuanian cities (Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys), increased by 0.5% in July 2017. The annual apartment price growth in the major cities of Lithuania was 4.2% (the annual apartment price growth in June 2017 was 4.1%).
In July 2017 apartment prices in the capital grew 0.5% with the average price per square meter reaching EUR 1,453 (+7 EUR/sqm). Since the last lowest price level recorded in May 2010 prices have increased by 25.9% (+299 EUR/sqm). Apartment prices in Kaunas, Klaipėda and Šiauliai in July grew by 0.3%, 0.6% and 0.1% respectively with the average price per square meter reaching EUR 1,008 (+3 EUR/sqm), EUR 1,060 (+7 EUR/sqm) and EUR 605 (+0.7 EUR/sqm). In Panevėžys no price changes were recorded and average apartment price remained the same as in June – EUR 565.
In the past 12 months, the prices of apartments grew in all major cities: 5.1% in Vilnius, 3.7% in Kaunas, 2.7% in Klaipėda and Šiauliai, and 3.4% in Panevėžys.
‘The statistics of the past twelve months shows that prices for both old and new apartments are increasing. In terms of the most active major cities in Lithuania, the fastest price increase was observed in the market of relatively old apartments in Vilnius and in the market of newly built apartments in Kaunas and Klaipėda. Over the past twelve months, prices of relatively old apartments increased by 5.6% and those of new apartments – by 4.5% in Vilnius. In the meantime, prices of relatively old apartments increased by 3.0% and 1.8% in Kaunas and Klaipėda respectively, and those of new apartments – by 5.4% and 4.5% respectively. New projects initiated in Kaunas and Klaipėda recently offer a wider choice for customers both from the point of view of location and quality. Developers starting new projects plan higher sales prices of residential property due to rising construction costs, higher technical requirements for the buildings, and changing needs of customers’, Saulius Vagonis, head of the Valuation and Market Research Department at Ober-Haus, said.