Increase in Apartment Prices in the Main Cities Continued. The Capital City Recorded an Astonishingly Expensive Transaction
2021-11-10
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 1.6% in October 2021 (1.6% increase was recorded in September 2021). The annual apartment price growth in the major cities of Lithuania was 20.8% (the annual apartment price growth in September 2021 was 19.4%).
In October 2021 apartment prices in the capital grew 2.1% with the average price per square meter reaching EUR 2,028 (+42 EUR/sqm). Apartment prices in Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys grew by 1.0%, 0.9%, 0.6% and 0.9% respectively with the average price per square meter reaching EUR 1,414 (+13 EUR/sqm), EUR 1,356 (+12 Eur/sqm), EUR 912 (+5 EUR/sqm) and EUR 900 (+8 EUR/sqm).
In the past 12 months, the prices of apartments increased in all major cities: 22.0% in Vilnius, 20.2% in Kaunas, 18.0% in Klaipėda, 19.3% in Šiauliai and 20.3% in Panevėžys.
The value of the Ober-Haus Apartment Price Index in Lithuania, which records changes in apartment prices in the five main cities of Lithuania (Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys), rose by 1.6% in October 2021 (growth in September 2021 was also 1.6%). The general level of apartment prices in the main Lithuanian cities has increased by 20.8% over the last 12 months (annual growth in September 2021 was 19.4%).
In October 2021, apartment sale prices grew by 2.1% in the capital city and the average price per square metre reached EUR 2.028 (+EUR 42/m²). In October, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys recorded increases in apartment prices equal to 1.0%, 0.9%, 0.6% and 0.9% respectively and the average price per square metre increased to EUR 1,414 (+ EUR 13 /m²), EUR 1,356 (+ EUR 12 /m²), EUR 912 (+ EUR 5/m²) and EUR 900 (+ EUR 8 /m²) respectively.
In one year (October 2021 compared to October 2020) apartment prices in the main cities showed a double-digit increase: 22.0% – in Vilnius, 20.2% – in Kaunas, 18.0% – in Klaipėda, 19.3% – in Šiauliai and 20.3% – in Panevėžys.
“After record activity in the Lithuanian apartment segment in the middle of this year, a slightly calmer period was recorded in the summer and the number of apartment transactions in the country fell from 3,900 in May to 3,000–3,200 this August and September. According to the latest data of the SE Centre of Registers, this October saw an increase in the number of apartment transactions to 3,500, which signals that activity in the housing market remains strong. For example, in 2019, on average, about 3,000 apartments were bought per month in Lithuania, and in 2020 – 2,750 apartments.
The growing interest in apartments continues to raise their sale prices, therefore, we have recorded solid growth in prices in the main cities this October. In Vilnius, where apartment sale prices continue to reach new heights, old construction apartments have become 19.7% more expensive, and new construction apartments – 24.8% over the last twelve months. New apartment acquisition transactions and the prices recorded in them show a sudden change in the general apartment price level in the country, and in the case of some individual prices it is hard to believe that the transaction is actually concluded under such conditions. For instance, an apartment in a new project was purchased this October in the country’s capital city for more than EUR 2.7 million – EUR 11,000 per square metre. This is a truly exceptional transaction as the price per square metre of the most expensive apartments sold recently only exceeded EUR 7,000 in rare cases. For this reason, the housing market continues to surprise us and it is becoming difficult to evaluate where the limits of the potential are,” Head of Market Research for Baltic Countries at Ober-Haus, Raimondas Reginis noted.
Full review (PDF): Lithuanian Apartment Price Index, October 2021