Demand for primary housing in Ukraine in the first half of 2025 was 50-60% lower than supply, according to the press service of Kovcheg Developer.
“The average volume of construction in Ukraine in the first half of the year increased by 30% compared to the same period in 2024. However, despite the activity of developers, the actual number of deals in the primary housing market is significantly, by 50-60%, lower than supply,” Viktor Kozachok, co-founder of Kovcheg Developer, told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to the expert, the main thing holding things back is still the uncertainty caused by the war. On top of that, there’s inflation, currency fluctuations, and low incomes, which all make it harder to decide to buy a home.
At the same time, demand for new homes isn’t spread out evenly.
According to Kovcheg Developer’s estimates, the largest share — about 40% — falls on the western regions: Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, and Zakarpattia. More than 25% of requests for primary housing are concentrated in Kyiv and its suburbs.
Approximately 15% of buyers choose Odesa and its surroundings. Other regions account for only about 20% of demand. An expert named the main factors influencing buyers’ decisions to purchase housing in new buildings. In first place is the safety of the region and the residential complex.
People are actively interested in the level of protection against rocket attacks, the availability of bomb shelters or individual security rooms in residential complexes. Other criteria are the same as before 2022: the pace and quality of construction, technical characteristics and infrastructure of the residential complex, prices and purchase mechanisms.
“Buyers are interested in recreational infrastructure, summer and winter leisure opportunities, service packages, etc. In addition, the desire to live in conditions of ”social comfort“ is important — we call this ”escaping from megacities.” Therefore, conceptual projects with unique infrastructure facilities and scenic features, as well as a flexible service model, are more attractive. For many, future real estate is a “spare airport,” a private resort, and a source of income all at once,” Kozachok emphasized.
As for developers’ pricing policy, it is influenced by rising prices for construction materials and services (by an average of 10-12% since the beginning of the year) and fluctuations in the currency market. According to the company’s research, prices for high-quality comfort and business-class properties under construction in Ukraine currently range from $1,200 to $2,500 per square meter.
At the same time, citizens are increasingly interested in the possibility of receiving passive income from income-generating properties and “resort” apartment hotels, with investments in such projects potentially yielding 7-11% annual returns in dollar terms.
The expert drew attention to the regional features of the primary market. In particular, the western regions are characterized by the construction of individual, conceptual projects with unique architecture and services.
“The west of Ukraine is characterized by the development of new innovative formats that are on the borderline between ‘resort real estate’ and housing. These are multifunctional residential complexes with self-sufficient infrastructure for recreation at the level of the best hotels,” he said.
Among the examples, he cited so-called “vertical” resorts with multifunctional roofs and unique infrastructure facilities, as well as income-generating buildings with flexible use options (in the “live-rent” format).
In his opinion, traditional multi-apartment construction remains relevant for the capital and other large cities with a concentration of industrial facilities, but taking into account modern requirements for living safety, energy efficiency, and construction quality.
“The main things that can unite modern housing are concept, safety, comfort, quality, and infrastructure,” Kozachok summed up.
Kovcheg Developer is a construction company founded in 2018. The company specializes in the construction of modern business-class residential and apartment complexes. The company’s portfolio includes eight completed projects with a total area of 17,000 square meters of residential and commercial construction in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. Several projects of various formats are currently under active construction: Logos Home Apartment residential complex (Yaremche), Kardamon Resort & SPA investment project (Bukovel), Grono Family Resedence residential complex (Polianytsia), Parkova Dolyna residential complex (Dolyna), Kovheg Residence cottage town (Polianytsia), and others.
In 2024, Kovcheg Developer began construction of Bright House duplexes in the village of Żabia Wola (Grodzisk County, Mazovia Province, Poland).
By 2028, the company plans to start construction of about 10 residential projects and commercial real estate properties with a total area of over 80,000 square meters.
The State Border Service of Ukraine reports a 40% increase in passenger traffic through checkpoints in the Lviv region on the border with Poland since the start of the summer season, and on weekends – by another 16% compared to weekdays.
“One of the busiest checkpoints remains Shehyni due to repair work on the Ukrainian side,” the agency said in a Telegram channel on Thursday.
In particular, 150 cars have gathered at this checkpoint, 100 at the Krakivets checkpoint, 30 at the Hrushev checkpoint, 25 at the Uhryniv checkpoint, and 10 at the Nyzhankovychi checkpoint. Only the Smilnytsia and Rava-Ruska checkpoints are operating without delays.
“To speed up the processing of citizens, border guards have stepped up their work: during peak hours, the number of patrols has been increased and additional automated workstations have been deployed. Regular meetings are also held with Polish colleagues to jointly seek solutions that will help speed up border crossings,” the State Border Service said.
As reported, passenger traffic across the Ukrainian border during the week of July 26 to August 1 increased by 1.7% to 766,000, setting a new record for wartime: last year, record figures were recorded in August and amounted to 737,000. The outbound flow in the ninth week of summer remained almost unchanged at 367,000 compared to 369,000 a week ago, while the inbound flow increased from 384,000 to 399,000.
Distribution system operators (DSOs) DTEK Networks continued to repair energy infrastructure in the first half of 2025, investing almost UAH 2.3 billion in its restoration and construction, according to the company’s press service.
“In the first half of the year, we invested almost UAH 2.3 billion in new construction, technical re-equipment, and reconstruction of electrical networks and power equipment, including UAH 686 million for the introduction and development of commercial electricity metering and other areas, and about UAH 930 million. We also invested almost UAH 352 million in repairs in four regions of Ukraine over the six months,” said Alina Bondarenko, CEO of DTEK Networks, as quoted in the press release.
According to the DTEK Networks press release, 4,370 km of overhead power lines, 2,870 cable lines, and more than 3,600 energy facilities in Kyiv, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Odesa regions were upgraded.
As part of the investment program in the first half of the year, three transformer and four distribution substations were reconstructed, seven new transformer stations were built, and over 101,000 smart meters were installed.
“DTEK Networks is actively implementing its 2025 repair program, preparing the energy infrastructure of four regions—Kyiv, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Odesa—for the upcoming heating season,” the operating holding company said.
In particular, in the first half of the year, energy companies have already completed over 60% of the planned repairs to power lines.
According to her, in the first six months, DTEK energy companies also repaired 634 transformer substations and distribution points and almost 3,000 other energy facilities.
DTEK Networks develops its business in electricity distribution and power grid operation in Kyiv, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, and Odesa regions. The company’s power grids serve 5.1 million households and 150,000 businesses.
Naftogaz Group companies paid UAH 44.4 billion in taxes in the first six months of 2025, of which UAH 40.7 billion went to the state budget, according to Serhiy Koretsky, chairman of the board of Naftogaz of Ukraine.
“In the first half of 2025, Naftogaz Group companies paid UAH 44.4 billion in taxes to budgets of all levels, which is almost 7% of all tax revenues to the country’s budget,” he said in a Facebook post on Friday.
He noted that of this amount, UAH 40.7 billion went to the state budget and another UAH 3.7 billion to local budgets.
“Supporting the financial stability of the state is an integral part of our responsibility as a company operating in a strategic sector of the economy,” Koretsky commented.
As reported, the consolidated revenue of the Naftogaz Group in 2024 increased by 22.0% to UAH 298.75 billion, and net profit by 63.9% to UAH 37.91 billion.
Gold prices rose to a record high on news that the US would impose tariffs on 1-kilogram gold bars imported from Switzerland. During Friday trading on the Comex exchange, December futures for the precious metal reached $3,534.1 per ounce, a historic high. They are currently trading at $3,484.5 per ounce, up 0.9% from the previous close.
The US Customs and Border Protection agency said that gold bars weighing 1 kg and 100 ounces (2.8 kg) should be classified under a customs code that is subject to import duties, according to a July 31 ruling seen by the Financial Times.
The customs decision came as a surprise to the industry. Experts had assumed that these types of gold bars would be classified under a different customs code that would not be subject to the new duties imposed by US President Donald Trump.
Kilogram bars are the most common form of trade on Comex, the world’s largest gold futures market, and account for the bulk of gold bar exports from Switzerland to the US.
Relations between Washington and Bern deteriorated after the US announced last week that it would impose 39% import duties on products from that country. According to customs data, gold is one of Switzerland’s main exports to the US.
“The prevailing opinion was that precious metals remelted by Swiss refineries and exported to the US could be shipped without paying duties,” said Christoph Wild, president of the Swiss Precious Metals Association. The decision to impose the duty is “another blow” to gold trading between Switzerland and the US, he believes.
Imports of goods from Ukraine in January-July 2025 amounted to $45.9 billion in monetary terms, which is 17.4% more than in the same period of 2024, while exports grew by 2.7% from $22.6 billion to $23.2 billion, according to the State Customs Service (SCS).
“At the same time, taxable imports amounted to $34.7 billion, which is 76% of the total volume of imported goods. The tax burden per 1 kg of taxable imports in January-July 2025 was $0.52/kg,” according to a publication on the agency’s Telegram channel on Thursday.
Traditionally, the largest importers of goods to Ukraine were China ($9.9 billion), Poland ($4.4 billion), and Germany ($3.7 billion).
The largest exporters from Ukraine were Poland ($2.9 billion), Turkey ($1.9 billion), and Italy ($1.3 billion).
It is noted that in the total volume of goods imported in January-July 2025, 68% were machinery, equipment, and transport – $18 billion (during customs clearance, 112.7 billion hryvnia, or 29% of customs payments, were paid to the budget), chemical industry products – $7.3 billion (57 billion hryvnia, or 15%), fuel and energy – $5.9 billion (105.5 billion hryvnia, or 27%).
The top three most exported goods also remain unchanged: food products ($13 billion), metals and metal products ($2.6 billion), machinery, equipment, and transport ($2.2 billion).
During the seven months of customs clearance of goods subject to export duties, UAH 159.1 million was paid to the budget.
