Export changes in % to previous period in 2022-2023
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
Demand for ready-to-move-in apartments in Ukraine’s primary real estate market is gradually growing, with their share in the sales structure of some developers reaching 50%, according to a survey of developers conducted by Interfax-Ukraine.
“Before the full-scale war, the share of renovated apartments from the developer was about a third of total sales. Now it is up to half of the transactions. The demand for owner-occupied apartments is growing. Firstly, it is cheaper than finishing the apartment yourself. Secondly, it is much faster. You can move into a new home immediately after the building is completed, while renovation work done by yourself takes at least several months to six months. For many people, this factor is critical,” said Anna Laevska, commercial director of Intergal-Bud.
According to her, Intergal-Bud offers buyers a finishing of the apartment (flooring, wallpaper for painting, interior doors, electrical wiring and electrical fittings, plumbing) with designer renovation in three styles, as well as installation of furniture and kitchen.
Ms. Laevskaya noted that over the past year and a half, the company has revised the prices for the renovation service several times. Today, the cost of designer renovation is $300 per square meter, which is $100 lower than before the full-scale war. A furnished repair from the developer will cost $600/sq. m.
“We understand that renovating an apartment in a new building is a big expense. In the context of exchange rate fluctuations, when everything around us is getting more expensive, a democratic price offer from the developer is a step towards Ukrainians who want to improve their living conditions. We have no plans to revise the cost of repairs, but we understand that further developments will depend on the prices of materials,” the expert said.
According to DIM Group, the share of ready-made renovated apartments in the structure of demand in the primary market is 45%.
“The advantages of a renovated apartment from a developer include maximum transparency and accountability. The buyer delegates to the developer the supervision of the order fulfillment and already accepts a fully finished product at the stage of receiving the keys,” said Daria Bedia, DIM’s Marketing Director.
The developer offers four types of finishes in its projects: basic renovation at a cost of $650/sq. m, kitchen with appliances – an additional $50/sq. m to the cost of basic renovation, cabinet furniture – “plus” $30/sq. m, upholstered and separate furniture – “plus” $20/sq. m. DIM engaged Anthracite design bureau to develop the renovation projects.
“We set ourselves an ambitious task: to overcome the prejudice that a renovated apartment in a new building is always about a typical renovation with budget materials, the same colors and style. Our partner has developed a whole line of adaptive design projects that differ in style, color scheme, content, and price,” Bedia explained.
Meanwhile, apartments with ready-made repairs are not in demand in business-class residential projects and are more relevant in comfort and economy class, according to City One Development.
“Based on many years of experience and analyzing customer requests, we can say that it is impractical for a developer to make ready-to-move-in apartments in the business segment. The vast majority of our clients choose apartments for themselves and want to choose and develop the design themselves. Renovated apartments are relevant in the economy and comfort classes. But this is no more than 5% of the total demand,” says Dmytro Novikov, Marketing Director of City One Development.
Among the disadvantages of finished apartments, Novikov mentioned the higher cost, longer terms of obtaining housing and mostly standard design solutions that do not take into account the individual request of the buyer.
According to him, the experience of sales of the first and second phases of Novopecherski Lypky showed that the most popular renovated apartments were one-bedroom apartments, while two- and three-bedroom apartments were sold less actively.
“So far, we have not received any requests for ready-made renovated apartments from the developer. Customers continue to be interested in finished apartments even at the final stage of construction, which means that the trends that emerged with the outbreak of the war continue to exist,” he summarized.
Kyiv has returned to the ranking of the most expensive cities to live in, ranking 132nd out of 173, according to a study by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
The report notes that in 2022, the Ukrainian capital was not included in the ranking due to Russian aggression, and in 2021 it ranked 118th. Due to the lack of data for 2022, prices in Kyiv were not included in the calculation of average inflation.
The World Cost of Living (WCOL) study was conducted by the EIU from August 14 to September 11, 2023, based on prices for the most commonly used goods and services. In the world’s largest cities, prices have risen by an average of 7.4% over the past year, in terms of local currencies. This is slightly slower than the 8.1% price increase in 2022, but significantly higher than the trends of 2017-2021.
Singapore and Zurich share the first and second places in terms of cost of living, while New York and Geneva take the third and fourth places. The top ten most expensive cities also include Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Paris, Copenhagen, Tel Aviv and San Francisco. Western Europe accounts for four of the top ten most expensive cities in the ranking, due to persistent inflation and rising food and clothing prices, along with the appreciation of the euro and the region’s currencies.
Damascus (Syria) remains the cheapest city in the world. The Russian cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg have seen the largest drops in their rankings – by 105 places to 142nd place and by 74 places to 147th place, respectively.
The EIU compares more than 400 price indicators for more than 200 products and services in 173 cities.
Ukraine’s Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko has signed a EUR50 million grant agreement with the German state development bank KfW to compensate for the interest rate costs for small and medium-sized businesses under the state program “Affordable Loans 5-7-9%,” the ministry’s press service said on Thursday.
“The funds will be used to refinance the costs of the Affordable Loans 5-7-9% program, which will allow small and medium-sized businesses to continue to have access to preferential lending,” Marchenko said and expressed gratitude to the German government for its cooperation and systemic support of Ukraine.
He emphasized that the allocated EUR 50 million will make a significant contribution to the improvement of existing business financial support programs.
The Minister also noted that the Entrepreneurship Development Fund (EDF) is a key institution of affordable financing for Ukrainian business aimed at restoring and developing entrepreneurship under martial law.
“The German government continues to support the Ukrainian side and facilitates further grants,” said Ulrike Hopp-Nishanka, Head of the Headquarters for Ukraine at the Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ).
She reminded that last year KfW provided EUR 150 million for the 5-7-9 program.
“These funds are an important component of German-Ukrainian development cooperation, the total amount of which in 2023 alone was more than EUR 600 million,” Hopp-Nishanka said.
Naftogaz Group has increased gas production by more than 400 thousand cubic meters by launching three wells in November, its CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov said.
“We continue to increase Ukrainian gas production! In November alone, three high-rate wells were put into operation (…). In total, in November we have an additional 400 thousand cubic meters of gas per day!” he wrote on his Facebook page on Friday.
Chernyshov clarified that two of the mentioned wells are new. Their launch was the result of the implementation of the largest 3D seismic survey program in the history of modern Ukraine and the high professionalism of Naftogaz specialists. The third well is a rehabilitated well that had been in the liquidation fund for 35 years.
As reported, in 2023, Ukrgasvydobuvannya set a goal to increase natural gas production by 1 billion cubic meters to 13.5 billion cubic meters. In 2022, the company produced 12.5 bcm of natural gas (commercial), which is 3% less than in 2021.
NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine owns 100% of Ukrgasvydobuvannya shares.
PJSC Interpipe Dnipropetrovs’k Vtormet (Dnipro), a member of Interpipe Pipe and Wheel Company (TKK), posted a consolidated net profit of UAH 43.841 million in January-September this year, compared to a consolidated net loss of UAH 58.818 million in the same period last year.
According to the company’s interim report, its net income for the period increased by 28.3% to UAH 3 billion 211.957 million.
Retained earnings as of the end of September 2023 amounted to UAH 192.715 million.
At the same time, Interpipe Dnipropetrovs’k Vtormet earned a non-consolidated net profit of UAH 44.657 million in 9M2023, while it ended the same period last year with a net loss of UAH 54.081 million. The net income for the period corresponds to the same figure in the consolidated financial statements.
As reported, Interpipe Dnipropetrovs’k Vtormet posted a consolidated net profit of UAH 25.460 million in the first half of the year, while it ended the same period last year with a consolidated net loss of UAH 38.239 million. Net income for the period increased by 38.6% to UAH 2 billion 155.760 million.
In January-June of this year, the company posted a non-consolidated net profit of UAH 25.637 million, while it ended the same period last year with a net loss of UAH 35.344 million. “In the first quarter of 2023, Interpipe Dnipropetrovs’k Vtormet earned UAH 15.480 million in profit, while it ended the same period last year with a net loss of UAH 16.57 million. Net income for the period increased by 32.5% to UAH 1 billion 111.279 million.
“Interpipe Dnipropetrovs’k Vtormet ended 2022 with a net loss of UAH 10.284 million, compared to UAH 14.234 million in net profit in 2021. At the same time, net income decreased by 51.8% to UAH 3 billion 276.74 million.
“Interpipe Dnipropetrovs’k Vtormet specializes in the procurement and processing of ferrous scrap in the Dnipro region and the subsequent sale of this product, including the preparation of metal charge for steelmaking plants.
As of the first quarter of 2023, Interpipe Limited (Cyprus) owns 98.6699% of the shares in Interpipe Dnipropetrovs’k Vtormet.
The company’s authorized capital is UAH 64.876 million.
