Sales of business and premium class apartments on the Kyiv’s primary market fell by 65-75% amid lockdown in March 2020 year-over-year, reaching 116 apartments, and in April the sales almost stopped, Kiev Standart has said in a survey.
“The situation with the pandemic and the introduction of lockdown directly affected sales, reducing the figure by 65-75%. According to our estimates, only 116 apartments were sold in March 2020, and this was largely due to the achievements of previous periods, and sales in April almost stopped,” the company said in the survey.
The company explained the decline in sales by lockdown restrictions, customer reactions and a shift in the demand vector towards finished facilities or facilities in the final stages of construction, with more than half of the projects at an early stage.
“We should not forget that some of the customers in the high price segment were foreign citizens. For such an investor, the main barrier is the closure of borders, which also makes it impossible to complete the transaction,” the company said.
At the same time, in January-February 2020, the company recorded a doubled sales rate compared to the same period in 2019, totaling 624 apartments.
The total supply on the market of elite new buildings as of April 1, 2020 was 515,000 square meters or 6,100 business class apartments, 72,000 square meters or 504 premium class apartments. In the first quarter of 2020, sales were opened at IFC Intergal City, phases two of UNIT.Home and Greenville Park, Delrey residential complexes.
The average minimum cost in U.S. dollars in the business segment in April decreased 5% compared with the beginning of the year, to $1,700 per sq. m., while in the premium segment, the price increased 4% and amounted to $3,100 per sq. m.
Kiev Standart experts believe that pent-up demand will positively influence the sales after lockdown, but the demand structure will change as the popularity of suburban formats increases.
