The market of commercial premises as part of residential complexes is actively developing, the highest demand is for small objects with an area of up to 150 square meters, said Ukrainian developers in a survey “Interfax-Ukraine”.
“The highest demand is observed for small areas (50-100 square meters) under cafes, pharmacies, beauty bars, and medium commercial areas (100-150 square meters) under clinics and grocery stores. Small and medium-sized areas are popular because they are easier to adapt to the needs of different businesses. Large areas (from 200 square meters) are in less demand, they are mostly occupied by supermarkets or restaurants,” the press service of KAN Development informed the agency.
The high demand for small commercial premises may indicate the high activity of small and medium-sized businesses looking for locations for coffee shops, salons, stores and offices, says Yuri Motuz, Director of Zezman Holding.
According to his data, about 58% of sales of commercial premises in the LCD in Odessa fall on objects with the area of 21-40 square meters. m. However, there is also a tendency for investors to purchase two small premises to combine into a large space (up to 200 square meters) for supermarkets, pharmacies, chain stores with warehouses.
The popularity of smaller premises is also due to their lower cost, said Anna Laevskaya, commercial director of Intergal-Bud.
“Investors are interested in commercial premises at different stages – both at the excavation stage and when the object is already ready. Everything depends on location and payment conditions. Smaller premises are sold faster because their cost is lower. Operators are actively expanding, entering new premises, and in general this segment is developing even better than the apartment market”, – she told in her commentary to ‘Interfax-Ukraine’.
According to the marketing director of DIM group of companies Daria Bedya, in general, investors’ requests to the developer to buy and rent commercial real estate as part of the LCD for the last three months have increased by 24% and 23% respectively.
“First of all, these data testify to the adaptation of Ukrainians and businesses to life in war conditions,” the expert emphasizes.
In addition to traditional cafes and restaurants, mix-format establishments are becoming increasingly popular in the LCD: a combination of cafes with flower stores or bookstores, said Irina Mikhaleva, CMO Alliance Novobud. Pet stores and grooming salons for animals are also gaining popularity.
“Owners of space make their own decision on what exactly to do. As a rule, they study the existing business infrastructure, weigh their options, studying supply and demand,” the expert explained.
At the same time, there is a tendency in the market to plan commercial space at the stage of concept creation and design of a residential complex, said Avalon’s operating director Yaroslav Vozniak.
“The builder or developer aims to form an ideal ecosystem of necessary infrastructure for apartment residents. Commercial space ‘advocates’ appeared at the level of project concept creation and subsequent design. Thus, the concept of “city in the city” and complexes with developed infrastructure appeared Long before the start of construction companies already understand what functions and business should be provided in certain places of the residential complex. Everything is for the sake of comfortable life or stay in the residential complex, for the sake of the resident,” he said.
This principle in the design of residential complexes is also adhered to in the company City One Development.
“We take into account the needs of the commercial segment at the design stage, offering a wide range of premises with different functional purpose. The most liquid commercial areas are premises with the size from 80 to 100 square meters, which are in the greatest demand among investors”, – reported in the press-service of the developer.
Alliance Novobud, Avalon, CITY ONE DEVELOPMENT, Daria Bedia, DIM, INTERGAL-BUD, Irina Mikhaleva, KAN Development. Zezman Holding, Yaroslav Vozniak, Yuri Motuz, Анна Лаевская.
DIM Group of Companies provides additional individual discounts for Ukrainians to purchase housing using housing certificates issued under the program of compensation for housing destroyed due to the war, the company’s press service told Interfax-Ukraine.
It is also noted that if the amount of the certificate does not fully cover the cost of the apartment, Ukrainian families can take advantage of installment programs for up to five years from the developer.
“We are already working with the first applications from certificate holders who have chosen an apartment in our residential complexes and applied for a reservation of funds. In the near future, we are waiting for the approval of applications and the receipt of funds,” said Daria Bedia, DIM’s Marketing Director.
The certificate holders can use their certificates to purchase housing in the already built residential complexes Novyi Avtograf, Metropolis and Lucky Land, located in Kyiv and the Park Lake City countryside complex in Pidhirtsi village, Kyiv region, or in houses that are at the final stage of construction.
It is reported that the DIM Group will work with all financial institutions that will lend under government programs, including state-owned banks, Oschadbank, Sense, PrivatBank, and commercial banks.
DIM Group was founded in 2014 and consists of six companies covering all stages of construction. As of today, it has commissioned 12 buildings in six residential complexes with a total residential area of over 218 thousand square meters. Six comfort+ and business class residential complexes are under construction: “New Autograph, Metropolis, Park Lake City, and Lucky Land.
DIM Group built more than 45 thousand square meters in 2023 and plans to commission approximately 100 thousand square meters of real estate, said Daria Bedia, Marketing Director.
“This year we have built more than 45 thousand square meters. We expect to receive certificates in two of our projects in the near future: the eco-city of Lucky Land and the multifunctional cluster of Park Lake City. Next year, we plan to commission about 100 thousand square meters. We are preparing several new projects to be launched, which we want to present to the market,” Bedia told Interfax-Ukraine.
She stated that since the spring of 2023, the company has been recording a steady increase in demand in the range of 5-6% per month in comfort+ and business class projects.
“In total, we managed to return more than 45% of the pre-war demand. And this is high-quality demand that is converted into real transactions. This is very important, as it indicates the liquidity of the product (concept, format, quality characteristics of the residential complex) and the high pace of construction,” Bedia said.
At the same time, the weighted average growth in construction costs for the year was almost 45% due to higher prices for construction and installation works due to inflation, lack of qualified personnel, and indexation of builders’ salaries. In addition, this was caused by the rise in the cost of construction materials due to the lengthening and changing of supply chains, rising prices for raw materials, and the loss of production capacity in the eastern and southern regions.
According to her, the level of demand is directly influenced by the project itself and its concept, as well as the stage of construction and whether active construction work is underway at the site. Buyers are ready to enter the project not at the stage of the pit, but at least with a readiness of 30-40%.
“Important criteria are the developer’s reputation, ability to keep their word in terms of terms and promises, as well as flexible purchase terms for both 100% payment and installment payments. According to our observations, the demand for long-term installments of more than 3 years has increased by a third in just one year,” Bedia said.
She noted that the key factors in the choice are the type and quality of materials: brick or ceramic block, noise-absorbing windows with magnetropic coating, high-speed elevators from the best manufacturers. Much attention is paid to the service company, spatial zoning of the territory, landscape design, security and concierge service.
A diverse multifunctional infrastructure that reflects the expectations of the target groups of buyers, a well-thought-out apartment layout and a variable range of planning solutions, and the energy independence of the complex, in particular, the availability of alternative power sources for water supply or power for elevator equipment, are mandatory.
According to Bedi, most buyers in the comfort+ segment are interested in one-bedroom apartments of 40-47 sq. m. with a kitchen-living room of 20 sq. m. and a separate bedroom with a dressing room. The top two-room apartments are 68 to 75 sq. m. with two separate bedrooms, a kitchen-living room of 20 sq. m., and three-room apartments are 85-90 sq. m. with three separate bedrooms, one of which is a master bedroom with its own bathroom and wardrobe, a large kitchen-living room is also a priority.
“The area of 1-room apartments, which are most often bought in the business segment, reaches 50-55 sq. m., 2-room apartments – 75-80 sq. m., 3-room apartments – 100-120 sq. m. The mandatory attributes of such apartments are a large living area with panoramic windows of 30 sq. m. or more, a master bedroom with a dressing area and a separate bathroom of 20 sq. m., a children’s room of 25 sq. m. or more with a wardrobe,” the expert said.
DIM Group was founded in 2014 and consists of six companies covering all stages of construction. To date, it has commissioned 12 houses in six residential complexes with a total living area of more than 218 thousand square meters. Six residential complexes of “comfort+” and “business class” categories are under construction: “New Autograph, Metropolis, Park Lake City, Lucky Land, etc.
The growth of effective demand in the “comfort+” category in the capital region is 3-5% per month, said Daria Bedia, Marketing Director of DIM Group of Companies.
“In liquid projects in the comfort+ category in the price range of $1300-1500 per square meter with stable construction dynamics and a high-quality concept, the monthly increase in effective demand is 3-5%,” Daria Bedia told Interfax-Ukraine, citing data from the company’s analytical report.
According to her, the positive dynamics since the end of spring is a good signal and indicates that buyers are now ready to invest in a comfortable and safe living environment in Ukraine that will fully meet their requirements and expectations.
These requirements, according to Bedi, include a well-thought-out concept that takes into account different life scenarios in both the spatial zoning of the territory and the filling of functions. A diverse multifunctional infrastructure that reflects the expectations of the target groups of buyers, a well-thought-out apartment layout and a variable range of planning solutions, energy independence of the complex, in particular, the availability of alternative power sources for water supply or power for elevator equipment, a customer-oriented service company and an access control system are mandatory.
“The level of demand is directly influenced by the concept of the project itself, the stage of construction, and especially the real construction dynamics at the site, the developer’s reputation, and flexible purchase terms, both in installments and 100% payment,” explained the marketing director of DIM Group.
Today, most buyers in the comfort+ segment are interested in one-bedroom apartments of 40-47 sq. m. with a kitchen-living room of 20 sq. m. and a separate bedroom with a dressing room. The top two-room apartments are 68 to 75 sq. m. with two separate bedrooms, a kitchen-living room of 20 sq. m., three-room apartments of 85-90 sq. m. with three separate bedrooms, one of which is a master bedroom with its own bathroom and wardrobe, a large kitchen-living room is also a priority.
Daria Bedia added that transactions for the purchase of business class apartments with an average price of $2 thousand per square meter have become more frequent in the primary real estate market. At the beginning of the fall, business class accounted for 25% of sales, although in the spring this figure was 15%.
DIM Group was founded in 2014 and consists of six companies covering all stages of construction. To date, it has commissioned 12 buildings in six residential complexes with a total residential area of over 218 thousand square meters. Six residential complexes of “comfort+” and “business class” categories are under construction: “New Autograph, Metropolis, Park Lake City, Lucky Land, etc.
