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 domestic market for peas is seeing a decline in prices—before the start of the new season, quotations are falling by several percent, but more and more traders are showing interest in this crop for the first time, which could lead to an increase in demand and prices, according to the analytical cooperative Pusk, created within the framework of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council (VAR).
“We are currently seeing a slight decline in the price of peas before the start of the season. Theoretically, prices could fall further to 13,500–14,000 UAH/ton. But at the same time, many traders who previously did not work with peas at all are starting to actively engage in purchases. Niche crops usually offer good margins, especially for export. This motivates the market,” analysts say.
They emphasize that in 2025, the area under peas increased: last year, farmers sowed 212,000 hectares, while this year — over 250,000 hectares. However, even these volumes remain relatively small compared to other crops.
At the same time, the opening of the Chinese market is an important factor: demand from China could quickly absorb all the additional production.
“We have seen some growth in acreage, but not millions of hectares. China has opened its market, and a significant portion of the peas will likely go there. That means that an additional 40,000 hectares of pea acreage is not such a large resource. In this situation, a deficit is quite possible — demand will exceed supply,” analysts predict.
After a short-term decline, pea prices may stabilize and rise in mid-July-August. A similar situation already occurred last year, when prices began to rise instead of falling as expected.
“The pea market may again see levels of 15,000–16,000 UAH/ton. Everything will depend on logistics, weather conditions, and the pace of Chinese imports,” concluded Pusk.
Cow prices in February 2025 increased by 20-46% depending on fatness, according to the Association of Milk Producers (AMP).
According to the report, the average price for cows below average fatness in the first half of February 2025 increased to 73 UAH/kg excluding VAT, which is 23 UAH or 46% more than a month earlier, for cows of average fatness – up to 72 UAH/kg excluding VAT (18.25 UAH or 34% more), for higher fatness – up to 70 UAH/kg excluding VAT (12 UAH or 20% more).
“Over the past few weeks, prices for cattle have been rising in Ukraine, driven by an increase in live exports in December-January. The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the German state of Brandenburg led to a reduction in the export of live animals from the EU. However, the demand for cattle in foreign markets is quite active during the period of preparation for Ramadan in Muslim countries,” the industry association explained.
In August, registrations of electric vehicles (new and used) in Ukraine amounted to 6,445 thousand, which is 68% more than in August last year and 36.6% more than in July this year, Ukravtoprom reported on its telegram channel.
As reported, in July 2024, the demand for electric vehicles increased by 38% compared to July 2023 and by 14% compared to June 2024.
As reported, market experts attribute this jump in demand for electric vehicles over the past 1.5 months to the government’s initiative to introduce a 15 percent military tax on car buyers during the first registration, including electric vehicles, which are currently not taxed in Ukraine (except for a small excise tax).
In late August, it was reported that the government had abandoned this initiative.
According to Ukravtoprom, the share of new cars in electric car registrations in August was 18%, the same as a year earlier (21% in July).
The bulk of electric vehicles registered during the month were passenger cars – 6,302 thousand units (new – 1,159 thousand, used – 5,143 thousand), and only five of 143 commercial vehicles were new.
The top five new electric cars in July were BYD Song Plus – 174 units; Honda M-NV – 169 units; Volkswagen ID.4 – 147 units; ZEEKR 001 – 107 units; Nissan Ariya – 83 units.
The top five used cars were Nissan Leaf – 658 units; Tesla Model Y – 588 units; Tesla Model 3 – 561 units; Hyundai Kona – 308 units; Volkswagen e-Golf – 289 units.
In total, in January-August, more than 35.6 thousand battery-powered vehicles were registered for the first time in Ukraine (79% more than in the same period in 2023), with new vehicles accounting for 20%.
For its part, the AUTO-Consulting information and analytical group also notes a jump in demand for electric cars based on information about military training – according to its data, 1.3 thousand new electric vehicles were sold in August, which was a monthly sales record for the entire period of observation.
“Although the market share of electric cars slightly decreased compared to previous months and amounted to 16%, the absolute number of sales was a record, despite the massive power outages,” the group’s website states.
According to experts, 8.2 thousand new electric vehicles (16.9% of the total car market) were sold in Ukraine in 8 months of 2024, which is 30% more than in the same period in 2023.
As reported, in 2023, according to Ukravtoprom, registrations of new and used electric cars in Ukraine increased 2.8 times to 37.6 thousand, with new cars accounting for 20% compared to 17% a year earlier.
Contrary to forecasts, Ukrainian corn has started to rise in price on world markets due to increased demand from China, Turkey, Egypt and the European Union, according to the analytical cooperative “Pusk”, created within the framework of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council (AAC).
“The expectations of the trade that with the arrival of a new corn crop from Argentina on the world market, demand and prices for Ukrainian grain would fall, did not materialize. Argentine new crop is sold at higher prices than Ukrainian corn. We can predict a rise in prices for corn from Ukraine in the coming weeks,” the analysts said.
According to them, China is actively contracting Ukrainian corn. Other importers, such as Turkey, Egypt, Italy, and Spain, have also started buying a lot of Ukrainian corn. In seaports, the conditional prices for it have risen to $142-145/ton and have been increasing for a week and a half. The supply is sinking, while demand is stable.
“It can be predicted that amid demand, prices will add $2-3 per tonne per week and reach at least $150/tonne on a CPT basis by the end of March,” the experts emphasized.
They said that in April, the main factor of corn price changes will be the information on the grain harvest in Brazil. In April, there will be more reliable information about the harvest in Brazil: the planted areas, soil moisture, and crop condition. This will affect the global market. If the drought continues in Brazil and the harvest is reduced, the price will rise. But for now, this is one of the scenarios. In case of rainfall in Brazil, the situation on the global corn market will be different.
On a DAP basis, Ukrainian corn is traded for delivery in March-April to Italy, Austria and Germany in the range of $192-197/ton, Pusk summarized.
Initial registrations of new buses (including minibuses) in Ukraine in February 2014 increased by 22.7% compared to February last year, to 108 units, according to statistics released by Ukravtoprom.
At the same time, the demand for buses decreased by 9.2%, or 11 vehicles, compared to January 2014.
According to the report, the Ukrainian Ataman was the market leader with 40 buses registered: in February last year, it was second with 22 vehicles. The second place went to Etalon, the leader of last February, whose registrations decreased by 14 units to 30 buses.
Citroen took the third place, just like a year earlier, with 10 buses (one more), and Volkswagen was fourth again with 9 vehicles (5 units more).
Ford rounds out the top five with eight buses registered, compared to three a year earlier. In February last year, the top five was closed by Ukrainian ZAZ, but in February of this year, these buses were not registered.
At the same time, registrations of Turkish buses in February by Temsa amounted to only 1 unit against 13 in January this year. This brand reportedly plans to significantly strengthen its position in Ukraine, particularly in the school bus segment.
Thus, in January-February 2024, the first registrations of buses in Ukraine decreased by 30.6% compared to the same period in 2023 – to 227 units.
In 2023, the total number of new bus registrations of all classes in Ukraine amounted to 1,701 units, which is 86% more than in 2022.
