Since the beginning of autumn, the primary real estate market has seen an increase in transactions for the purchase of business class apartments with an average price of $2 thousand per square meter, Daria Bedia, Marketing Director of DIM Group, told Interfax-Ukraine.
“According to our analysts’ research, business class now accounts for 25% of the sales structure, although this figure was 15% in the spring. Such signals are encouraging, so we expect an increase in demand this fall. Of course, everything will depend on the news at the front, the frequency and consequences of shelling in the capital and possible power outages. We are also well aware that this category of buyers is likely to leave Ukraine for the winter in late fall,” Bedia said.
According to her, the level of demand is directly influenced by the project itself and its concept, stage and activity of construction. Important criteria include the developer’s reputation, ability to keep its word in terms of deadlines and promises, as well as flexible purchase terms in case of 100% payment and installments. Much attention is paid to the type and quality of materials, spatial zoning, landscape design, service company, security and concierge services. People who choose business class value a sufficient number of parking spaces and an underground parking lot with an elevator to the residential floors.
According to DIM Group analysts, apartments with the correct layout are in high demand, more often either classic layout solutions or Euro-formats with spacious kitchens-living rooms and isolated private rooms.
The area of one-bedroom apartments, which are most often bought in the business segment, reaches 50-55 sq. m, two-bedroom apartments – 75-80 sq. m, three-bedroom apartments – 100-120 sq. m. According to DIM’s Marketing Director, 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., and a children’s room of 25 sq. m. or more with a wardrobe.
At the same time, the tendency to reduce the average area of purchased apartments continues.
If earlier, according to her, in the business class were interested in three-bedroom apartments in the range of 120-150 sq. m., now up to 120 sq. m.; while two-bedroom apartments are now more in demand in the range of up to 85 sq. m. against 85-100 sq. m. earlier. Only the demand for one-bedroom apartments has not changed at the level of 50-55 sq. m.
“The average area of apartments in terms of demand decreased by 10-15%. But the bulk of the sold objects were designed before the war, so developers still have large apartments that are not very interesting to buyers. After all, the total purchase receipt is more important nowadays. Therefore, developers offer more flexible terms for large apartments in terms of installments and discounts,” Bedia summarizes.
DIM Group was founded in 2014 and includes six companies covering all stages of construction. So far, it has commissioned 12 houses in six residential complexes with a total living area of over 218 thousand square meters. Six comfort+ and business class residential complexes are under construction: “New Autograph, Metropolis, Park Lake City, Lucky Land, etc.
In September on the primary housing market in Ukraine there is a gradual increase in demand and the number of investment transactions, said the conceptologist of the group of companies DIM Alena Piskunova. “Since May of this year we can confidently say that buyers are increasingly returning to the real estate market. Not in such volumes, not with such sales rates, but the interest is growing. First of all, housing for themselves, where they consider houses at the final stages of construction with apartments with repair. However, since the beginning of September, we observe and gradual return of investment transactions”, – told Piskunova at a press conference in the agency “Interfax-Ukraine”.
Founded in 2014 GC DIM consists of six companies covering all stages of construction.To date, the GC has commissioned 12 houses in six residential complexes with a total residential area of more than 218 thousand square meters. m. Six residential complexes of “comfort+” and “business class” category are under construction: “Novy Avtograf”, “Metropolis”, Park Lake City, Lucky Land and others.
The British International School, Ukraine (BISU) and DIM Group have signed an agreement to create a modern educational space in the VITA neighborhood of Park Lake City, with construction scheduled to begin next year.
As Park Lake City co-founder Andriy Mishchenko clarified during a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine, negotiations with the British International School began before the full-scale invasion.
“The war has postponed our plans, but not stopped them. The first step of our cooperation – the construction of a kindergarten and an elementary school called Early Years Academy – will start next year,” he said.
He clarified that the VITA quarter’s infrastructure will include its own kindergarten, primary, middle and high schools, and campuses for teachers and children.
“While the war continues, preceded by a two-year global pandemic, we believe it is extremely important to provide children with a world-class education provided by certified international BISU teachers. Some of them stayed with us in Ukraine. School and learning have become a kind of symbol of resistance to Russian aggression. Our students are the younger generation that will restore the country, rebuild the nation and guide it to prosperity,” said Olena Tovkun, member of the Supervisory Board and Head of the BISU Admissions Committee.
She added that for 26 years, BISU has been constantly supporting British academic traditions and high standards of teaching.
The first stage of the BISU educational cluster, Early Years Academy, will be a two-story building with a total area of 2.9 thousand square meters. The academy is designed for 185 students.
DIM plans to start construction in 2024 and put it into operation in 2025. A 3-hectare plot has been reserved for the construction of a middle and high school in the next stages.
Construction of the Park Lake City business-class suburban residential complex began in 2019. The advantages of the residential complex include a picturesque area with its own pond, stylish architecture and a park area with rare plants. After the start of the full-scale invasion, the first phase, which includes four houses of the VITA quarter, was put into operation. The second phase of the complex, consisting of 12 buildings, is currently under construction.
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.
The British International School was founded in 1997 and was the first institution to initiate the British approach to education in Ukraine. Since the beginning of the invasion, BISU has not stopped its activities to ensure a continuous educational process. It is the only international school that has physically continued to operate in the country, in Kyiv’s Pechersk district and Dnipro, since September 1, 2022, offering bilingual education from kindergarten to graduate school. The academic course is based on a combination of British, international and Ukrainian curriculum and creative development activities. Graduates receive the Cambridge IGCSE, international IBDP or A-levels, and a Ukrainian certificate of basic and complete secondary education of the state standard.
Ukraine’s reconstruction should follow SMART principles and be man-centered, believes Alexander Nasikovsky, co-founder and managing partner of DIM Group.
“SMART principles (the goal should be Specific – specific, Measurable – measurable, Achievable – achievable, Relevant – meaningful, Time bound – timely) imply an integrated approach to the restoration of territories, focusing on engineering communications, infrastructure, social facilities and, of course, housing. Energy independence becomes a fundamental component of this approach,” Nasikovsky emphasized in his comments to Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, DIM specialists have studied the experience of many countries, in particular Sweden, and developed geothermal pump systems for apartment buildings.
“This allows to save up to 40% on heating and reduce energy consumption by 35 kWh per square meter,” Nasikovsky explained, adding that elements of sustainable energy independence of DIM projects were also solar panels on places of common use and street lighting.
The key role in the rehabilitation projects, according to Nasikovskiy, will be played by infrastructure created in accordance with the real needs and desires of residents.
“The life of restored communities should be rich, so we developed the concept of community centers, educational hubs, and places for commercial initiatives that meet the real demands and needs of people,” added the DIM co-founder.
Implementing these ideas, he believes, requires collaboration between the public and private sector, analysis and consideration of behavioral trends and a shared understanding of the needs of today’s community.
“Recovery is a challenge, but we are ready to change lives for the better, taking into account the SMART principles and the efforts of all spheres of public life,” Nasikowski emphasized.
As reported, according to the research of the project “Russia will pay” at the end of June, the amount of damage to housing during the full-scale military aggression of the Russian Federation is $56 billion.
Founded in 2014, DIM GC consists of six companies covering all stages of construction.
To date, the GC has commissioned 12 houses in six residential complexes. Seven residential complexes of “comfort+” and “business class” category are under construction: Novy Avtograf, Metropolis, Park Lake City, Lucky Land and others.
DIM Group expects to increase the share of investors who make timely payments under installment agreements to 80-90% by the end of this year, while today their number is 50%, said Alexander Nasikovsky, managing partner of the group.
“Exactly half of those who bought real estate from us are not waiting for the war to end and are already fulfilling their obligations. They see that every hryvnia from their pockets is actually spent on the construction of their own home, not just a new pit. We are now working to ensure that by the end of the year the percentage of those who pay under installment agreements will be at the level of 80-90%,” Nasykovsky said in a column for Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, the rapid resumption of construction work after a pause at the beginning of the full-scale invasion allowed for an increase in the number of timely payments under installment agreements. Thus, at the beginning of the active phase of the war, only 10% of investors paid by installments, while today their share has reached 50%.
In addition, to support and stimulate demand, DIM has developed a number of financial instruments: special terms of debt payment and early repayment, favorable exchange rate offers, and debt restructuring. In addition, the company launched a guaranteed yield program at 10% in US dollars and a trade-in program.
Despite the limited effective demand, housing prices were affected by rising construction costs, fuel prices and inflationary processes, Nasikovsky noted.
“In annual terms, we had almost 27% inflation. “Contracts and extensions, and sometimes radical changes in supply chains due to the loss of capacity of producers of a number of building materials in the southern and eastern regions and the relocation of many businesses, are also driving up the price tag. Over the past year, the weighted average cost of construction in housing increased by at least 45%,” he explained.
According to him, certain categories of building materials increased in price by 30-70%, most notably concrete, glass, plaster, wood, and iron.
In addition, the cost of labor has also increased significantly – by 37% on average, Nasikovsky added.
“Prices are growing and will continue to grow, because no one has canceled the laws of the market. Another question is what to do with the limited effective demand. In my opinion, the answer should be sought inside the market, not outside, relying solely on reparations or government support. The recovery and potential of the market will directly depend on the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces, or rather, on its results and timing. We can already see that psychologically, buyers and investors are gradually ready to return to the market if there is a coincidence in their expectations in the price-value-construction time axis – real dynamics,” the expert believes.
Founded in 2014, DIM Group consists of six companies covering all stages of construction.
To date, the group has commissioned 12 houses in six residential complexes. Seven residential complexes of the comfort+ and business class categories are under construction: “New Autograph, Metropolis, Park Lake City, Lucky Land, etc.
DIM Group put into operation the first stage of Park Lake City after the war, postponed by a quarter the date of delivery of houses in Lucky Land, “Metropolis” and “New Autograph”, the managing partner of DIM Group Alexander Nasikovsky told “Interfax-Ukraine” agency.
“After the beginning of the war we commissioned two houses for 190 apartments, which is 18840 square meters of the first stage of the complex Park Lake City in Podgortsy. We were forced to postpone for a quarter the terms of delivery of houses in our projects: Lucky Land, “Metropolis” and “New Autograph”. We intend to do everything possible to speed up this process and give the keys in the first half of 2023. We thank our investors for their understanding and support”, – said Nasikovsky.
He added that the company has a number of projects in its project portfolio that were scheduled to start in the spring of 2022.
“The war has made its adjustments, now we are directing all efforts to the objects already under construction, and we are doing everything possible to put them into operation as soon as possible. After all, we see an increase in demand for finished housing among our potential buyers, “- said Nasikovsky.
In general, he estimated “dozens of times” decrease in demand compared to the prewar period.
“Our company until Feb. 24, 2022, had 100 to 150 transactions a month, depending on the month and seasonality. Now we’re frankly happy with numbers in the tens. Consumer activity isn’t just down by a factor of ten; it’s almost frozen for months. But people who associate their future only with Ukraine, and for whom the question of buying their own home was relevant before the war and remains so now, return to the choice of their home “- he said.
Nasikovsky recalled that the company had already resumed work on the sites of five projects by June. Among the difficulties he noted a shortage of labor (by his estimates, the number of employees at construction sites has decreased from 20 to 40%), an increase in prices of building materials (by 35%).
“Despite this, developers are trying to keep prices per square meter of housing at levels up to February 24, 2022. In dollars the prices are almost unchanged, but in hryvnia the cost has increased, primarily due to significant exchange rate fluctuations,” – said a representative of the building group.
According to his predictions, in 2023 the cost of primary real estate will grow. This is due not only to the impending growth of demand for new housing, but also the rise in price of construction materials, energy and related resources needed to build houses.
The expert believes that the biggest demand is and will be in the coming years for ready-made accommodation “turnkey”: apartments ready to move in, furnished and equipped.
“There will be a demand for residential complexes with developed infrastructure and everything necessary for comfortable living, so we are actively developing this direction in our projects – ReadyDIM”, – he said.
Another trend is energy-independent solutions not only for individual houses, but also for apartment buildings. In the DIM group of companies since 2022 are working on solutions for new houses of one of the projects on the energy-independent side with alternative solutions for water, electricity and heat.
“We hope to present these projects as early as this year,” Nasikovsky said.
Founded in 2014, the DIM Group consists of six companies that cover all phases of construction.
To date, the company has commissioned 12 houses in six residential complexes. Seven residential complexes of comfort+ and business class are under construction: “Novy Autograph”, “Metropolis”, Park Lake City, Lucky Land, etc.
