Active housing image: Russians are buying up elite apartments in Moscow
Sales of premium real estate on the primary market in Moscow this year exceeded the figures of 2023 by a third, market participants told Izvestia. The price of a "square meter" in such apartments is more than 1 million rubles. At the same time in 2024 such housing bought almost 300 billion rubles. Experts note that for buyers it becomes an asset to save money, but this method carries certain risks. Some clients have reoriented themselves from foreign objects to Russian ones, market participants added. On who and why today is buying up expensive real estate and what consequences may await them - in the material "Izvestia".
Why Russians are buying up "elite real estate"
Sales of premium real estate in the primary market of Moscow exceeded the figures of 2023 by more than a third, reported "Izvestia" market participants. According to the real estate agency Whitewill, the number of transactions this year amounted to almost 4.5 thousand - 34% more than last year.
The total amount of sold real estate this year amounted to 261.5 billion rubles, which is 47% more than last year. Also by the end of 2024, the number of transactions with mortgages slightly exceeded their number in 2023 - the growth amounted to 6%.
- This year we note the growth in the number of transactions with premium real estate, which is explained by several reasons, - said "Izvestia" top broker of the agency Ekaterina Levina. - More projects have entered the market than in the previous year. In addition, the volume of supply in projects already under construction has increased.
Increase of transactions in the premium segment in comparison with the last year was also noted in Level Group.
"Investors are diversifying their assets, and real estate is in the focus of their attention, - said the press service of the company. - Earlier foreign objects were also interesting to our fellow citizens, but for the last few years the situation has changed, and the majority of clients prefer to invest in projects within Russia".
Fyodor Ushakov, Sales Director of the development company "Mangazeya", added that there is an increase in demand by 7-10% from the regions, for example, from the Krasnodar Territory or other regions with a city of millions in the center.
- The main portrait of such buyers is a businessman who owns several production facilities, real estate in his region, where he receives a stable income,- he said. - For further investment and preservation of monetary capital he chooses to purchase expensive real estate in the capital. The share of such clients is 10-15% of the total number of those who buy real estate.
According to analysts of Kalinka ecosystem, in the IV quarter of 2024, the average weighted price per square meter in the primary market of elite residential real estate in Moscow reached 1.86 million rubles, and in the secondary market - 1.45 million rubles.
Who buys premium residential real estate
Buyers of elite real estate in Moscow predominantly belong to the age group of 40-50 years old, it follows from the ecosystem data. At the same time there is an increase in the share of younger buyers aged 20-40 years - for the year their number increased by 7%.
- The ratio of buyers of elite housing in Moscow among men and women is almost the same, - explained the general director of Kalinka Russia Alexei Chumalov. - In the structure of transactions men account for 52%, women - 48%. The majority of buyers are married couples with children or planning to expand their families. However, a significant proportion of buyers are also people who want to live closer to work or near a business area.
The share of buyers of the most expensive lots under the age of 40 has really increased - by 9%, said co-founder and co-owner of Rodina Group Vladimir Shchekin.
A similar trend has been recorded in the Krasnodar region, said Valeria Tsyganok, head of the analytics department of GC "Exactly". For example, the most expensive objects on the Black Sea coast are most often purchased by buyers aged 35-44 years (47%). While the buyers aged 25-34 years old account for 16%.
The group of young buyers includes representatives of various business spheres: owners of large companies, top managers, young entrepreneurs, beneficiaries of companies that restore housing and infrastructure in newly acquired regions of Russia, managers and beneficiaries of military-industrial complex enterprises. There are also representatives of the IT sphere, creative professions, sports stars and famous personalities.
The trend to reduce the average age of buyers of luxury housing in Russia has been noted over the past five years, added the director of the federal company "Etazhi Prime" in Moscow Rigina Gordeeva.
- If earlier expensive real estate was preferred by buyers aged 50 years and older, now the most active category of buyers at the age of 20 to 45 years,- she said. - These are mainly representatives of the IT-sphere, young entrepreneurs, including those from the infobusiness segment, bloggers, owners of fashionable beauty salons, boutiques, as well as those developing a network of franchises.
According to the expert, there are examples when young people aged 20-25 years old, who are ready to pay the entire amount at their own expense, applied to the company for the selection of real estate worth 80-100 million rubles.
Such buyers, as Rigina Gordeeva pointed out, are not inclined to traditional elite real estate located in the central parts of large cities, they are more interested in the reputation of the residential complex, its autonomy in terms of infrastructure development.
- They pay attention to the privacy of residential complexes, the presence of high-class retail premises, dry cleaners, spas, swimming pools, tennis courts, - she said. - For representatives of the blogosphere, the view characteristics of the future apartment and the presence of large free spaces in it are fundamental.
What are the risks of buying elite housing
Themain purposes of buying elite housing remain investments, long-term investments, buying additional real estate, changing preferences in the place of residence, buying an apartment for children and changing the composition of the family, said Alexei Chumalov.
- At the same time, developers stimulate sales through attractive conditions, - added Ekaterina Levina. - In particular, installment programs that allow buyers to purchase real estate and at the same time put the rest of the funds on a bank deposit with a high rate. Also this year realized the pent-up demand of last year. And due to high inflation, some of the high-budget clients are further diversifying their assets in favor of real estate.
Portrait of an investor in luxury real estate is simple, said real estate expert, head of the federal program "Family Capital" Evgeny Tkachev. It is a person with a wealth multiple above average.
- The main task that is solved when investing in this type of asset is the preservation of capital, - explained the expert. - If we are talking about investments of individuals in the purchase of lots in hotels "five stars", that is de-luxe segment, then here, in addition to capital preservation, we will also see the task of creating passive income.
The risk of investing in luxury real estate in the first case may be the purchase of passive, which then, if necessary, it will be difficult to sell, emphasized Evgeny Tkachev.
- There may also be a risk associated with the subsequent liquidity at resale and under-earnings, - he said. - This market is more conservative and less risky, more suitable for traditional investment strategies to create family capital.
In addition, the buyer segments "elite" and "de luxe" soberly assesses the risks of investing in foreign real estate, for this reason the demand for such housing in Russia, particularly in Sochi, the expert emphasized. Despite the lower yield, compared to other markets, it is characterized by reliability. Such transactions are usually accompanied by a qualified consultant, Evgeny Tkachev added.
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