Sale of new apartments down fivefold in past year

Demand for new apartments has dried up and last year's monthly average of 350 apartments sold has by now dropped to 70.
Real estate market analyst Tõnu Toompark told "Aktuaalne kaamera" that demand has disappeared also on the new apartments market.
"Looking at the numbers, the monthly sales figure of new apartments is down to just 70, which is very low compared to last year. Around 350 new apartments were sold monthly last year," he remarked.
Toompark said that disappearing demand has not affected prices yet, with only a few discounts of no more than 5 percent visible.
"However, transaction prices do not reflect the situation accurately. The truth is that developers are going after customers by offering free parking spaces, kitchen furnishings – they have to fight for every customer."
The analyst blamed interest rate hikes that are rendering loan money more expensive as well as wavering consumer confidence on the backdrop of high prices of goods and continued war in Ukraine.
Talking about the future of the real estate market, the analyst said it is reflected in the weather – bleak and windy.
"Getting by will require far more effort than a year ago or the start of the boom years in 2015," Toompark said. We have seen seven years of high market activity, while the volume of transactions is falling now, and while it will hopefully stabilize at some point, it will be lower than in previous years."
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Editor: Karin Koppel, Marcus Turovski