Higher-class housing in Vilnius: sales continue to grow

The share of higher-class housing purchases in Vilnius continues to grow. In the first five months of this year, nearly 2400 newly built apartments were sold in the Lithuanian capital, with one of every eight of them classed as prestigious.

Market experts say the growth trend in higher-class housing sales in Vilnius has been seen for the last several years, Darna Group wrote in a press release.

“While in 2017 projects with partially finished apartments that were priced at more than 2000 euros per square meter made up 15 percent of all apartments sold or reserved on the primary market in the capital city, in 2018 the figure rose to 20 percent and in the first quarter of 2019 it was 23 percent,” notes Raimondas Reginis, Research Manager for the Baltics at the real estate company Ober-Haus.

Of the 286 prestigious-class apartments sold in Vilnius in January-May, the largest slice of the market – 24 percent – was taken by Darnu Group, which sold 68 housing units. That includes the 65 apartments it sold at the Paupys project which the company is developing in the capital city’s old town.

In the same period last year, Darnu Group had an 18.82 percent share of the market for prestigious-class apartment sales.

Total sales of prestigious housing in Vilnius jumped 12 percent in the period under comparison – from 255 last year to 286 this year.

Growth should continue

Darnu Group’s Head of Sales Mantas Umbrasas says the improving figures reflect a pickup in sales in the Paupys neighbourhood’s first residential quarters. Last year Darnu Group sold 94 prestigious-class apartments in the revived area that is part of Lithuania’s largest conversion project, while in 2019 it expects to reach a similar number in mid-year.

“Both people’s improving economic situation and the housing affordability index, which has risen to a record high, are shaping favourable trends in the real estate market,” Umbrasas explains. He notes that the current growth of both construction and sales of more expensive and higher-class housing in Vilnius should continue.

“The stably growing volume of housing loans that are being granted and wages that continue increasing significantly faster than housing prices give grounds to reasonably expect further similar trends,” Umbrasas predicts.

Raimondas Reginis also stresses that the trends now seen should not change. As he puts it, developers in recent years have invested extremely active in the construction of new multiapartment buildings in and near the central part of the city: in the Old Town, Užupis, Naujamiestis and Šnipiškės. That is why we are now observing growth in both the supply of and the demand for higher-class housing.

“Apartment transactions and prices show interest in that type of housing is not diminishing and these parts of the city continue to be among housing developers’ priorities,” Reginis notes.