Buying an apartment became impossible for the middle class even with a mortgage

The increase in prices for the capital's new buildings stopped, but this is temporary, most analysts say. The excitement ended, and with it the price race, which ousted consumers from the market with medium and below average, influenced even the behavior of buyers of elite housing who are not ready to pay the required money for the proposed quality.

According to "Mian - Real Estate Agency", the number of transactions in the Moscow new buildings market in 2006 will be 33350 and almost 30,000 in the Moscow Region. But demand is still unsatisfied, and a significant increase in the volume of supply, which could significantly adjust prices down, is not expected. On the contrary, although the total volumes of entry of space are not reduced, there are fewer apartments on the Moscow market, the main analyst of the Russian guild of realtors Gennady Sternik curled Vedomosti . Programs for the construction and provision of social housing are expanding. And the mayor's plans to reserve up to 80% of apartments in new buildings for Muscovites, if they are realized, they may also push prices.

Now the most common verdict of market participants: predicted stabilization has come. There are a lot of explanations why rising prices stopped right now. It is said about a decrease in oil prices, the theory of crises and that "growth is not endless." Oleg Rephenko, the head of the analytical center IRN.RU , believes that prices stood at the level where the purchase of an apartment became impossible for the middle class even with the help of a mortgage. But demand will be tightened and again will push the prices up. The forecast for the end of 2006 and the beginning of 2007 - on average, prices increase in the range of 1-2% per month. Variations are possible depending on the quality of the object and the policy of the developer

Now 1 sq. m in the new building in good areas of Moscow, according to Ropchenko, it costs from $ 5,000 to $ 8,000, in remote areas and for the Moscow Ring Road - cheaper, about 4000. According to the market analyst Andrei Beketov, the average offer in monolithic new buildings is $ 4548 per 1 sq. m, and in panel - 4058 per 1 square. M. Beketov notes that appeared in September - October, a steady gap in the prices of monolithic and panel housing, which was reduced to a minimum during a period of high price growth, when buyers were only interested in the cost, but not the qualitative characteristics of the apartments. According to him, in October, new buildings went up by 5%, and in November - by 4%. And the most likely scenario until the end of the year is smooth (0.5-1% per month) a decrease in price growth rates.

“The price increase will stop in the near future at 3-4% per month,” predicts Vladislav Lutskov, head of the analytical consulting center of Miel -Real Estate. “The cost per square meter will come close to $ 5,000, but most likely will not step over this barrier.” Although taking into account elite objects, this barrier was overcome already in October, when the price was 5165 dollars per meter.

True, now the prices for elite real estate are so high that “some of the buyers and investors have reoriented to the business class housing,” says Alexander Shatalov, a partner of Intermarksavills.