The price gap between primary and secondary has reached 80%
The price gap between the primary and secondary housing markets is growing. According to the Central Bank, in April-June of this year, the average in Russia reached 60%. At the same time, the average price per square meter in new buildings was 205 thousand rubles, while in the secondary market it reached 128 thousand rubles.
In some regions, the price difference was even greater. For example, in Central Russia, the gap reached 80% — the cost of a meter in new buildings exceeded 294 thousand rubles, and in the secondary market it amounted to 164 thousand. In the north-west of Russia, the difference is 57%. The gap was the smallest in the North Caucasus (12%).
The central Bank has repeatedly pointed out that a significant difference in the cost of apartments carries risks for Russians. One of the main risks is financial losses for those who bought a house in a new building with a mortgage. If the borrower is unable to repay the loan, he will have to sell the apartment at a market price that will be significantly lower on the secondary market. As a result, a person may lose their invested funds and even owe the bank, the Central Bank told Izvestia.
The active price growth in the primary market began in 2020, when a massive preferential mortgage was launched at 7%. Ekaterina Shchurikhina, Director of Banking Ratings at Expert RA, noted that this artificially stimulated demand. In just three years, the gap between prices for new and secondary buildings has grown from 10% to 40%. Even then, the chairman of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, called this difference a "blatant imbalance."
Now the main engine of the market has become a family mortgage. According to Ekaterina Shchurikhina, due to the growing price difference, fewer and fewer Russians can afford to buy new housing.
Read more in an exclusive interview with Izvestia:
Apartment spread: the price gap between primary and secondary has reached 80%
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