Growth of apartment prices does not stop in summer
2016-07-12
The Ober-Haus Lithuanian apartment price index (OHBI), which records changes in apartment prices in the five major Lithuanian cities (Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys), increased by 0.7% in June 2016. The annual apartment price growth in the major cities of Lithuania was 4.7% (a 4.2% annual increase was recorded in May 2016).
In June 2016 apartment price in capital grew 0.8% with the average price per square meter reaching EUR 1,376 (+10 EUR/sqm). In the past 12 months, the prices of apartments in Vilnius increased by 6.0% and since the last lowest price level recorded in May 2010 prices have increased by 19.2% (+222 EUR/sqm). Apartment prices in Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys grew by 0.7%, 0.3%, 0.7% and 0.3% respectively with the average price per square meter reaching EUR 970 (+6 EUR/sqm), EUR 1.002 (+3 EUR/sqm), EUR 585 (+4 EUR/sqm) and EUR 547 (+2 EUR/sqm).
In the past 12 months, the prices of apartments grew in all major cities: 6.0% in Vilnius, 3.2% in Kaunas, 2.8% in Klaipėda, 4.7% in Šiauliai and 3.2% in Panevėžys.
“With the positive price changes recorded over the past months, many people ask the question whether apartment prices have already reached the pre-crisis level or not. At present, the average price per square metre in Vilnius (EUR 1,376 per sq m) is the same as recorded in December 2005. The all-time highest price level in Vilnius was reached in December 2007, when the price per square metre was EUR 1,983. This means that, to reach the highest indicator, the current apartment prices in Vilnius must grow by a further 44%,” said Saulius Vagonis, head of the Valuation and Market Research Department at Ober-Haus.
The greatest growth in prices in June recorded in Riga
In June 2016, apartment prices in Riga increased by 1.9% to the average price of 1,102 EUR/sqm. Over the past 12 months, the average apartment price has increased 5.0% (in May 2016, the annual increase of apartment prices was 3.1%). In total there were 4,709 apartment transactions in January-June 2016 in Riga, which is almost 27% more than in the same period of 2015.
The average apartment price in Tallinn increased by 0.6% to 1,583 EUR/sqm in June 2016, which means that annual increase is 2.8%. In total there were 4,310 apartment transactions in January-June 2016 in Tallinn, which is 2% more than in January-June 2015.