Apartment prices are stable so far, but some home sellers are already willing to negotiate

According to the press release, in April 2020, there was a symbolic increase in the sale prices of apartments in Vilnius, Kaunas and Panevėžys. In April Vilnius and Kaunas registered the same price growth: 0.1 percent. and the average price per square meter was 1,640 Eur (+2 Eur / m²) and 1,167 Eur, respectively. In Panevėžys, 0.3 percent was recorded. The growth in apartment prices and the average price per square meter increased to 738 Eur (+2 Eur / m²). Meanwhile, the prices of the apartments in Klaipeda and Šiauliai did not change and the average price per square meter was 1,140 and 752 euros, respectively.

During the year (April 2020, compared to April 2019), apartment prices increased in all the main cities of the country: Vilnius – 6.9 percent, Kaunas – 6.6 percent, Klaipeda – 5.1 percent, Šiauliai – 9 percent. 3 percent and in Panevėžys – 10.3 percent.

“In recent months, there have been clear trends in monitoring apartment sale prices: the relatively rapid growth in apartment sale prices in the country’s major cities, which was recorded earlier this year, is now It has largely stopped. Due to the restrictions imposed by the current virus and the sharp decline in the population’s expectations regarding the country’s economic and financial situation, the overall activity of the housing market in Lithuania fell to the level of 2012 in April this year, “says Raimondas Reginis, Market Research Manager for the Baltic Ober-Haus. According to the State Center for Business Registries, the number of apartment transactions concluded in April 2020, compared to the monthly average in 2019, decreased by 23% in Vilnius, decreased by 29% in Kaunas, decreased by 55 % in Klaipėda, decreased by 57% in Šiauliai and decreased by 58% in Panevėžys.

Meanwhile, deals on buying new apartments have fallen to record lows. According to Ober-Haus, the sales volumes of newly built apartments in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipeda in April this year, compared to the 2019 indicators, decreased by up to 89 percent on average. (91% in Vilnius, 85% in Kaunas, 77% in Klaipeda).

It can be said that the sharp decline in real estate market activity in March and April this year halted price growth. If in January and February 2020, the sale prices of apartments (old and new buildings) in the large cities of the country grew between 0.5 and 0.6% per month. at a rate of just 0.1 percent in March and April of this year. increase

“Sellers are generally reluctant to lower the prices of houses for sale, as the current period of uncertainty is relatively short and there are very few sellers on the market who want to sell urgently.” The most negative changes in home sales prices are due to the increasing number of sellers who need to sell their homes more quickly. If the number of such sellers in the market only increases, then the probability of seeing a decrease in the overall level of house prices will also increase, ”says R. Reginis.

“It is from our daily activities that we see that sellers who used to want to sell their home even at a higher price than the market are now much more flexible in responding to offers from potential buyers. If in the growing market environment real estate, some sellers were very optimistic about the price of the sale of their home, now such expectations are almost gone, “says the representative of Ober-Haus.

As a result, these home sellers are forced to lower their exaggerated lineup of expectations and agree to lower the price of their homes to market levels. If sellers’ optimistic expectations were met sooner or later in the past due to the rise in the level and positivity of house prices across the market, this is no longer the case and these sellers become more cohesive.