They are afraid of losing their housing: what is happening in the market of new buildings in Kyiv

In the capital, clients have lost interest in apartments in new buildings.

Because of the war in Kyiv, most of the new buildings are frozen. Construction works are being carried out only at some objects in the city. All this causes anxiety among investors who have invested their own funds in the construction. TSN.ua found out what exactly is happening on the market of new buildings.

What is on the construction sites

Not all construction in Kyiv has stopped. A crane is actively working near the lake in “Poznyaki” park (Dragomanova Street), where two houses of residential complex “31” are being erected. Work at the facility was resumed in May of last year after three months of downtime. Now this residential complex is promised to be put into operation in the 2nd quarter of 2023, if the situation in Kyiv and Ukraine does not deteriorate.

But, for example, there is a residential complex “Milos” with five buildings on Myloslavska Street. Nothing has been built there for a year, although some houses should already be put into operation next year. And when this residential complex will be completed, no one knows.

Developers complain about logistical problems, a shortage of construction workers on the sites and air strikes, during which work has to stop.

“Powerful developers, who planned to start construction in Kyiv, gave up altogether with the start of the war. Last year, they postponed construction, they said, we will start later and we will look at the situation at the front. But they did not start anything for a whole year. And then declared that they will not build anything in the coming year,” Serhiy Kurganov, practicing realtor, general director of the Prostor real estate association, told TSN.ua.

They do not buy housing in new buildings

Now the sales departments of the residential complex are trying to equalize the prices in new buildings and bring them up to the average market prices in Kyiv, as in the secondary market. But as experience shows, this is quite difficult to do. Buyers’ interest in housing in new buildings, to put it mildly, has decreased.

“We have several apartments for sale in new buildings, which have already been put into operation, they have been completed. And the clients have no interest in them at all. If someone calls once a month, it is already a holiday. Since the New Year, our agent has only gone once to show an apartment in a new building. It is in a good location, with a good price. At the stage of construction, the apartment cost the owners 150 thousand dollars, we offered it for 140 thousand. And now it is already worth 120 thousand and there is no interest from buyers. That is, there is no such trend, for people to buy apartments in new buildings,” Serhii Kurganov explains to us.

By the way, there is also a crisis in the teams that carry out repairs in apartments in new buildings. They work with a number of clients on repairs. The situation is such that people have apartments in buildings that have already been put into operation, but they do not start repairs, they are waiting until the war is over and it will be possible to plan something further.

They are writing petitions with the demand to resume construction

Meanwhile, investors who have invested in new buildings sound the alarm, because the houses where they were supposed to buy housing were supposed to be put into operation by the end of 2021, but this did not happen. People are afraid that they will be left without their apartments

Three appeals from investors of unfinished housing have already been published on the website of electronic petitions of the Kyiv City Council:

• Residential complex “Urlivskyi 1” 11 Prychalna street in Darnytsky district;
• Residential complex “Delight” along Vidradny Avenue, 93/2;
• Residential complex “Honey 2” on Petra Radchenko Street, 27 in Solomyansky district.

People, including many displaced persons, are demanding from the authorities to resume the construction of housing, which the developers promised to put into operation by the end of 2021. But the petitions have not yet received the necessary votes to be considered by the city government.

Officials in the KMDA and Kyiv City Council are still reluctant to talk about this topic, saying that it is necessary to wait until the situation becomes clearer and the developer resumes work.

There was always a risk with new buildings

Investors who invested in the new building before the start of the war are now worried whether their house will be sold at all.

“Investing in new buildings has always been a risky business. And there is no difference – there is a war or a pandemic in the yard. By the way, during the lockdown, there was the first wave of nervousness on the part of investors in new buildings. After all, certain quarantine restrictions were in effect at that time. Buildings that were at the stage put into operation seemed to be on great nerves. People received documents for housing with a delay of 3-4 months. What can we say about the situation during the war,” says Serhiy Kurganov.

The expert adds that the developer always goes beyond the deadline he announced for putting the building into operation.

“In peacetime, such a delay was an average of three months. During the pandemic, such a delay already amounted to more than six months. Now it has already stretched to a year of a full-scale war, and on frozen objects, the delay in construction can stretch for 1-2 years. Of course , that all this makes people nervous and angry. Developers assure that everything will be completed. But in terms of terms, no one can say when exactly. It is clear that after Ukraine wins,” the expert adds.

There is a construction boom in the West of the country

Despite the fact that there is a lull in construction sites in Kyiv and the Kyiv regions, active housing construction continues in the western regions.

“There is a certain activity in the western regions. Houses are being built, put into operation, people are making repairs. There, the market of new buildings has not experienced such a crisis as in Kyiv. There are enough advertisements of apartments in new buildings on social networks. Housing is actively offered for sale in already built houses “, – notes the real estate expert.

Earlier, we reported on the start of construction next to the monument to the Motherland in Kyiv.

Read also:

In Kyiv, they want to build a whole district with housing: which one exactly and what do they say in the KMDA

Built an entire floor: Kyiv police are already looking for “Carlson”

“Some people have war, and some people have loot”: a scandal broke out in Kyiv due to construction in Pushkin Park