In August, 382 apartments were sold in Vilnius, which is 1.5% less than the previous month. The share of economy-class housing in Vilnius sales decreased from 65% in July to 46%, while the share of mid-range class increased from 28% to 45%. Prestige-class housing accounted for 9% of sales – similar to July.
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“In July, it seemed that rising prices in Vilnius were pushing buyers towards economy class. However, August showed a different picture: people were not necessarily looking for the cheapest option, but more value and confidence that the promises in the projects would be fulfilled,” emphasizes J. Gedutienė.
August results continue the market selection trend that has become apparent this year. In May, Vilnius supply, supplemented by more than 1100 new apartments, approached a stock of 6,000 for the first time. At the beginning of summer, supply continued to grow, but in August the number of unsold apartments began to decrease slightly, although the market was supplemented by three new projects or their stages with 221 apartments. This shows that buyers absorb new supply, but not equally across all projects.
The most new apartments were sold in August in Lazdynai – 63, Pašilaičiai – 62, and Verkiai – 39. In these three districts alone, more than a third of all preliminary sales contracts in Vilnius were concluded in August.
At the same time, the number of failed transactions increased – 50 reservation cancellations were recorded in August, which is more than the average for this year. Developers raised prices for 449 apartments and lowered prices for 232.
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“There are more opportunities to compare apartments, so weaker projects accumulating stock will be forced to adjust pricing. However, a well-thought-out product maintains both price and sales pace. If this continues into autumn, we can say that we have a much more mature and demanding buyer. We feel this very well too, so every new project must be planned very responsibly,” says J. Gedutienė.
In Kaunas, 85 new apartments were sold in August – 37% more than in July. In Kaunas, higher segment housing remains more accessible to buyers than in the capital: the price of a mid-range apartment in the city is 3523 euros per sq. m, while in Vilnius it is 4401 euros per sq. m.
In Klaipėda, 31 new apartments were sold in August, almost 20% more than in July. However, in a smaller market, segment proportions are more influenced by sales of individual projects: prestige-class housing accounted for half of all transactions.
