2023. gads vai tas būs pārsteigumu pilns?

At the moment, we are hearing the most urgent questions for everyone – will prices rise or fall in the market? Number of transactions – up or down? Will the regions continue to be bought at such prices or not? Will prices continue to rise for construction as well? Have expensive utilities arrived? Let’s take a brief look at what the past year has been like and what to expect in the next one. Although it is interesting to look at the data of the past year and analyze it, it does not give a guarantee to predict the next year. It’s information that can be taken into account and learned from, but it won’t tell you much about the future. Then a bit of interesting and valuable information. Looking at the concluded transactions for apartments in the city of Riga in November, the trend was similar to when there was a lockdown. In contrast, the number of transactions has been quite high in December. December has always been a more active month. The number of advertisements (apartments in Riga) has grown steadily in the past 6 months. Whether it is due to the increase in utility bills, because people can no longer maintain their properties and want to sell, it cannot be stated unambiguously. It should be noted that the number of advertisements has been very low in the last 2 years. Therefore, it is currently back within “normal” limits, not increased. Looking at the Riga region, the contracts submitted there have dropped significantly at the end of the year. Presentations, the number of times a property is shown to new buyers within one agency, have also decreased at the end of the year in relation to the number of properties. However, it is an annual trend that there are more visits to the notary in December than to look at new properties. What is more important – many people talk about Euribor, about how Euribor affects purchasing power. At the moment, the amount of loans issued has not changed, however, we will most likely see changes in the coming months. Those who are in the business of bribing, buying properties and repairing them, or simply reselling them, say that they are waiting for discounts or a good deal, or they are waiting for March. Colleagues from Latio had described this situation well – owners are waiting and buyers are waiting. Buyers are waiting for prices to drop, owners are waiting to buy or for prices to rise. So now is a very interesting time. The main insights about the past year 2022 – it has been a very interesting year. Saddened by both the events in Ukraine and the impact the war has had globally. At the moment, we are just beginning to feel the effects of the events in addition to the still-existing effects of Covid. The 3 most important factors that will have a strong impact in the coming years are the rise of Euribor, utility bills and construction costs. Various experts avoid concrete predictions about both the number of transactions and the rise or fall of prices. Some will go bad, some will go well, but that’s how it always happens. It has been widely heard that a price drop is expected in March, however, the opinion of the head of Tribus, Igor Troshin, is ambiguous. You will certainly be able to find deals, but very, very many people are waiting right now, which can have the opposite effect. Also, there is no guarantee that everyone will sell their properties en masse in March under the influence of rising utility costs.

A more likely scenario would be that there would be a long wait on both sides, both buyers and sellers. Igors Troshins comments that Euribor could still rise and this could affect the availability of serial apartments. They will no longer be so easily bought by the people who buy them now. Which is followed by the question, will they be bought by those who bought something better? However, it seems that a trend will be observed – the importance of the location and the overall condition of the building will become more relevant. It will be more difficult for untidy buildings, at the same time well-located and tidy serial apartments will do just as well as before. As long as the loan payment is less than the rent payment, the number of transactions in general will not decrease. It may decrease in certain areas or segments. Speaking about the economy in general, since Latvia, in the European context, is not in a good position with economic indicators, it provides us with quite a lot of support. In the following years, we can expect a large volume with European funds, grants, support funding. This funding will be injected into infrastructure and the overall development of the country, which immediately creates new jobs and opportunities to absorb this money. It will definitely help keep the economy around us calmer and more stable. Tribus wish for 2023 – you are active, grow, learn, are confident and do your work from the heart. We wish everyone to reach their goals on paper and realize them in life as well! Happy new year!