At the end of the pandemic year, record sales of apartments

Although there was a decrease in the number of transactions in the second quarter of 2020 due to the pandemic caused by Covid-19, the market recovered in the third quarter and record sales volumes were achieved at the end of the year, according to the 2020 survey of the new and renovated apartments market in Riga and nearby Pierīga conducted by the real estate consulting company Colliers. In December, developers sold more than 310 new and renovated apartments, which made it possible to exceed the number of apartments sold in 2019 by 14% and to exceed the total transaction value by 21%. The total amount of transactions in the first-time market in 2020 exceeded 255 million euros. In 2020, the number of transactions with renovated apartments has slightly decreased, which is partly explained by the drastic decrease in the number of tourists and its impact on the short-term rental market. Many of the renovated apartments are small in size and located in the central part of the city, two prerequisites for a successful short-term rental property. The market review conducted by Colliers shows that in 2020, the number of transactions with apartments in nearby Pierīga increased – 250 transactions were made there, mostly in the Dreiling House project developed by Bonava, which is located next to Saga and IKEA shopping centers. A large number of transactions also took place in the houses developed by Home 4 Living in Mārupe. Due to the limited supply of economy-class apartments on the market, the number of transactions in this segment decreased significantly in 2020 – from more than 460 transactions in 2019 to 275 transactions in 2020. Read the full article here.