Economic Downturn Impact: Smaller Apartments Being Purchased, But Not in Tallinn
Outside the capital, an energy crisis and rapidly growing euribor have prompted apartment seekers to prefer smaller living spaces than before. In Tallinn, however, the average size of purchased apartments has grown over the year and the price per square meter has also increased, according to the real estate portal Kinnisvara24's market overview.
"If we compare current real estate transactions to a year ago, then the Tallinn market is still thriving – the apartments being purchased are larger and more expensive. Meanwhile, outside the capital, for example in Harjumaa, the average size of apartments sold has decreased by about 4 square meters over the year, but prices are rising there too," confirmed Kinnisvara24 CEO Urmas Uibomäe.
According to Land Board statistics, in January of last year, the average size of apartments sold in Harjumaa (outside Tallinn) was 68 square meters and the average price per square meter was 1,857 euros. This year, the average indicators for transactions are respectively 64 square meters and 2,228 euros – meaning the average apartment size has fallen by 4 square meters and the average price has risen by a fifth in the same period.
In Tallinn, by contrast, the average size of sold apartments has increased from 53 square meters to 57 square meters, and the average price per square meter has also increased from 2,673 euros to 2,971 euros.
The statistics from the real estate portal Kinnisvara24's listings show that apartment sellers' expectations and desired prices have grown increasingly higher over the year, both in Harjumaa and in Tallinn. If apartment sellers in the municipalities surrounding the capital were asking an average of 1,863 euros per square meter last January, then in February of this year they were already asking 2,863 euros – that's 50 percent more.
At the same time, apartment sellers' price expectations in Tallinn have grown somewhat less over the year. Last January, apartments were offered for sale in the capital at an average price of 3,147 euros per square meter, but in February of this year they are asking 3,322 euros.
