Expert: Mustamäe Apartment Sales Saw an Extraordinary Surge

According to Sten Renar Subatšjus, analysis director at Estonia's largest real estate agency Uus Maa, the number of apartment transactions in Mustamäe increased by 23 percent in September, and the price per square meter rose by 8.9 percent, driven by demand for more affordable properties and the market entry of one significant new development.

According to Sten Renar Subatšjus, September was the most active month of the year for the entire Tallinn apartment market, but Mustamäe stood out exceptionally among city districts. "Interest in Mustamäe is rising and this is a combination of several factors. On one hand, the prices in surrounding districts have become unaffordably expensive – people can no longer afford to buy in the city center or Kristiine, and this increases demand for the more affordable Mustamäe by an order of magnitude," said Subatšjus. 

"If an apartment in Mustamäe cost an average of 2530 euros per square meter in September, then in Kristiine it was 3230 and in the city center already 3800 euros. You won't find an apartment in a new building in the city center below 5000 euros per square meter, but in Mustamäe prices in proper developments start from 3700 euros," added Subatšjus.

"The city is expanding – Kristiine is already psychologically the city center and Mustamäe is moving in the same direction. This is no longer a suburb in any way, but a valued address with good infrastructure, plenty of greenery and quick connection to the city center," said Uus Maa consultant Ave Klaser and added that the most sought-after areas are along Sõpruse pst, Tammsaare and Mustamäe roads.

According to Ave Klaser, the Mustamäe real estate market is increasingly being influenced by the completion of the quarter rising around the renovated Mustamäe Center. "A 24-story residential building called Mustamäe Manhattan is being built, along with a health and business building and a new public park, which together form the intersection of Tammsaare, Mustamäe and Säse roads into a new attraction center for the district. In September, ten percent of the Manhattan tower that was put on sale was pre-sold on paper and this attracts the surrounding older property as well," added Klaser.

"Since there are currently few new developments in Mustamäe and not many more will fit there, nine out of ten transactions are with older apartments. The increased number of transactions results in fewer sales listings – more apartments are leaving the Mustamäe sales market than are coming in. Compared to last September, there are now 3.6 percent fewer sales listings, and 6.4 percent fewer compared to August. Similarly, the number of available rental apartments is also declining," noted Klaser.