Fickle summer weather made Estonians dream of a home under the palm trees
Summer months were more active on the real estate market than last year. In addition to regular properties, there was a noticeable increase in interest in homes in more exotic locations, as well as domestic summer cottages.
"Apparently, the unpredictable summer weather made people think about acquiring real estate in a region with better climate. In addition to more stable weather, the price of real estate there is increasingly speaking in its favor, as the price per square meter is considerably lower than in Estonia," says Urmas Uibomäe, CEO of the Kinnisvara24 portal. According to him, during the summer months, more inquiries were made on their foreign real estate portal about homes located in Turkey, Georgia, Spain, Italy, Indonesia, Cyprus, Portugal, and the Dominican Republic. Compared to last year, Uibomäe said there were as much as 125% more inquiries and the website's traffic was over 40 percent higher.
August brought summer cottage thoughts to the homeland
Meanwhile, summer cottages located in Estonia remained popular. "Every year, people start thinking about acquiring a summer cottage in June, and although there was widespread discussion in society about people's livelihoods, for example, the volume of inquiries about summer cottages increased by 47% compared to a year ago," confirms Uibomäe. The poor weather in the first half of July visibly reduced summer cottage thoughts, but August warmth brought them back, according to him. Thus, in the reaping month, summer cottages were searched for on the Kinnisvara24 portal as much as 70% more than last year. "This is probably also due to the fact that August was already very cool last year," Uibomäe acknowledges that people's interest in summer cottages largely depends on the weather.
Overall, according to Uibomäe, summer was surprisingly stable in the real estate sector, and the number of listings and transactions did not decline significantly compared to spring.
Listings the same as last year, more transactions
"If you look at the Estonian real estate market statistics environment created by Kinnisvara24, then in Tallinn, Tartu, and Pärnu there is no particular change in the number of apartment sales listings, but the market has become somewhat more active, meaning that compared to a year ago, more apartments are being bought," he says. For example, over the last two summers in the capital, there were approximately 3,000 apartment sales listings, but according to Land and Real Estate Registry data, in 2024 there were approximately 660 transactions per month. This summer, the number of transactions increased to around 750. In Tartu, the number of listings has remained around 500 over the past two summers, and in Pärnu around 600. Similar to the capital, in the university city and summer capital, more transactions have been made compared to last summer. If Tartu's average monthly transaction number for the summer of 2024 was 157, then this year 167, in Pärnu respectively 65 and 73.
During the summer, it was noticeable that interest in Kinnisvara24 apartment sales listings increased by 36% compared to a year ago. "In July, interest in rental apartments began to increase, which is also typical, as many young people move to another city to study and are looking for a place to live. At the same time, there was also a somewhat increased interest in houses and commercial spaces, which can be associated with a recovery in confidence that had wavered between individuals and companies," says Uibomäe.
The price per square meter of real estate offered in listings has also remained relatively stable throughout the summer in all three cities. Compared to last year, the price has increased by approximately 200 euros. However, according to Uibomäe, transactions are being made at lower prices. For example, if the average price per square meter in Tallinn apartment listings is 3,700 euros, then according to the Land and Real Estate Registry data, transactions are being made at approximately 2,800 euros.
"In Tartu, approximately 2,600 euros is asked per square meter of an apartment, but transactions are made at approximately 2,300 euros. In Pärnu, the corresponding amounts are 2,900 and 2,300 €," says Uibomäe.
