24.04.2020

Interest in Real Estate Listings Rose to Pre-Crisis Level

Kinnisvara24 statistics show that interest in real estate declined significantly due to the emergency situation, but already in mid-April, the number of visitors to the real estate portal rose back to pre-crisis levels.

According to Kalev Roosiväli, CEO of Kinnisvara24.ee, real estate market activity declined significantly immediately after the emergency situation was declared, but rose back to pre-crisis levels already in mid-April. "When the health crisis broke out in early March, buyer interest dropped immediately by 50 percent and remained at the bottom for a couple of weeks, but now purchase interest has begun to gradually rise again and last week real estate listings were viewed almost as much as before the crisis. This shows that buyers and renters have recovered from the initial shock and are again feeling interest in real estate," explained Roosiväli.

Kinnisvara24.ee portal statistics show that in the week following the implementation of the emergency situation, March 16-22, real estate listings were viewed 50 percent less than usual. Low interest persisted for a couple of weeks, then began to grow again, and in the last week, April 13-19, the number of portal visits had returned to normal levels. "This is probably related to the fact that as a result of increased money supply, inflation is feared and people are checking whether they can get real estate more cheaply," explained Roosiväli.

Most rental apartment listings have been added in Tallinn, Tartu, and Pärnu, but the most popular with visitors are actually property sales listings located outside the cities. Among counties, the greatest interest continues to be in Harjumaa real estate, followed by listings in other major counties—Tartumaa, Pärnumaa, and Ida-Virumaa. The least interest is attracted by real estate in Põlva, Hiiu, and Valga counties.