Rental Market Overview: What Price You Can Get for a Rental Apartment This Fall

The beginning of autumn is an annual peak season for the rental market, especially in cities with universities. Experts from the Kinnisvara24 portal and real estate agency 1Estate Kinnisvara are forecasting the autumn rental market.

Statistics from the Kinnisvara24 portal show that the number of rental listings has grown over the past year. "It can be said that the rental market in larger cities is in good health. There are more offerings than last year, but there is also demand for quality apartments, and the price per square meter of rental apartments is at the same level as last year," explained Kinnisvara24 marketing manager Martin Matsberg.

On the Kinnisvara24 portal, there are a fifth more rental apartments available in August this year compared to the same time last year. "The more difficult economic situation over the past year is prompting property owners to rent out their assets – standing real estate is a cost, and rental apartments need to be rented out to earn money. This has increased supply on the market. At the same time, demand is also high and rental prices remain at the same level as last year."

According to 1Estate Kinnisvara broker Algis Liblik, some people will remain renters for years, so there is no reason to fear that demand for rental apartments will decrease. "Due to higher loan interest rates and the general increase in the cost of living, buying one's own home has become unaffordable for many people. Investors have also purchased significantly fewer apartments over the past year compared to previous years. If demand persists and supply decreases, this is water to the rental landlords' mill, as a deficit market situation provides a good opportunity to raise prices."

According to Liblik, there will be no major changes in the rental market this autumn and the situation will remain similar to the current one, but next year there may already be a noticeable decrease in supply. He says that the normal number of rental offerings in Tallinn is 1200-1300 apartments, and currently the number of offerings also falls within that range. "The situation was different last summer, because the influx of refugees due to the Ukraine war created a deficit on the market, where the number of offerings fell to 700 in spring. In summer, the number of offerings began to recover, and by the end of the year it was already clear there was an oversupply, when for about 6 months there were 1600-1700 offerings on the market."

The Kinnisvara24 portal currently has 1178 active rental apartment listings in Tallinn, with an average price of 13.63 euros per square meter. A year ago, there were 950 active listings and their price per square meter was at the same level. According to Martin Matsberg, the number of offerings has increased throughout Harju County, so rental apartment seekers should have a selection, but Harju County also has Estonia's largest demand.

In Tartu, the number of rental apartments is significantly lower, but has increased somewhat compared to last year. If last year in August, new students and other rental apartment seekers could choose between 186 offerings, this year there are 239 active offerings and their average price per square meter is 10.57 euros.

In Pärnu, 117 rental apartments are offered, which is the same as last year. The average price per square meter has increased from 8.27 euros to 9.27 euros over the year.

The number of offerings in Viljandi and the price per square meter are on an upward trend – currently 47 rental apartments are offered there with an average price of 8 euros per square meter.

The number of rental offerings in Narva has slightly decreased and the price has increased – currently, a rental apartment seeker can choose between 61 offerings, with an average price of 7.5 euros per square meter.

Due to the decrease in the number of offerings, rental apartment seekers need to act quickly when finding a suitable listing, as apartments in good condition and tastefully furnished reach completion very quickly. "A person interested in renting can use the real estate portal's search function to subscribe to notifications of listings matching their criteria on their email – this way they can familiarize themselves with the offering as soon as it is posted on the portal. Many broker-mediated rental listings reach the Kinnisvara24 portal 48 hours earlier than other portals. Most good rental offerings are sold within just a couple of days," highlighted Martin Matsberg.