Prices go crazy

Minsk apartments for rent

The rental market has undergone significant changes over the past six months. Thousands of ordinary people faced with the challenge of finding housing. Meager selection and exorbitant prices for apartments of bad quality - so experts describe the situation. July has always been a kind of calm before the storm, before arrival of non-resident students. Not now.

The number of rental apartments for offer has consistently decreased since March. In past years in the middle of summer market was full of apartments freed by students, which immediately increased the total supply by 10-15%. In July 2013, the increase was only 3.0%. Inside the structure, at the same time there have been significant changes. The segment of the most popular one-room apartments continued to narrow, but supply of the 2 - and 3 - bedroom apartments has increased by 12.4% and 5.9%  respectively. For the first time in a long time, the offers of 1-bedroom apartments lost the lead to 2-bedroom ones.


Expectation that the proposal will increase in August is hardly imaginable. Of course, such high rents will attract new landlords, but their flow is unlikely to compensate upcoming seasonal surge in demand.

The average price of apartments has been increasing gradually throughout the year. And if in the winter and spring months, prices increased by 3.4%, while in July they rose in all segments by 5-10%.

Thus, at the beginning of August the  information-analytical center of the portal Realt.by reported the following rental rates:

1 - room apartment     $ 352  (up 9.3% in July);
2 - room apartment     $ 477  (up 6.7%);
3 - room apartment     $ 595  (up 5.5%)


As for the change in prices through the year, during the past 12 months growth of rental rates is: for 1-bedroom apartments - 40.0%, for the 2-room ones  - 36.7%, for the three-room - 28.5%.

Average rent price for apartments in Minsk for 6-month period

Rent prices in July rose faster than the sale prices of apartments on the secondary market. As a result, the yield from the sale of leased increased by a few points. Best foreign currency deposits in 2013 did not bring more than 6.17% (data provided Select.by), at the same time the yield from renting the apartments is teetering on the level of 6.2% -6.6%. We do not take into account  costs of the owner and yet at the moment buying an apartment in order to obtain rental income at least looks better than the bank deposits in USD or Euro. Especially since the cost of apartments in Minsk is still growing.

Comparison between income from bank deposits in USD and rent prices

Regarding areas there are following color schemes for Minsk areas: green means cheap, red means expensive.

Rent price for 1 room apartments in Minsk

Rent price for 2-room apartments in Minsk

Among the Minsk areas most actively rental rates grew in Zavodskoj, Moskovskij and Frunzenskij districts. Prices tend to narrow and for apartments in residential areas near MKAD the owners are asking the amount for which six months ago, it was possible to rent an apartment in the center, if not, then at least near the metro.

Artyom Sakharevich
Realt.by