Five major cities in the country – three different apartment price levels
The Ober-Haus Lithuanian apartment price index (OHBI), which records changes in apartment prices in the five major Lithuanian cities (Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys), increased by 0.5% in September 2018. The annual apartment price growth in the major cities of Lithuania was 3.2% (the annual apartment price growth in August 2018 was 3.2%).
In September 2018 apartment prices in the capital grew 0.5% with the average price per square meter reaching EUR 1,496 (+7 EUR/sqm). Since the last lowest price level recorded in May 2010 prices have increased by 29.6% (+341 EUR/sqm). Apartment prices in Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys in September grew by 0.4%, 0.2%, 1.1% and 1.8% respectively with the average price per square meter reaching EUR 1,060 (+4 EUR/sqm), EUR 1,063 (+2 Eur/sqm), 648 (+7 EUR/sqm) and EUR 630 (+11 EUR/sqm).
In the past 12 months, the prices of apartments grew in all major cities: 11.4% in Panevėžys, 6.4% in Šiauliai, 4.1% in Kaunas, 2.6% in Klaipėda and 2.3% in Vilnius.
‘The average apartment sales prices in the five major cities in the country can be essentially divided into three groups. The highest prices of apartments are certainly in the capital of the country. Meanwhile in Kaunas and Klaipėda the prices are almost identical and about 30% lower than those in Vilnius. In Šiauliai and Panevėžys, the sales prices of apartments are also very similar and, compared to the country’s capital, are by nearly 60% lower.
It is likely that in the near future this price gap among the cities will remain essentially unchanged. Even in Kaunas, with the rapid development shown in recent years, the prices will hardly manage to make a more noticeable break away from those in Klaipėda. The situation in Kaunas seems to be following the same path as in Vilnius: the growing demand for housing is offset by the rapidly growing supply of new housing both in the city and the district of Kaunas, which should prevent from sharper increase in housing sales prices,’ Raimondas Reginis, Ober-Haus market research manager for the Baltics, said.
Full review: Lithuanian Apartment Price Index, September 2018 (PDF)
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