Demand hits primary housing market

From the middle of October, 1997 to the present, the demand for apartments in uncompleted houses doubled. According to the observations of agents from Petersburg Property, aside from the traditional seasonal demand, buyers expect a rise in inflation in co

<BR>From the middle of October, 1997 to the present, the demand for apartments in uncompleted houses doubled. According to the observations of agents from Petersburg Property, aside from the traditional seasonal demand, buyers expect a rise in inflation in connection with the Russian currency denomination. The agency says that the increase in prices on the primary market will not happen in as much as the demand (even calculating its growth), remains lower than the volume of offers by 30-40%. However, a decrease in prices is also not expected, which on the primary market is close to the cost of the construction work. Researchers at Petersburg Property described two types of customers on the primary market: one oriented towards purchasing 1-room apartments, predominately in cement buildings for approximately $20,000. This type of buyer is usually from another Russian city or parents who are buying their children apartments. The other sort of buyer is people with a constant income of approximately $1000/month who are buying 2-3-room apartments in brick buildings. According to the observations of realtors, the increase in sales of apartments is happening because of the second type of buyer.