Analytics, Latvia, Real Estate

The number of apartment transactions in Riga declined to 8,737 in 2018 from 9,009 in 2017. Laukalejs noted that the annual fluctuations were small and that the proportion between new projects and the secondary market was unchanged.

“Transactions dropped also in residential neighborhoods. The reason is objective, because during the past three years standard design apartments, apartments in the city center and new projects have been developing simultaneously, while the number of people has not been increasing, so the overall activity evens out across the segments,” said Laukalejs.

The Arco Real Estate representative noted that apartment prices rose steadily from January to April, but in the second half of the year the rise was negligible. There were months when apartment prices did not rise at all, he said.

“While a year ago apartment prices were forecast to rise by 6 percent, the actual price increase was just 3.9% to the average price of EUR 797 per square meter. An increase of around 3% was recorded already in previous years. These figures do not suggest of an overheating market,” Laukalejs said.