Construction, Latvia, Legislation, Real Estate

In October 2020, the average apartment price in Soviet-era standard design houses was down to EUR 805 per square meter. The average price was 50%  lower than in July 2017 when the average price of a non-renovated Soviet-era apartment hit the all-time-high of EUR 1,620.

In October this year, the average price per square meter declined by 0.1% for three-room apartments, but rose 0.1% for double-room apartments.

The highest apartment prices, at EUR 949 per square meter remain, in Teika, while the lowest prices, at EUR 585, were recorded in Bolderaja.

In the first nine months of this year the Latvian construction authorities issued 1,367 permits for construction of new single dwelling houses, which was a 15.8% decrease compared to the respective period in 2019, the Central Statistical Bureau said.

The total floor space of the new single dwelling house projects reduced 6.1% year-on-year to 296,000 square meters (m2).

In the first nine months of 2020 the Latvian construction authorities also issued 129 permits for construction of new industrial buildings and storage facilities with a total floor space of 168,000 m2. The number of such permits was down 16.8%, while the total floor space of these construction projects contracted 32.3% year-on-year.

A total of 1,790 permits were issued for construction, reconstruction and renovation of single dwelling houses with a total floor space of 400,100 m2. In comparison with the respective period of 2019, the number of such permits dropped by 14.8% and the total floor space of the projects declined 6.4%.

Also, 207 permits were issued in the first nine months of 2020 for construction, reconstruction and renovation of industrial buildings and storage facilities with a total floor space of 281,400 m2. In comparison with the same period a year ago, the number of such permits fell 13.8%, and the projects' total floor space decreased 37.2%.