Discount Trends in Moscow’s New-Home Market for Early 2023
In the February 2023 snapshot of Moscow’s primary housing market, discounts on flats and apartments sold at reduced prices reached 35 percent, according to specialists from the real estate agency DOLGOV PRO, cited by Lente.ru. This indicates a sizable shift toward lower price points within the new-build sector and signals the market’s sensitivity to financing, demand, and developer strategies at the start of the year.
A year earlier, February 2022 data showed a much smaller discount footprint. The share of houses sold at a discount in the primary market stood at around 10 percent. By 2023, discount activity intensified: the proportion of discounted flats rose from 12 percent to 25 percent, and the share of discounted one-room units expanded from 8 percent to 37 percent. Developers appeared most willing to offer meaningful concessions on apartments, creating a unique price dynamic across segments.
Dmitry Dolgov, the general director of DOLGOV PRO, notes that large discounts were not the norm but rather an exception to the typical pricing approach. Over the year, the average cost of new buildings climbed by 3 to 5 percent, yet the net effect of discounts kept overall apartment price growth modest: about 1.1 percent for standard flats and around 0.6 percent for other apartment formats when the combined factors are weighed. Dolgov emphasizes that these discount spikes have already peaked and entered a plateau, suggesting there will not be a sharp drop in prices in 2023.
Dolgov also explains that developers face limited room to slash prices further. With cost pressures and project timelines in play, the ability to offer sizable, broad-based discounts is constrained. The current pattern involves applying discounts primarily to units already sold or placed in the pipeline, while still pricing new stock at levels that incorporate a moderate discount rather than deep cuts. This approach aligns with a cautious stance from builders who balance sales velocity against margin preservation.
Further context from January 2023 comes from Izvestia, which reported regional data from the real estate agency Inkom-Nedvizhimost. The cost of a standard one-room apartment in new Moscow buildings rose to 11.27 million rubles in January, marking a 5.3 percent decrease from January 2022 and a 3 percent decline relative to December of the previous year. The January figures illustrate how discount activity and pricing strategies from the prior year carried into early 2023, with monthly shifts reflecting both buyer demand and developers’ inventory management.
Taken together, these sources show a market that is negotiating price more carefully than dramatic cuts. Buyers often encounter a spectrum of offers, where discounts may appear most on proposed inventories still moving toward settlement, while fresh listings carry more conservative pricing. For investors and new-home buyers, the key takeaway is that while discounts are present and significant, they are strategically deployed and not a wholesale price collapse. Market dynamics point to a cautious but steady adjustment in pricing as developers balance project economics with consumer demand.
At a structural level, the Moscow primary market continues to experience a tug-of-war between price growth driven by construction costs and the willingness of developers to incentivize early purchases. The result is a nuanced picture: discounts exist, but they are measured, targeted, and integrated into price structures rather than a flood of markdowns across the board. For stakeholders, the trend underscores the importance of timing, location, and the specific project mix when evaluating new-build opportunities in the capital region.