In June 2024, demand for completed housing in Moscow, including secondary apartments and finished new-builds, declined compared with the same month a year earlier. Rosreestr reported 11.4 thousand purchase and sale contracts, a figure cited by Ruslan Syrtsov, General Director of Metrium, in an interview with socialbites.ca. The snapshot for the month shows that overall transaction activity remained relatively steady, with no sharp swings in volume across June.
Looking at the broader April to June 2024 period, transaction activity totaled 35.8 thousand deals registered by Rosreestr. This result reflects a 20% drop from the same interval in 2023, signaling a softer pace in the market, even as activity in the later part of the year was projected to rebound modestly to around 66 thousand deals, a level about 16% below the first half of 2023. The numbers underscore a shift in market dynamics between new construction and the finished housing segment as the year progresses.
In Russia overall, demand appears to be increasingly oriented toward new-build projects. Syrtsov noted that in June Rosreestr recorded 10.5 thousand transactions related to participation in shared construction housing (DDU) — a rise of 21% from May 2024. When compared to June 2023, the market for shared construction in Moscow has shown resilience amid a shifting demand mix. Across the first half of 2024, developers in the region signed roughly 45 thousand agreements, a figure that sits about 2% lower than in the same period of 2023. Yet, in the second quarter alone, the number of registrations tied to Moscow’s housing construction market reached 27 thousand, marking a 7% increase over the corresponding quarter in 2023. These figures point to ongoing appetite for new projects and developer-led programs within the capital’s housing sector.
Commenting on the finished housing segment, Dmitry Golev, commercial director of Optima Development, observed a notable shift in demand. He noted that demand for apartments in older buildings is easing while interest in newly constructed developments and projects by developers remains robust. In Moscow, approximately four in ten units in the secondary market come from recently completed housing complexes. What stands out, he added, is the growing appeal of developer offerings that combine subsidized mortgages with property exchanges. This evolving mix suggests that buyers are increasingly attracted to financing incentives and newer product options, reshaping the composition of demand for finished housing in the capital.
Larisa Shvetsova, General Director of River Park LLC, highlighted that mortgage access remains a central driver of buyer activity. She pointed to the combination of family and IT-related financing as the main force behind recent market momentum, particularly as preferential mortgage programs were phased out starting July 1. The implication for buyers has been a recalibration of affordability and borrowing options, which in turn influences how quickly and where purchases occur within Moscow’s housing market.
In recent weeks, the market has also seen chatter about price levels in new developments. The average price per square meter for new buildings in Moscow briefly surpassed the 500,000 rubles mark, signaling a shift that investors and buyers are watching closely. While this milestone reflects a momentary high, it also underscores the sensitivity of pricing to supply conditions, financing terms, and the relative appeal of modern, energy-efficient homes that often accompany new construction projects. Market observers note that ongoing price dynamics will likely hinge on the availability of favorable mortgage products, construction timelines, and the introduction of new projects that offer compelling value-for-money propositions to buyers in both the primary and secondary markets.
The broader context for these movements includes a careful calibration of demand signals across Moscow and neighboring regions. Real estate analysts stress that the attractiveness of finished housing is increasingly tied to the perceived stability of prices, the cadence of new launches from major developers, and the accessibility of financing mechanisms that reduce the upfront cost of ownership. For buyers planning in the Canada and United States markets who monitor international real estate trends, Moscow’s experience illustrates how shifts in mortgage policy and construction pipelines can re-balance demand toward new builds while still sustaining interest in high-quality finished properties. The evolving landscape suggests that strategic buyers will weigh project timelines, subsidy offers, and exchange options when evaluating opportunities in large, dynamic urban markets.