80 billion rubles were spent on the purchase of luxury housing in Moscow over the winter

According to the results of the winter months in Moscow, an absolute record was set for the total budget that buyers invested in the primary luxury housing market – the figure was about 80 billion rubles, whereas the year before this figure was 51 billion rubles, and the year before last ― only 13 billion rubles. This was told to Izvestia by analysts at Intermark Urban Real Estate, who calculated the value of the transactions.

According to them, last winter proved to be very successful for the Moscow luxury new building market. Demand in the primary premium market has broken records over the past four years and returned to the pre-crisis winter of 2020-2021.

"Due to the fact that in autumn developers found an effective tool to motivate buyers in the form of profitable long-term, including interest-free installments, buyers were able to build effective payment schemes for high-budget apartments, saving and increasing their funds on high-yield bank deposits. By winter, such sales schemes had become very popular in the elite segment ― today about 80% of apartments are sold using long-term installments, and these are four out of five purchases. Of course, the high rates of the Central Bank have also affected mortgage purchases, the share of which has almost disappeared. At the same time, the losses in mortgage purchases have more than paid off with the developers' new tactics," explains Dmitry Khalin, Managing Partner and CEO of Intermark Urban Real Estate.

In addition, new records have been set in prices for luxury square meters, not only in rubles, but also in dollars. Thus, the average budget of apartments for sale in new buildings in the center of the capital and in locations closest to the center, such as Ramenki and Dorogomilovo, exceeded 2 million rubles per square meter by the end of February 2025, which is equivalent to $23.4 thousand per square meter. Thus, the record average market price tag of May 2014 was broken, when the price of an elite square meter in terms of currency was $ 20 thousand.

"In addition to the market price increase for luxury square meters, the cost of projects has increased. Under the sanctions, developers are forced to look for alternative ways to supply expensive materials, complicating logistics, which affects the price. The cost of construction work has also increased. The financial instruments used by developers have also increased in price. And finally, the installments themselves, designed to motivate sales, are somehow included in the project budgets," Khalin said.

Against the background of rising prices, the average cost of premium apartments sold this winter averaged 229 million rubles, which is 18% higher than last year. The average price of luxury apartments offered for purchase increased by 15% and amounted to 301 million rubles.

However, according to analysts, the high price tag does not stop buyers today. This is evidenced by the decrease in the gap between the prices in the supply and the prices of transactions. Thus, the weighted average price of transactions concluded in winter is about 1.8 million rubles per square meter, which is only 11% lower than the offer price, a year earlier the difference was about 25%.

The fate of a non-resident: foreigners have become more likely to buy housing in the Russian Federation

The share of such transactions in the real estate market has reached 20%

In January, Izvestia reviewed a study by the COLDY development company, which reported on current trends in the luxury real estate market in Moscow. According to experts, the number of new high-budget projects is increasing, prices have risen following strong demand, while buyers' preferences for internal infrastructure have shifted towards options for family holidays and education.