Russians were told about the rising cost of housing construction in St. Petersburg

The cost of housing construction in St. Petersburg continues to grow faster than inflation, and in 2025, according to experts, it will increase by 8-10%. In the first half of the year, construction prices rose by 4% and the trend will continue in the second half of the year. For comparison, in 2024, the cost of housing increased by 9.4%, which was also ahead of inflation. This was reported by the Delovoy Peterburg newspaper on August 15.

"The cost increase is associated with higher salaries, operating costs of machinery, materials and overhead costs," said Irina Dolgikh, head of the Competence Center of the Engineering practice at Strategy Partners.

Vitaly Golubev, Commercial Director of the Okhtinsky Heights residential Complex, stressed that the main increase in expenses is provided by the payroll, bulk materials and the operation of machinery. Staff shortages and salary indexation significantly increase costs. Prices for cement, sand and crushed stone are rising due to logistical difficulties and increased demand. Fuel and lubricants, spare parts, and rental equipment have also risen in price.

Logistical difficulties have become particularly noticeable in recent months: the cost of freight transportation of inert materials has increased by up to 50%, while the reason is not related to fuel, but to the remoteness and closure of individual routes for repairs.

Empty waiting: price growth in the primary housing market exceeded 10%

With a further reduction in the key rate, there is a risk of a jump in the cost of apartments in new buildings, experts say.

"Because of this, where 20 m3 of cargo used to be carried, now only 15 can be carried. And this is at the same shipping cost. Thus, we get an actual loss of 25% of the cargo at the same cost of transportation. The rest of the materials are also growing, but without sudden jumps," said Vyacheslav Batakov, CEO of the MOST consulting company.

The forecast for materials remains pessimistic: cement and concrete will rise in price by 7% in 2025 and by another 10% in 2026, said Alexander Lelin, Executive Director of Sotex. Wood, after growing by 15-30% in 2024, may rise in price by another 15% in 2025. Even now, developers are facing a shortage of certain items, which forces buyers to purchase materials in advance or review the construction budget.

Thus, despite the slowdown in inflation to 3.77% in the first half of 2025, the St. Petersburg construction industry remains under pressure from rising costs, which will inevitably affect prices for new buildings.

Dmitry Khalin, Managing partner and CEO of Intermark Urban Real Estate, told Izvestia on July 28 that after reducing the key rate to 18% by the end of the year, prices for luxury housing in Moscow could rise by 15% and demand would increase by 25%. Currently, mortgage rates are at around 24%, but they are expected to decrease to 20-22%. Although this is still considered a high indicator, such a decrease will allow some buyers to take advantage of mortgage loans.

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