Buy by selling: the demand for trade-in when buying apartments increased by 25%
Since the beginning of the year, interest in the trade-in program for the sale of an old apartment for the purchase of a new one has increased by 25% in Russia as a whole and by more than 50% in Moscow, market participants told Izvestia. There are several options for such an exchange scheme: long-term booking of an apartment in a new building while the secondary is being sold, a quick deal, and an installment plan. One of the disadvantages of trade-in is the loss in the price of an apartment for sale. The reason why the demand for such a program has grown is in the Izvestia article.
How the demand for trade-in has grown
The demand for trade-in when buying apartments has increased by 20-25% since the beginning of the year, market participants told Izvestia. In Moscow, in April 2025, the number of requests for this program increased by 33% compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the Mangazeya development company. And by another 25% since the beginning of the year.
"This is due to the expectation of a reduction in the key rate in the summer and, as a result, an increase in the cost of new buildings, as well as the expectation of the cancellation of family mortgage fees," said Anastasia Kushman, head of the company's trade—in department.
Real estate trade-in is a scheme in which a buyer of a new building signs a contract with the developer, according to which his current apartment is put up for sale through a partner agency or investor, said Andrey Serdyuk, a real estate market expert and author of the Telegram channel Realtor Academy. The money from its sale goes to the down payment on the new building.
Oksana Plyusnina, a leading real estate expert at the federal developer Zhelezno, confirmed the trend towards more private use of the trade-in scheme. Dmitry Pavlov, Commercial Director of BM Group, noted that now more than 21% of clients want to purchase an apartment in a new building using funds from the sale of existing housing.
Andrey Bannikov, Vice President of the Russian Guild of Realtors, confirmed the revival of interest in the trade-in program when buying new buildings in 2025.
— Developers are making efforts to maintain demand for new apartments against the background of a serious decrease in the number of buyers who use mortgage funds for purchase, — he said. — Therefore, trade-in is one of the most effective ways to attract additional customers. Our country is one of the few in the world where the percentage of private homeowners is very high due to the privatization program in the 90s and 2000s. This means that many potential buyers have an asset in the form of secondary housing.
The demand for a trade-in service with the possibility of accommodation increased by 10-15%. That is, a person can stay in their old home until the new building is completed, but there is a limit of up to four years, Anastasia Kushman added. After this time, a person will have to rent it until it is sold, said Valery Tumin, director of the Russian and CIS markets at fam Properties. It will not be possible to arrange for the sale to last as long as the new house is put into operation — there are practically no such transactions on the market.
Most often, according to Anastasia Kushman, an old fund inherited is sold in a trade-in, and the sale is carried out to purchase housing for children.
— The motivation is to expand the living space through the sale of an old lot, coupled with the use of a family mortgage. And also the desire to live in a dream apartment, and not in the place where he once "landed" state support," the expert explained.
What are the schemes?
The terms of sale of apartments sold through the trade-in mechanism have recently increased from one and a half to two months. This is due to the fact that people come to the program with inflated price expectations. This behavior of sellers often leads to the fact that during the period of the transaction, an apartment in the desired project is either sold or it increases in price. As a result, people have to shrink in space and lose up to 4-5 square meters.
Now, due to high rates on the secondary market, the average sale period for secondary real estate has increased by 32.5% over the year, to 114 days, said Nuria Bikbova, Deputy sales Director of the federal company Floors.
"To buy an apartment on the primary market, not everyone has enough of their own savings for a down payment," she said.
Roman Sokolov, Sales Director at Est-a-Tet, recalled that there are currently two types of trade-in programs. The most common is a long—term booking of an apartment in a new building.
When a developer books a selected new apartment for a buyer, and the secondary property is put up for sale at a price that would allow it to be sold in a relatively short time, the object loses only 3-5% in value, Andrei Bannikov noted.
— The buyer of secondary housing pays the client the contractual cost, and he, in turn, pays for the new building through an escrow account to the developer after registering the equity participation agreement, - the expert reminded.
The share of the booking mechanism accounts for about 85-90% of transactions in the trade-in format, Roman Sokolov pointed out.
— The apartment purchase service is less popular — 10-15% of transactions. This is due to the fact that in this case the apartment is purchased at a significant discount, about 25-30%, so most owners prefer to sell the apartment on their own or with the involvement of a realtor, but at market value," he said.
Another option that Russians use is an installment plan from the developer for two to three months, while the sale of the old apartment is underway, and after that, the repayment of the loan amount with this money, said Yana Glazunova, CEO of VSN Group.
Currently, installments are also active sales tools in the primary market, accounting for an average of 50% of equity participation agreements, Marina Potepkina, Sales Director of the Yuzhny Satellite City company, recalled. But each project has its own statistics, and you can see figures of 70%. The family mortgage also supports the market — 30-40% of transactions are carried out with its help.
What are the risks of a trade-in
Selling your real estate has always been one of the main tools for purchasing apartments in new buildings, Roman Sokolov added.
— In the current situation, when mortgage rates are quite high, the timing of the sale of secondary real estate has increased, — said the expert. — If earlier it took about two to four months, now it may take more time, up to six to eight. Customers who want to quickly resolve their housing issue are not always ready to wait, so a popular scheme is in which an old apartment is sold and a new one is bought at the same time.
At the same time, developers have different requirements for the objects they are willing to buy, Nuria Bikbova added. They may relate to the condition of the house, its age, and the presence of encumbrances.
— Mortgage apartments and those located in houses that are under reconstruction fall under foreclosure, — she reminded. — Some developers limit the area of purchased apartments and do not consider apartments in low-rise buildings.
Among the advantages and reasons for the popularity of this mechanism are simplicity, transparency and speed of the transaction, said Valery Tumin.
— Also, if you plan to buy a new home with a mortgage, and the proceeds from the sale go to the initial payment, there is a chance to get more favorable terms on a housing loan, — he added.
The only disadvantage for the buyer is a partial loss of funds due to the rapid sale of his home, said the Vice—president of the RGR.
— Although it is often enough just to set the right market price that will meet the expectations of demand, — he explained. — The advantage is the opportunity to take the option in the new building that you like, rather than the one that will remain by the date of sale of the client's home.
The disadvantage for the developer is the risk of changes in the secondary real estate market when buying such an apartment from a client. There is a risk of a decrease in the value of the asset in three to four months of exposure on the market. The same risk exists with prolonged fixation of the cost of the selected new building.
To simplify the work of trade-in programs, developers should expand the scope of sales departments or invite real estate agency partners, Dmitry Pavlov believes.
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