Bad concrete: developers are abandoning apartments with finishing out of economy
The share of apartments without finishing in the new building market has reached 85% in "old" Moscow. The segments of premium and business classes showed the most significant decrease. A similar trend is forming in New Moscow and the Moscow Region. The reduction in the volume of apartments with finishing is due to attempts by developers to mitigate the risks — it takes a long time, which is fraught with violations of the deadlines for the completion of the facility, experts told Izvestia.
"Buy an apartment without decoration"
In recent years, there has been a noticeable turn in the mass segment towards the supply of apartments without finishing. The segment of "ready-made" apartments in the new—build market reached a record low in "old" Moscow - 15-16%, market participants told Izvestia.
— In business class, the format without decoration traditionally remains dominant. Over the past five years, its share has consistently remained above 60%, and in 2025 it reached a maximum of 74%," the Metrium company said.
Yaroslav Gutnov, the founder of SIS Development, confirms the trend.
— In the case of the mass segment, we are talking about the abandonment of housing with decoration. Developers optimize the cost and restrain price growth in the face of rising cost of building materials and expensive mortgages. And many families prefer to independently control the budget and quality of repairs, create an interior for themselves, rather than pay for a standard solution from a developer," the expert noted.
The segments of premium and business classes showed the most significant decrease, since the repair requirements are higher here, which means that its cost for developers is also higher, said Ivan Zolotarev, a real estate expert at the federal company Floors in Moscow.
"Plus, there are logistical difficulties, a shortage of labor and, in general, an increase in the burden, including tax," he added.
According to Kalinka Ecosystem analysts, the share of lots with white box pre-finishing has decreased to 22%, the number of transactions with objects without finishing has increased by 10%. In absolute terms — 7.3 thousand transactions, and without finishing — 18.3 thousand, respectively.
In the market of new business-class buildings, the share of apartments is decreasing, not only with full, but also with pre-finishing, said Larisa Shvetsova, CEO of River Park LLC.
A year ago, developers in Moscow offered 27% of pre-finished apartments from the total business class market, and in December 2025, the figure has already dropped to 20%.
The most dramatic changes have occurred in the premium segment. The share of apartments without finishing has more than tripled here, from 22% in 2020 to 74% at the end of 2025. This trend is also confirmed by absolute figures: the number of such objects on sale has increased almost 10 times, from 533 lots to 5 thousand.
— In the premium class, more customers have appeared among buyers in recent years who are tired of ready-made solutions. In an environment where there is a huge variety of exclusive materials and technologies on the market, it is impractical to limit customers to a standard set of options," said Yana Sosoreva, Director of Strategic Development at Grad Development.
Turnkey offers with furniture and appliances remain an exception today and are found in isolated projects, added Maxim Samsonov, CEO of Tashir Estate.
Expectations and challenges
In New Moscow, the share of apartments without decoration increased from 52 to 56.5% over the year, and from the white box it fell from 16 to 11.7%, said Ivan Zolotarev.
"New Moscow is dominated by the comfort class for buyers with a more limited budget, for whom the opportunity to include repair costs in the mortgage is becoming a big plus," he said. — Developers understand that apartments without finishing in this location will sell worse, seeing the demand and the target audience, and continue to build "ready-made" apartments, supporting the supply.
Customer expectations play a role here: comfort and economy class are taken mainly by young families who do not have free money for repairs.
— The situation is different in the Moscow region, where the number of apartments without finishing exceeds 55-60%. The reason is consumer preferences and financial opportunities. Apartments in the region are often chosen by those who are primarily interested in their affordable price. Such buyers are ready to save on absolutely everything, preferring to make repairs on their own," the expert added.
At the same time, the share of buyers interested in finishing increased from 39% to 45% over the year, while those who prefer rough, on the contrary, fell from 19% to 11.5%, noted Ivan Zolotarev.
— In fact, the number of buyers looking for renovated apartments is growing, while the number of such offers on the market is decreasing. In "old" Moscow, about 55-60% of buyers in the mass segment choose apartments with finishes, in New Moscow their share is at the level of 60-65%, in the Moscow region — 40-50%, — the expert specified.
By offering apartments "in concrete", developers can restrain the growth of the final price for the consumer and reduce their own risks associated with complaints about the quality of repairs, explained Ruslan Syrtsov, Managing director of Metrium.
By yourself with forests
The main nuance of purchasing an apartment without finishing is the need to do all the repairs yourself, which is quite time—consuming and financially expensive, said Natalia Shatalina, CEO of the Redcat aggregator of new buildings.
"It can be especially difficult for mortgage buyers, many of them have higher payments after putting the house into operation, plus additional repair costs are required," she added.
The period of occupancy during self-repair stretches and, depending on the complexity of the work, averages from three to six months, accompanied by additional inconveniences, said Maxim Samsonov.
"After the house is put into operation, residents live for two or three more years in conditions of constant repairs from neighbors, which affects acoustics, cleanliness, the condition of common areas and the perception of the house," the expert said.
At the same time, the quality of finishing from the developer is decreasing in all segments, even in the elite, said Arseniy Drozhalin, CEO of the Digniori Arts construction company.
"This is a big problem for the buyer," he said. — Developers very often fall short of their design declarations: crooked walls, poor—quality concrete and masonry, skewed windows, scratched glass, cracked facades, flawed engineering - this is a problem not only for the economy, but also for the premium.
And responsibility, according to the expert, is blurred between many performers, which leads to a loss of quality control.
As long as there is a demand for apartments without finishing, there will also be a supply with certain volume adjustments in the total share of apartments, says Evgenia Styazhkina, director of the product strategy department at the federal company Dogma.
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