TOP 10 housing developers by sales revenue
According to the data collected by the real estate consulting company “Colliers”, the largest developers in Latvia in terms of the amount of apartment transactions sold last year were “Bonava Latvija”, “R.Evolution” and “YIT Latvija”.
For the third year in a row, “Bonava Latvija” is the largest developer – last year the company sold 449 apartments for 44.1 million euros.
In second place is “R.Evolution” with 55 transactions for 21.7 million euros, and in third place is “YIT Latvija” with 133 transactions for 16 million euros.
In fourth place is “Vastint Latvia” with 60 transactions for 15.8 million euros, while the fifth and sixth places are shared by “AFI Europe” with 99 transactions for 11.7 million euros and “River Properties” with 77 transactions for 11.7 million euros.
In seventh place is “Merks” with 62 transactions for 10.7 million euros, in eighth place – “One Development” with 62 transactions for 7.8 million euros, in ninth place – “Estera” with 100 transactions for 7.4 million euros, but “Top 10” developers are completed by “Eskar” with 62 transactions for 6.8 million euros.
According to the volume of transactions, the most popular new project last year was the “Dreilinga Houses” developed by “Bonava Latvija”, where 152 transactions were made for 15.7 million euros. In second place is the same developer’s project “Krasta kvartāls”, in which 155 transactions were made for 13.3 million euros.
In the third place is the project “Trebū Home” of the developer “AFI Europe”, in which 99 transactions were carried out for 11.7 million euros.
According to the real estate market data compiled by the real estate consulting company Colliers, “New and renovated apartment market in Riga and nearby suburb in 2021 review”, transactions in the first-time market have grown significantly in 2021. With the sale of 2,420 apartments and the total transaction value reaching 297 million euros, the total amount of market transactions increased by 15%.
Even though housing prices increased by 10-20% last year, there was still a high demand for new housing, and real estate developers had no shortage of opportunities to sell them. As one of the positive aspects, bank financing available to buyers and state support programs managed by the state-owned development finance institution Altum are mentioned as one of the positive aspects, as well as during the pandemic, not a single person has increased savings, which they want to invest wisely – by purchasing real estate.
According to Luminor bank data, around 20% of all housing loans are issued for the purchase of properties outside Riga and it’s suburb, which can be explained by the decrease in supply in the capital and its surroundings, as well as lower property prices in the regions. The average mortgage borrower is aged between 30 and 36 with a household income of around 2000 euros. The average amount of purchased property is 100,000 euros.
“All over the Baltics, the number of real estate transactions has increased, and there is still a great interest of residents in purchasing real estate. On the other hand, the housing lending market in Latvia has grown by more than half during the last year, which was promoted not only by the number of transactions, but also by the size. It is predicted that lending volumes will continue to grow this year as well. According to Luminor data, the greatest interest of residents is in housing in new projects and the purchase of Soviet-era serial apartments. Considering the high demand, the supply in the housing market is currently insufficient, which also contributes to the increase in housing prices, while at the same time construction costs are also increasing. The increase in housing prices is not only observed in the Baltics, but also in Europe, at the same time, property prices in Latvia have not yet reached the prices of neighboring countries Estonia, Lithuania or other European countries, so they are likely to continue to rise,” says Kaspars Lukačovs, head of lending at Luminor Bank in the Baltics.