Today, the owners of rented apartments are sleeping with a calculator in their arms: rental rates are rising by leaps and bounds. Tenants are trying to dictate, if not financial, then at least food conditions, but in a situation of serious supply shortage, you can’t be too naughty
Rental rates are breaking records across the country, according to experts of the federal portal “World of Apartments”*. Over the past month, removable “one-bedroom apartments” have fallen in price only in five of the 70 major Russian cities that traditionally fall into the research focus of the portal, “two-bedroom apartments” have become cheaper in only four cities and in one more have not changed in price, rates on “three-bedroom apartments” have fallen in 11 localities. In other cities, there has been a rise in price, in some places very significant.
On average, in all cities in August, removable “one—bedroom apartments” increased in price by 9.2%, “two—bedroom apartments” – by 8.4%, “three-bedroom apartments” – by 6.7%. Tolyatti landlords benefited the most from the increase in the cost of renting, where one—room apartments rose in price by 15.4%, two—room apartments – by 24.8%, three-room apartments – by 24.1%. Rental housing also increased significantly in Vladikavkaz (+28.4%, +23.2% and +11.2%), Izhevsk (+16.3%, +18% and +27.8%), Bryansk (+25.5%, +10.5% and +17.8%), Samara (+17.9%, +23.3% and +9.3%), Kursk (+7.7%, +16.6% and +25.6%), Volgograd (+22.9%, +15% and +11.6%), Yaroslavl (+21.7%, +17.1% and +9.3%), Saransk (+25.9%, +16.9% and +2.7%) and Saratov (+11.4%, +18.2% and +15.2%).
Vladivostok (+1.4%, -0.2% and -5.6%), Sochi (+2.6%, -1.6% and -3.1%), Moscow Region (-1.3%, +0.7% and +2.5%), Novosibirsk (+1.5%, +1.8% and -0.8%), Grozny (+3.8%, +3.7% and -3.8%), Surgut (+4.9%, +1.7% and -1.9%), Tula (+2.9%, +5.1% and +0.7%), Cherepovets (+10.6%, +2.4% and -4.1%), Sevastopol (+2.6%, +2.8% and +4%) and Yakutsk (+0.4%, +7.2% and +2.2%).
In Moscow, one—room apartments rose in price by 6.6%, two—room apartments – by 7.2%, three—room apartments – by 3.8%, in St. Petersburg – by 18.4%, 11.6% and 8.4%, respectively. As a result, it is now possible to rent, for example, a Moscow one—room apartment for an average of 52,461 rubles, a two—room apartment for 64,999 rubles, and a three-room apartment for 74,996 rubles per month. And this is not counting luxury apartments, which, as usual, are not taken into account.
“In August alone, apartment rentals across the country rose in price more than in the entire second quarter. This is how the abolition of preferential mortgages affected the housing market: instead of buying their apartment, which has become inaccessible to many families, people rent living space. Demand has increased, but supply has decreased: there are 26% fewer one—room apartments on the market, 18% fewer two—room apartments, and 8% fewer three-room apartments. We expect this trend to continue and strengthen. This year, the dynamics of rental rates for the third quarter, which is usually so high due to seasonal demand growth, will probably break all records,” believes Pavel Lutsenko, General Director of the federal portal “World of Apartments”.
But here’s what’s interesting: according to analysts of the BEST-Novostroy company*, even in fact, in the absence of a choice, there are options on the market that do not cling to tenants. “Large volumes of construction in recent years have led to an improvement in the quality of the housing stock in general and an increase in the quality of rented apartments in particular. However, apartments from the old stock have not disappeared either, so we are witnessing a growing stratification of the rental market. The increase in demand for rent and rental rates, the lack of supply in large cities — all this has formed the owner’s market. However, even with a shortage of rental housing, people do not agree to settle in apartments with serious disadvantages,” explains the founder of BEST—New Building and the platform bnMAP.pro Irina Dobrokhotova.
So, according to the results of a survey conducted by the company among potential and current tenants of the mass segment, about 98% will give up dirty, untidy apartments with unpleasant odors and traces of insects. Common areas that are in poor condition and may indicate visits to the apartment by antisocial elements will scare away about 70% of tenants. Approximately the same proportion of respondents will refuse to conclude a contract if there are unsuitable neighbors on the floor. Moreover, each tenant has his own criteria, but most often these are obvious bad habits of neighbors and their open conflict, which is revealed already when viewing.
About 62% of respondents do not want to live in apartments with outdated repairs, especially in old houses (“Khrushchev”). An apartment in a building without an elevator above the second or third floor is not an option for about half of the tenants. This is partly due to health restrictions, and difficulties with delivery services and general inconvenience in the absence of an elevator are also among the reasons for failures.
Approximately 43% of tenants will refuse an apartment if it is noisy: there are long construction works nearby, the windows overlook a kindergarten, a highway, tram or railway tracks. Also, this group includes refusals from apartments that are located above the unloading areas of shops, which often happens at night or early in the morning. Poor sound insulation in the apartment itself is also often the reason for failure.
For car owners, it is critical to have the opportunity to park the car without any problems and generally use it: a shortage of parking spaces and poor access roads will stop 31% of tenants. About a quarter of respondents will give up an apartment if there are no household appliances in it. In particular, a washing machine is desirable for almost all respondents, and more and more tenants, even in the mass segment, want an air conditioner in a rented apartment. At the same time, tenants are less interested in having a TV.
For another 14% of the survey participants, the availability of a high-quality sleeping place (a bed with an orthopedic mattress) or a willingness to replace the existing one with one that suits the tenant is critical. Staying with animals is also mentioned among the serious criteria.
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However, it is clear that much of what has been said is pure theorizing. In times of high demand, tenants are not up to whims, and not all owners are ready to meet the wishes of customers, especially if these wishes are financially costly.
For example, the categorical postscript “without animals” is found very often in rental ads (moreover, if someone thinks that we are talking only about dogs and cats, he is deeply mistaken: there are cases when aquarium fish became a reason for refusal). Even small children can become a reason for the landlord to think: does he need such a family-composite tenant who can bring an element of chaos to the apartment (go repair it later) or become a potential cause of conflict with neighbors (go settle it later). And the owner of the rental housing will most likely offer the tenant to buy an orthopedic mattress himself — if necessary.
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