Photo: Istockphoto.com/SILIN ALEXEY
The Ministry of Construction has developed amendments to the law on shared-equity construction, which will officially include the furnishing of apartments in a new building in an equity agreement and in a mortgage loan. We are talking about built—in furniture – and necessarily Russian-made. The market is very much waiting for this innovation: the demand for a turnkey purchase from home buyers is growing, and developers are looking for ways to satisfy it.
The participants of the Fontanka round table talked about how the ready-made furniture option looks today and how it is possible to fully furnish an apartment with the least financial and moral costs.
Growth is visible
The annual analysis of customer preferences of Glavstroy St. Petersburg showed that in the mass market since the autumn of last year, the demand for furnished apartments has increased from about 5% to 10%. This type of apartment has also increased in the offer — from 3% to 5%.
— From year to year, the criterion of furnishing becomes more and more important for the consumer, — says Dmitry Efremov, head of the Department of Product Management and Marketing Research at Glavstroy St. Petersburg. — If earlier about 67% of respondents said that they would be interested in such a product, now this share has grown to 96%.The pilot project for the sale of apartments with furniture from Glavstroy St. Petersburg was within the framework of the residential complex Severnaya Dolina, when the furniture was offered as a gift when buying a home. Now we are developing a comprehensive solution — already for inclusion in the DDA. To do this, we will allocate an entire building in one of the projects.
— Recently, sales of apartments with kitchen furniture packages started in our new complex in the Leningrad region, GloraX Housewarming. We decided to start with the kitchen, as this is one of the most important and expensive parts of the furniture. Based on the first results, we can say that the product is popular. Therefore, we continue to work on new proposals and create a foundation for full furniture — from cabinet to upholstered furniture,” says Maria Kuksa, Head of Product and Analytics at GloraX.
The Airplane Group of Companies began selling furnished housing, namely with a kitchen, at the end of 2021. Since the autumn of 2022, apartments with full and partial furniture have been offered to buyers.
— Since the product is new to our consumer, at first the share was small. But then this trend began to change, and more and more people wanted to get a ready—made solution — an apartment with a kitchen and furniture,” explained Vyacheslav Nemits, head of sales at the Airplane Group. — Today, in the structure of our company, the share of housing with furniture and kitchen appliances — we call it a furniture set — reaches 90%.
Furniture manufacturers are also optimistic: for example, Alexander Shestakov, CEO of Pervaya Mebelnaya, added that the share of furniture in the market now stands at 20-25% and it is growing. The company forecasts an increase in this indicator by another 20-25% in 2024.
— Our company is not working with developers yet, but we are generally interested in this, as we see a growing demand from customers for ready—made solutions, – continued Alexey Rayman, Director of the marketing department of NONTON. — When we opened the upholstered furniture center last year and started offering the first kitchens there, more and more people came to us who wanted to buy “exactly like this”, but also with all the appliances. People didn’t want to count anything, they wanted everything to be thought out for them. So we began to develop interior solutions further: we opened one small salon, and in June we will open a large store with 30 ready-made options. So far, we are responding to the request in this way, but we can also work with developers.
According to the St. Petersburg Real Estate consulting center, about 5% of apartments in new buildings in St. Petersburg are now sold furnished, and this figure is growing.
— By the end of 2023, the demand for furniture service in our company’s sales structure increased by 97% compared to 2022, — says Olga Kobyakova, Commercial Director of St. Petersburg Real Estate. — This is due, first of all, to the ability to fix the price and timing of the apartment configuration.
As noted by Oksana Ponamorenko, Director of the Marketing Communications Department of L1 Construction Company No. 1 In recent years, the share of furnished housing in Moscow and St. Petersburg has been about 25% of the total. At the same time, a few years ago such offers were “piece-by-piece” and mainly concerned apartments. So, in 2019, the share of fully ready-to-live apartments was about 7%.
Bulat Mirzakhanov, head of product development at A101 Group in St. Petersburg, added that at the moment developers offering furnished apartments have about 60% of their sales. Most likely, including due to the inclusion of this option in mortgage programs, in the next three to five years, furniture will become the same standard in comfort—class projects as decoration, the expert believes.
— If earlier it was necessary to explain to customers what a comprehensive installation of furniture and appliances is, now an increasing percentage of buyers initially know about the existence of such a service, — continuedMarina Ermachenkova, co-founder of the company “Homset”. — Even 10 years ago, apartment owners for the most part did not consider such an option as a ready-made set of furniture and turnkey appliances. It was an unusual and, according to popular misconceptions, too expensive pleasure. Plus the old but unkind rule: if you want to do something well, do it yourself. Today, when players who have already gained experience and feedback are operating in the furniture market, and it has even become fashionable to delegate, the consumer’s approach has transformed.
A kitchen for everyone
According to Bulat Mirzakhanov Most often, developers in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region offer three levels of furniture. The first and most popular is equipped kitchens with household appliances and built—in cabinets in hallways or rooms. In the second package, you can see offers with free-standing furniture: in addition to the kitchen and cabinets, dining groups and sofas appear in the apartment. And finally, the most complete package includes all the furniture and even the decor. In the latter case, it is enough for new residents to buy dishes and towels — and you can live comfortably in the apartment.
Alexey Rayman clarified that everyone is primarily interested in kitchens.
— Ready—made kitchens are for those who have a small budget. The next step is to plan your kitchen for years ahead,” he clarified. — People can sleep on a mattress on the floor for the first time after a housewarming, but everyone wants to eat and cook normally.
Today, the most popular option is the kitchen and several furniture compositions, confirms Vyacheslav Nemits.
— When a person comes into his apartment, he wants at least to have a kitchen set and a table to have lunch, — he says. — At the same time, it is possible to continue housing repairs in parallel. The Airplane Group started with the sale of apartments with kitchen sets and appliances, then increased the furniture range: standard furniture compositions appeared that can be completed — cabinets, beds, lighting, curbstones, as well as bathrooms, mirrors, bedside tables, corridors. That is, almost the entire apartment can be furnished to your taste and color. Among other things, we offer various designs and decor — this may include bed linen, dishes, interior solutions.
— Our experience of the pilot launch of apartments with kitchen sets showed that the most active demand was for this option, — Dmitry Efremov confirmed. — Therefore, for an audience wishing to arrive as quickly as possible, partial furniture in the form of a kitchen with a set and a dining table with chairs is a kind of base. The second option is a fully furnished apartment. This is more interesting for an audience focused on renting out one—bedroom apartments and studios – it is important for them to get a turnkey solution.
Ekaterina Kirik, co-founder of the Homset company added: as a rule, mandatory items for the order are items of cabinet furniture made to fit the size of the apartment (kitchens, modules in the hallway), beds, appliances. Then — selectively, depending on the needs of the customer and the purpose of the apartment.
Maria Kuksa divided into two groups of buyers of housing and apartments and, consequently, furniture for them:
— In the GloraX Housewarming project, we currently offer only packages of kitchen furniture and appliances, and in the GloraX Zanevsky apart-hotel you can purchase fully equipped lots: a decorated room with a work area, a comfortable bedroom and a kitchen. Of course, those who buy apartments for the purpose of investment are especially interested in turnkey solutions.
— The demand for furniture is quite high, — says Alexander Shestakov. — We have developed package offers: “Novosel” is a complete set with the minimum necessary set for a comfortable stay at no extra cost (kitchen — dining room, hallway, storage area, rest and sleep area). “Tenant” is an expanded set of furniture, appliances and additional goods, including dishes, small household appliances and comfort items.
From the developer and not only
According to the St. Petersburg Real Estate survey, 25% of respondents took more than a year or more to arrange an apartment, the other 20% took up to a year, about 35% of respondents coped in three months, 20% admitted that the process stretched to six months.
— Our furniture service requires from 5 to 21 days for a complete installation, depending on the configuration, — says Olga Kobyakova. — It is designed for two categories of clients: for those who plan to live in an apartment themselves, and those who will rent it out. At the same time, the client has a choice: if he does not need a turnkey option, he can only order a kitchen or room furniture. While apartment furnishing is an additional option in St. Petersburg Real Estate, it applies not only to the projects of the Setl Group holding, but also to the residential complexes of partners that our company implements. The cost of a set of furniture starts from 224 thousand rubles.
— For ourselves, we chose another option — the service of full or partial furnishing, with which customers choose a design project for their requests from partner companies, — said Angelika Alshayeva, General Director of the real estate agency KVS Group. — We work directly with the manufacturer, and the price of complex furniture for customers is significantly lower than in retail. In addition, the cost is fixed at the time of signing the contract. You can conclude it at any time after buying an apartment: by the time the house is delivered, the price will not change.
— We have developed different furniture projects for each developer, — Alexander Shestakov continued. — On average, these are 2-3 options for package offers — from basic to advanced. This can be either a partial environment for a quick move, where there is everything necessary for living, or a complete turnkey apartment. Regardless of the developer and configuration, each package contains kitchen and cabinet furniture, dining group, appliances and plumbing, as well as accessories and assembly and connection services.
Oksana Ponamorenko stressed that the furniture from the developer may be different. If we are talking about apartments, then, as a rule, they are fully furnished and equipped with household appliances. With apartments, everyone offers their own conditions.
— We are a contractor company providing furnishing services for both individuals and developers, – continued Marina Ermachenkova. — We complete not only apartments, but also apartments, cottages, mini-hotels. We have standard solutions, but we are always ready to make adjustments: from the general palette of the interior to the fixtures. If it is necessary for the project, we can perform electrical wiring and plumbing work, any additional repair work, decoration. And even provide a “tenant’s kit”, where there is everything for life: from a frying pan to pillows and blankets (by the way, apartment owners order such a set for themselves, and not just for tenants). All this is organized on the principle of a single window — there is one contract for all services.
A chance to save money
The cost of furniture from the developer in comparison with the purchase in a conventional furniture mall is on average about 10-15% lower, Vyacheslav Nemits stressed.
— The kitchen and furniture in our projects can be included in the mortgage, and the rate on it is slightly lower than that of a consumer loan. In this case, you can save 10-15%,” he says. — But the main purpose of creating our product is still not to save money. We have design and engineering options that will be more expensive than the average range of a furniture store, but we believe that a person should have a choice. We want to improve the quality of life and free up time for our customers. According to our statistics, people move into a new apartment within 4-7 months from the moment they receive the keys. That is, they first make repairs, then order a kitchen — and this is also from a month to three — plus you need to buy other furniture elements. That is, the new settlement is busy with the arrangement for about a year after the move. And we would like him to spend this time on himself.
Bulat Mirzakhanov He added: in total, ready-made furniture can cost the client up to 50% cheaper than if he had to buy the same furniture himself. Firstly, this option allows you to fix the price of the interior. In this case, time plays into the hands of buyers: the contract for the purchase of an apartment with furniture is concluded, as a rule, at the construction stage. And if residents buy furniture on their own, then they do it after the input. The difference between these events may be two years, and during this time prices may rise by at least inflation. Secondly, the developer buys furniture and appliances in bulk and negotiates volume discounts with manufacturers — this also has a positive effect on the price. And, of course, the finished interior saves nerves and time for search, delivery, installation.
— We already have experience in forming complete finishing packages, and we can say with confidence that this is a profitable offer for the buyer. Firstly, financially, furniture packages are becoming more affordable due to volume purchases. Secondly, buyers save time and effort — there is no need to calculate the footage, estimate the design and colors, wait for delivery: the developer has already done all this, — says Maria Kuksa.
— Of course, furniture from the developer is cheaper, — Olga Kobyakova continued. — According to our calculations, savings on average amount to 30%, because partners provide wholesale prices that cannot be found in retail. The cost of equipment for our clients varies from 224 to 421 thousand per studio. But most are interested not only in saving money, but also in the opportunity to save time and nerves that are spent on independent furniture search, shopping trips, delivery and installation control, etc.
— Having previously calculated and received unexpected figures, the client discovers that a ready-made set of furniture and appliances with delivery, installation and cleaning costs approximately the same amount as independent efforts in this direction (and sometimes cheaper). And at the same time, a lot of time and effort is saved,” Marina Ermachenkova added. — Our basic kits cost from 169 thousand rubles, which is really quite affordable.
— The cost of furniture is 20-30% lower than the market, — says Alexander Shestakov. — Such optimization is available only to developers through wholesale work. The average price ranges from 230 to 650 thousand rubles, depending on the configuration and type of apartment.
Dmitry Efremov He recalled that the highest savings are possible with maximum standardization and unification of furniture packages — on the scale effect.
“But we must definitely remember that the choice is important for the client,” he says. — Therefore, by choosing several furniture packages and calculating them, we received from potential partners the opportunity to save about 10-15%.
— Volume discounts exist almost everywhere, especially when working with developers, — continued Alexey Rayman. — Besides, it cannot be ruled out that everything is getting more expensive, including furniture. Therefore, when buying here and now, you fix the price. On the other hand, today there are companies offering a ready-made kitchen for a million, someone has 500 thousand, 300 thousand — and someone can assemble a ready-made kitchen without appliances for 160 thousand. Since we specialize in low-cost solutions, representatives of the premium segment come to us en masse, including those who are not ready, for example, to buy a kitchen for apartments even for 500 thousand rubles. And I would like my colleagues in the market to proceed, among other things, from the interests of buyers. Not for everyone, when buying an apartment for 10 million, it is acceptable to pay another million for the kitchen. In fact, we have a kitchen for any segment and taste in the price range from 100 thousand and more expensive.
For rent and living
Maria Kuksa expressed confidence that in the next few years, furniture packages will become a completely routine necessity for projects in the comfort segment: “If a bill is passed to include furniture packages in the sale of apartments in a mortgage loan, it is highly likely that most of the housing in the comfort segment will initially be sold furnished.”
— Our client is a buyer of a comfort—class apartment, – Dmitry Efremov added. — And, of course, a kitchen set worth several million rubles is not quite suitable for our audience. Sometimes, in addition to the base, developers in partnership with a furniture company offer to purchase some options. Such flexibility provides a field for maneuver and choice, which corresponds to the key goal — to give variety to the assortment.
— If we talk about the portrait of the buyer of an apartment with furniture, then more often it is a client who chooses housing in the “comfort” and “high comfort class” segment, – Olga Kobyakova added. — These are also investors, regional consumers and families with children who want to minimize the hassle of moving. And also parents who purchase apartments for student children.
Oksana Ponamorenko noted that the furniture is primarily convenient for nonresident and mortgage buyers. The first ones do not need to bring furniture items with them or look for furniture salons with suitable prices in an unfamiliar place. The second does not need to find additional funds to buy furniture in addition to paying the loan.
— Most often, furniture is purchased for one—room apartments, – says Angelika Alshaeva. — This option is also actively used by buyers from the regions. A typical portrait of a client is a nonresident married couple who purchased housing in St. Petersburg for a student child.
Where to get furniture
According to Alexey Raiman, the Russian furniture market is doing great right now — especially in the middle and economy segment. All the problems that arose two years ago, including with the equipment, have been solved. And the prospect of including furniture in the mortgage will give an even greater impetus to development.
— On the one hand, I understand the desire of developers to work directly with manufacturers, — says the expert. — You can choose one major supplier and work only with him. But as a furniture hypermarket, we work with several dozen manufacturers throughout Russia, audit them ourselves, negotiate the best conditions and are responsible for the result. Accordingly, you can make your own trademarks both by yourself and, for example, in partnership with developers. It’s good to trust one company, but it’s worth looking wider.
— Since we are a full—service company, we manufacture all cabinet furniture for package offers ourselves, purchase and supply household appliances, plumbing, upholstered furniture and accessories while maintaining guarantees from the supplier, install and connect with the help of our specialists, — explained Alexander Shestakov. — All services and works are already included in the offers for the setting. The terms of purchase are simple — each buyer of an apartment from a partner can purchase a package of furniture through a developer or directly from us.
— When choosing a furniture supplier, it is necessary to pay attention to what can distinguish it favorably from competitors, — says Marina Ermachenkova. — This is the availability of our own production of cabinet furniture, an assortment of related services — including, for example, assistance with renting, the possibility of fully remote interaction with customers. For example, many of our customers live in other cities — and the work is carried out completely remotely.
— We work only with trusted suppliers with a very large base, — added Maria Kuksa. — Now we are working with the First Furniture Factory, but perhaps in the future we will have additional partners.
— Checking contractors is also an important aspect, because the key problems and costs arise just at the last mile, when the installation and transfer of furniture is already beginning, — said Dmitry Efremov. — And if the manufacturing company has well-established processes, there are no problems with logistics, acceptance, installation — this is a key factor.
— Our volumes force us not only to limit ourselves to the local market, but also to look at production in other regions of the country, — says Vyacheslav Nemits. — The Airplane Group today is not only St. Petersburg and Moscow: we have projects in Tyumen and Vladivostok. Over the next year, we will enter new regions, where, of course, apartments with appliances and furniture will be sold.
Waiting for certainty
If the bill on “furniture mortgage” is passed, then the cost of built-in furniture will be included in the mortgage loan when buying housing in new buildings.
— If you consider that a mortgage is always a serious burden on the family budget, and it can be difficult for borrowers to find funds to buy furniture, such an offer will be in demand, — Oksana Ponamorenko believes. — However, it is planned that the “furniture mortgage” will concern only built-in furniture, and Russian-made, but this will give an impetus to a further increase in the supply of furnished apartments.
According to Olga Kobyakova, the market is already demonstrating a clear need to resolve this issue — everyone hopes that the amendments will be adopted.
— In the meantime, there are various installment options for our clients, including for a year with a down payment of 30% and then up to a year without increasing the cost. Of course, the inclusion of furniture in the mortgage payment will be a great help for many. The initiative of the Ministry of Construction will accelerate the growth of the supply of turnkey apartments, since buyers usually invest all their funds in the down payment and monthly payments, and when the house is already rented, it becomes difficult to allocate a fairly serious amount for furnishing and furnishing an apartment.
Bulat Mirzakhanov believes that the inclusion of furniture in the body of the mortgage will reduce the credit burden on Russians: they will not have to take out additional consumer loans for furniture, and the monthly mortgage payment usually increases by an uncritical amount.
— The alternative to furnishing now is certificates for appliances and furniture, — he added. — Some developers give them to customers when buying a home. The nominal value can reach up to 1.6 million rubles. This approach helps to save money, as well as to approach the interior more individually and intelligently. You can buy only what you need — for example, furniture for the children’s room or a kitchen set — and keep your favorite sofa and bookcases in the living room interior.
Alexander Shestakov believes that the inclusion of furniture in a mortgage is beneficial not only to buyers due to the opportunity to cover the cost of its purchase with a mortgage loan with an attractive rate. Developers will also be interested in this, as it will generally make it more affordable to buy apartments.
— Literally eight years ago, the market hardly accepted the decoration, — summed up Maria Kuksa. — It seemed that everyone wanted to design themselves. Today, 80% of developers, if not all 100% in the comfort class, sell apartments with a fine finish. Our century is the century of saving time, the main resource. We have observed the development of the trend of selling complete furniture in other countries, and now our customers can appreciate the convenience of this option. We are already seeing a growing demand. All we lack is the ability to include the cost of furnishing in the mortgage payment. We hope that this issue will be resolved at the legislative level in the near future.
Dmitry Efremov also reminded about other options for an apartment with furniture: for example, certificates that the client receives from the developer as a gift or uses it from the manufacturer on special conditions, and then he can buy something himself in excess of this amount.
— There are also options for cooperation under the agency scheme — so far the most common format for today, — he added. — And there is a key one, in my opinion, in the long term — this is a comprehensive solution within the framework of the DDA, because, according to our surveys, it is more profitable for the end customer, taking into account mortgage leverage, to take a ready-made solution within the framework of a mortgage.
— I am sure that colleagues will look for a solution until the law is finally adopted, — says Alexey Rayman. — Perhaps it is worth going back to the old system with certificates and mixing it with the finished furniture. That is, for example, a person buys furniture for a certain amount plus receives a certificate for 50-100 thousand rubles to buy every little thing. It also seems to me that working with an interior designer is a really important story, but hardly every developer should do it on their own. In particular, we develop partnership programs with designers. If a client, for example, is ready to pay 300 thousand rubles for furniture, within this amount he receives free services: a design project based on available ready-made proposals, that is, it will be a kind of constructor.
And Angelika Alshayeva believes that full or partial furnishing will not become the norm for developers. This is due to the many risks that developers take on themselves: for example, production facilities may delay deliveries, fail to report some detail or delay installation deadlines, and so on. All this falls on the shoulders of the developer, and not everyone is ready to do this.
— We look at an apartment with ready—made furniture as a new form of normality that is coming into use, and developers who introduce this product into their line as quickly as possible will be successful, – Vyacheslav Nemits summed up. — I think that all ready-made furniture and appliances will be customized further. And developers should develop this trend: work with each buyer and respond as much as possible to the market’s demand for individuality. That is, two difficult tasks need to be solved: on the one hand, to create a ready—made solution so that a person does not waste time, on the other – to provide a personal approach.
Photo: Istockphoto.com/SILIN ALEXEY
Источник: www.fontanka.ru
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