In October 2023, rental housing in major Russian cities saw a record price increase of six percent in one month, according to analysts from the "World of Apartments" portal in their study.
The specialists note that for the entire third quarter, rental rates increased by an average of only three percent. Price hikes for single-room apartments were observed in 62 of the 70 cities studied, for two-room apartments in 58 cities, and for three-room apartments in 54 cities.
The most significant monthly increase in rental prices was in Kirov, where one-bedroom apartments became 15.8 percent more expensive, two-bedroom apartments 24.6 percent, and three-bedroom apartments 25.7 percent.
Significant price increases were also observed in Yakutsk (plus 26.2 percent, plus 9.8 percent, and plus 16.8 percent), Novosibirsk (plus 26.7 percent, plus 19.7 percent, and plus 5.7 percent), Kurgan (plus 8.6 percent, plus 12.9 percent, and plus 25 percent), Voronezh (plus 19.7 percent, plus 8.7 percent, and plus 10.4 percent), Ulan-Ude (plus 11.8 percent, plus 11.9 percent, and plus 15 percent), Cherepovets (plus 6.6 percent, plus 20.8 percent, and plus 11 percent), Murmansk (plus 8.7 percent, plus 15.8 percent, and plus 9.4 percent), Volzhsky (plus 2.6 percent, plus 15.6 percent, and plus 15.2 percent), and Moscow (plus 12.9 percent, plus 12.3 percent, and plus 7.7 percent).
In some cities, rental housing, conversely, decreased in price. Sochi led this trend, with rents for single-room apartments dropping by 13.1 percent, two-room apartments by 7.6 percent, and three-room apartments by 3.4 percent. In other cities among the top ten for this indicator, there was a slight decrease in prices. Thus, rental costs decreased in Magnitogorsk, Makhachkala, Rostov-on-Don, Bryansk, Sevastopol, Tver, Orel, Omsk, and Saratov.
On average across all major cities, single-room apartments increased in price by 7 percent in October (averaging 20.04 thousand rubles per month), two-room apartments by 5.9 percent (to 26.19 thousand rubles per month), and three-room apartments by 4.5 percent (to 33.09 thousand rubles per month).
Pavel Lutsenko, the general director of the "World of Apartments" portal, explained that the decrease in rental costs in Sochi is due to the end of the resort season. In most other cities, rental apartments have become more expensive against the backdrop of decreased housing affordability due to rising mortgage rates and skyrocketing real estate prices. Therefore, for many families and single individuals, renting remains the only option. "Taking advantage of the increasing demand, apartment owners are raising rates, especially since the maintenance and repair of housing is also becoming more costly for them," explained the expert.
