In the secondary market of luxury housing, every third apartment has outdated repairs

The Moscow luxury housing market is not only new buildings with panoramic views, but also an impressive stock of apartments with history. According to experts, apartments with outdated finishing make up 30-40%. We are talking about renovations 10-15 years ago, which do not meet modern requirements for design, quality of materials and engineering systems.

These are usually spacious apartments of 100–200 square meters with two or three bedrooms. As a rule, they are located in premium buildings of the early 2000s or late 1990s. They have preserved the interior in the spirit of the “classic luxury” of those years: columns, moldings, stained glass windows, heavy curtains. The objects are morally outdated, but retain a good layout.

– There are several categories of buyers who buy such real estate, – says Polina Medelyanovskaya, Director of Key Accounts, Partner at Kalinka Russia. – Firstly, these are flippers – investors who resell real estate after its restoration. They buy a property with outdated finishing, make modern repairs and sell it with a markup.

The second group are buyers who plan to live in the apartment for a long time, without any intention of looking for new housing in the coming years. Most often, these are families who are ready to invest in major repairs to suit their tastes and needs.

Another category is people who care about the price, since such objects are cheaper, especially if no one has upgraded them for many years. The size of the discount depends on the degree of wear of the finish and can reach 10-20%, and in some cases even more. At the same time, the buyer understands that he will have to invest in dismantling and repair. Removing old repairs in a large apartment will cost about a million rubles. And the cost of repairs depends only on the ambitions and budget of the new owner.

– An apartment with a new renovation is certainly attractive. But, as a rule, such renovation was done “for oneself”, and for the new owner, when choosing, there will definitely be a compromise in something. Everyone has their own whims and habits, finding a ready-made renovation that is ideal for yourself is almost unrealistic, – notes Polina Medelyanovskaya. – In addition, when buying an apartment with a renovation, a person pays not only for the materials and work performed, but also for the time spent on the alteration. In the elite segment, this can be one or two years.

The advantages of apartments with outdated finishing, as mentioned above, include the cost. At the same time, they have potential for savings or investment. The main disadvantages: time and money for major repairs (at least 6-12 months), the risk of encountering hidden problems in engineering systems and finding contractors.

According to Kalinka Ecosystem, 759 apartments were offered for sale on the secondary luxury housing market at the end of June, which is 6.3% more than last year. The average area on the secondary market was 171 square meters, the average budget was 232.5 million rubles (2.9 million dollars). Compared to last year, prices have increased by 4% due to the washout of liquid offers.