Commercial Apartment Buildings to Appear in Ekaterinburg

01.10.2009 — News

THE SVERDLOVSK OBLAST.

Ekaterinburg ranks third in Russia after Moscow and St. Petersburg in terms of cost of housing. The average price per square meter is 53,000 rubles.

Last year the price of housing in Russia went down 18% on average. The same reduction was seen in the volume of newly built housing in Ekaterinburg. The City Administration told RusBusinessNews that during January-July 2009 the housing stock of the capital city of the Sverdlovsk Oblast increased by 230,000 square metres.

Due to high prices on the market, the most affordable option for many Russians is to rent an apartment. The average rent payment for one-room apartment in Ekaterinburg is 14,000 rubles per month. According to experts, most apartment owners do not pay taxes on their rent income, and the government cannot change the situation by punitive measures alone.

In years to come Russia will see the advent of commercial apartment buildings. The example will be taken from Europe, where the government rents apartments for certain groups of people. At the moment, the Russian Duma is still debating the respective amendments to the Civil and the Housing Codes.