The FINANCIAL — Real estate market activity slightly increased in May.- After a significant plunge in April sales which was due to the anxiety created by upcoming elections, the sales in May recovered only by 4.5 %.
In total, there were 1663 sale transactions recorded as confirmed by the Public Registry, only 71 transactions more than in the previous month. The sales of non-residential properties, land parcels as well as houses stayed at the same level. The increase in the total number of sales appeared to be mainly due to residential flats. Compared to May 2009 statistics, the overall the market has improved by 63.5%. However, in terms of financial strength of consumers, the situation on the market still remained unchanged. The majority of the sales were under $50,000. Only 2 under construction flats, 18 completed flats, and 30 land parcels were made for $150,000 and more. There were ten investments made for the price of $500,000 and over, and 8 of them were purchases by LLC companies.
Activity by type of property.- Compared to April, there was almost no change in the number of sales of non-residential properties, land parcels and houses. The only apparent change was in the number of residential flat sales as 1,149 transactions were made versus 1,076 in April. The significant improvements was noted in the under construction flat sales with 93 transactions versus 65. Over one year, land sales improved by 61%, residential flat sales by 50% and total number of transactions by 63.5%.
The sales of under construction flats increased by 43% over April.- The under construction flat market appeared to have rebounded in May ending the month with 28 more transactions.
Insight,- No significant improvement was noticed in May after a decrease in sales experienced in April. With the peaceful resolve of the elections, real estate brokerage companies noted slight increase in activity as the buyers who had put their plans on hold due to elections started to pursue their investments in real estate. However, it is unlikely that the increase will be significant in the following months as the start of holiday season has historically been a negative influence on the market activity.
