OREANDA-NEWS   By the end of 2026, prices for new buildings will fall by 30 percent amid declining demand. At the same time, buying an apartment at the excavation stage will still remain unprofitable, Konstantin Aprelev, founder of the Russian Guild of Realtors, told the Baza Telegram channel.

According to the expert, the main reason for the upcoming price drop is the overvalued cost. Currently, apartments at the excavation stage are 20-30 percent more expensive than similar ready-made housing. As a result, such facilities have lost their meaning for investors and now attract only buyers who do not use mortgages and users of preferential programs. At the same time, the number of the latter is decreasing due to stricter rules.

Aprelev noted that sales of housing under construction had halved over the year. Against this background, developers began to make discounts of 15-30 percent to attract buyers. However, the expert believes that such a measure will not help revive the market, which is why developers will have to officially lower prices. According to forecasts, by the summer the cost of new buildings will fall by 15 percent, and by the end of the year — by 30 percent.

The realtor noted that even a reduction in cost will not return popularity to new housing. According to him, buyers will be interested again only after the mortgage rate drops below 16 percent.

Earlier, former Russian Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin outlined the conditions for reducing the key interest rate to 10 percent by the end of the year. According to him, for this it is necessary to keep inflation at the level of five to six percent.