In the secondary housing market, the share of alternative deals is growing

In the first four months of 2025, in the secondary housing market, the share of alternative transactions reached a record level. In Moscow and in Russia as a whole, this indicator increased by a year to 70% and 85%, respectively. Such transactions were popular in the mid-2000s due to the inaccessibility of the mortgage, after the abolition of the preferential mortgage and the period of high bets, this factor is again relevant.

In January – April, the share of alternative transactions in the secondary housing of the Moscow and Moscow Region grew by 30 percentage points (p.) By the year, to 70%, this is a record indicator over the past five years, calculated in the Flip investment. Alternative transactions imply a scheme in which, in return for the sale of an apartment, the owner immediately acquires another housing.

In Russia, in Russia, there is also an increase in the share of alternative transactions in the secondary housing market.

According to the estimates of the Plus group (controls the network of offices “Plus Plus”) Alexander Popov, in January – May as a whole, the share of transactions using such a scheme amounted to 80–85%, which is a record value since 2016, while it did not exceed 45-60%a year earlier. A similar dynamics was noticed by the director of sales of the network of agencies « Foody » Sergey Zaitsev, which evaluates an indicator of 80–85%.

A year earlier, there were 70%of such operations in the secondary market, and during the period of affordable market mortgage and low down payment in the primary market, their share was reduced to 50-60%, Mr. Zaitsev said. Now the availability of mortgages has decreased significantly, and the cost of housing has grown, the expert states.

In the week from May 19 to May 25, the weighted average mortgage rate for the purchase of finished housing amounted to 26.74%, a year earlier it was 16.95%, it follows from the data of the Unified Information System « NA.D.D.rf ». In January -March, average prices for finished housing in Russia rose by 5.3% year by year, to 126.5 thousand rubles. per 1 sq. m, in Moscow – by 1%, up to 358.2 thousand rubles. per 1 sq. m, in the suburbs – by 0.6%, up to 169.5 thousand rubles. per 1 sq. m, in St. Petersburg-by 14.7%, up to 269.3 thousand rubles. per 1 sq. m, in the Leningrad region – by 12.3%, up to 134 thousand rubles. per 1 sq. m, in the Krasnodar Territory – by 8.4%, until 191.6 thousand rubles. per 1 sq. m, follows from the calculations of Rosstat.

For many citizens, alternative transactions have become the only opportunity to improve housing conditions, says Yevgeny Shavnev, CEO of the Flip investment company.

It has now become significant to purchase new housing, as well as to improve housing conditions, without a large share of own funds, which can often be obtained only by selling the existing real estate, Sergei Zaitsev confirms. According to Alexander Popov, the number of alternative transactions has especially increased in the segment of two- and four-room apartments, in particular, due to the need for a large initial contribution when the acquisition of such real estate.

In May, in large Russian cities, 15% of the total number of announcements for cyan was on alternative schemes, which is 1 p. More than a year by a year and 2.5 p. – by the spring of 2023. There can be more in the structure of actual transactions, since the parameter in the publications is not mandatory for filling out, explains the head of the Cyan Analytics Alexei Popov.

Now chains of transactions have grown up very much, sometimes four to five sellers and buyers who take real estate are consistently participate in them, Sergey Zaitsev explains. At the same time, 77% of potential sellers and buyers are ready to make a surcharge: of which every second is ready to make an additional 1-3 million rubles, 31% – 3-5 million rubles, 9% – over 5 million rubles, and the remaining – less than 1 million rubles, says Evgeny Shavnev. Another 23% expect to go to zero or make a profit from real estate exchange, he clarifies.

The number of transactions in the secondary housing market in Moscow in January -April grew by 5% of the year, to 45.3 thousand, previously reported in the capital’s department of Rosreestr. At the same time, in Russia as a whole, the number of transactions is reduced, says Alexander Popov. Rosreestr did not publish official numbers. Previously, the owners preferred to sell it expensive in crises, wait and buy cheaper, but now prices are held, and the tactics of “selling and waiting” does not work, the expert summarizes.

Daria Andrianova