OREANDA-NEWS. January 27, 2010. This conclusion is contained in the review of the real estate market of Chisinau for 2009, prepared by the real estate agency Nika Imobil. The average price per one square meter of the apartment on the results of the actual sales in December 2009 made up 710 euros as compared to 850 euros in December 2008.

The review notes that the main result at the real estate market in 2009 is the fact that there was no price collapse and the pace of decline was lower than in the neighboring countries (40-45% in Kiev, 20-25% in Moscow and 25% in Bucharest). It is noted that the decline in prices in Moldova is smooth for several reasons: the devaluation was not sharp, the Moldovan citizens do not lose their savings, as it was in 1998, most of the apartments were purchased at their own expense and have no mortgage obligations, so the sellers could not rush with sales and did not significantly lower prices.

The number of purchasers who buy real estate using mortgage was insignificant, so deterioration in conditions of mortgage loans has no serious impact on the housing market. It is noted that after a significant reduction in demand in the first half of 2009 the market started to stabilize. Nevertheless, the number of transactions at the secondary real estate market in the past year has decreased two-three times as compared with 2008.

The demand for the real estate has fallen, primarily due to significant decline in the share of the investment purchases, which previously accounted for 40-50% of the total number of transactions. The investment demand for the real estate is practically absent. According to Nika Imobil, the crisis has forced the consumers to be more attentive when choosing real estate.

The highest demand was registered for the real estate in the price segment of 25.000-40.000 euros - 1-2-room apartments in the “bedroom districts” of the city. One-room apartments accounted for 40% of all sales, two-room flats - 30%, three-room apartments - 10% and other objects- 20%, respectively.