Apartment Prices in Russia Have Risen by 25% to 30% in 2002

Over the elapsed months of the year 2002, apartment prices in Russia rose by 25% to 30% . This is according to the statement made at a press conference in St. Petersburg yesterday by Mark Lerner, Financial Director of the Northern City real estate company and the RBI holding. He figures, the prices should grow by about another 15% over 2003. Mr. Lerner said, 'St. Petersburg is no exception from this and, over the next year, the prices here will also keep climbing. The city's tercentenary will hardly affect the process'. By the end of 2003, the price of one square meter of the floor area may reach about USD 700 on the average.

Speaking at the press conference, Vasily Solovyov, the head of the Department of Financial Consulting of the Industry and Construction Bank said, 'Russia's real estate market is very promising at this time. It grows stably while mortgage programmes stimulate demand'. He also said that at this time people mostly bought real estate for money they saved, yet new financing programmes were likely to appear soon, which would spur the growth of prices even more.

Mikhail Oseyevsky, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Industry and Construction Bank, said the bank was already prepared to finance real estate purchases. 'We have the necessary resources', he continued to say, The International Financial Corporation already loans us money at low APR for up to 5-year terms. Yet the low assurance of the ability of debtors to repay their loans holds us back'.