By Yulia Sobko, Financial Communications and Investor Relations Manager, The PBN Company, Kyiv

As with many of our friends in their thirties, my husband and I almost gave up hope of ever being able to buy a house. Since we got married three years ago we have been waiting for house prices to come down. In the last eight months prices have plummeted spectacularly, falling 20-30%. But while Ukrainians with sufficient savings and those still in work  cheered and started to scope out affordable deals, the majority of these buyers still need mortgages – which the banks are increasingly reluctant to give.

Last week in the UK, the Times reported that prospective British buyers who don’t have a 40% deposit are being excluded from the most competitive mortgage deals. Economists argue that this is  preventing the UK housing market from stabilizing and ultimately recovering.

Ukraine is in a similar predicament. Only one bank, Ukrsotsbank (recently acquired by Unicredit Group), is offering general loans for the purchase of both new and renovated homes (22% interest in UAH, 30% down payment for 25 years). Three other banks – CreditPrombank, Kyivska Rus and Swedbank – are only lending for new housing built by specific developers. This restricts the choice of property but allows for superb loan conditions: 15%-26% interest with a 25%-40% down payment for 25-30 years, discounts of up to 20%, and guarantees that that housing will actually be built (all of the buildings claim to be over 75% ready).

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By Yulia Sobko, Financial Communications & Investor Relations Manager, The PBN Company, Kyiv

Foreigners visiting Kyiv over the past 15 years have often wondered how people are able to sell or rent office space given that one doesn’t see any FOR SALE signs on the streets. In the 1990s, people didn’t put up signs for fear of racketeers; then people feared tax inspectors checking up on their small businesses. A few years later, the rule of law was increasingly enforced and people were used to paying taxes but FOR SALE signs still did not appear - they were simply not necessary, as demand for high-quality real estate left supply light years behind.

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By Dom Bartkus, Intern, The PBN Company, Washington DC

With a mighty gust, Moscow’s global real estate bubble has burst. The average price of a Moscow apartment rose by more than 50% in the two years up to the middle of 2008, and the residential rental market also increased sharply gaining 36.5% in the same period. In the last few months, however, residential rents have begun to fall and renters who are not in financial trouble are taking advantage of falling prices by finding a better apartment at a lower price.

Interestingly, rents are falling while demand for properties is increasing. The demand for residential rental properties grew by 46.6% in January, according to real estate company Miel-Arenda. There are a number of contributing factors: many existing leases ended in January, many potential buyers have decided to rent due to the economic uncertainty and many tenants have started looking for more affordable accommodation.

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