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From all the transactions registered in the 2nd quarter of 2014 with apartments located in the Riga city centre new projects, 78% exceeded the current minimum threshold for obtaining a temporary residence permit, while only 13% reached the threshold of 250 000 EUR foreseen in the amendments to the Immigration Act. But in the apartments of new projects in the Riga housing estates, these indicators were as follows: 19% and 0%. Mr. M. Laukalējs, a member of the Board of Directors of ARCO REAL ESTATE, concludes that the segment of new projects will in the future more rely on local buyers, so most likely there will be a period, during which the supply will adapt to the new market situation.
The representative of ARCO REAL ESTATE emphasizes thatduringthe secondquarter of 2014, a substantial partof the apartment demand in the new projects wasformed by non-residents, who wanted with the purchaseof a real estateto securepossibility to obtaina temporary residence permit. As it is reflected in the ARCOREAL ESTATE survey of Riga City new projects, in the 2nd quarter of 2014, in the range of prices from 140 000 to 150 000 EUR, which includes the minimum threshold for obtaininga temporary residencepermit, had developed an unnaturally high number of transactions - 32 transactions.
In total, in the second quarter of 2014, there were registered 237 transactions with new project apartments in Riga housing estates. As reflected in the report, the highest number of transactions was recorded in such housing estates as Teika (31), Imanta (27) and Ziepniekkalns (23), while the lowest number of transactions was in Bolderāja (0), Vecmilgrāvis (0) and Ķengarags (2).
Transactions at lower prices were entered into with apartments located in distant parts of the Riga city centre, such as Grīziņkalns, and which were sold without full interior decoration. In contrast, the prices of new apartment projects located in exclusive places of the Riga centre, with picturesque views, exceeded 4000 EUR/m². In some cases, as shown in expert observations, the price of a new apartment project square meter reached 6000 EUR.
In the centre of Riga, as well as in areas close to it, like Ķīpsala and Klīversala, the average price of 1m² in the new projects in July reached the position of 2600 EUR/m², while in turn, the typical price range was from 1600 to 3400 EUR/m². In turn, the average price of 1m² at the new projects in the housing estates of Riga in July was 1410 EUR, while the typical price range varied from 800 to 1800 EUR/m².
To the question why the city centre is characterized by such a wide price range, Mr. M. Laukalējs, the representative of ARCO REAL ESTATE, replies that "apartments can be characterized by a greater difference in the used interior materials quality, and the location has a relatively greater impact on the price, as it is in the projects located in the city's housing estates."
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