From January to July 2021, the demand for the purchase of real estate at sea resorts in Russia increased by 73% compared to the same period in 2019.

At the same time, the interest of citizens in the long-term lease of such housing increased by 2.2 times.

Experts from the CIAN analytical center told RT about this.

"At the same time, the national average for two years, the demand for the purchase of housing has grown by only 37%, and for long-term rent - by 41%," said Alexei Popov, head of the organization's analytical center, in a conversation with RT. 

Analysts from Avito Nedvizhimost also record similar dynamics.

According to the head of the primary and suburban real estate service Dmitry Alekseev, most often Russians prefer to rent housing on the coast of the Krasnodar Territory, in the Crimea, as well as in the Kaliningrad region. 

“At the same time, if the Russians are focused on buying housing on the sea, then they are mainly interested in apartments on the secondary market.

Over the past two years, the consumer activity of citizens towards such apartments in the Krasnodar Territory has doubled, in the Crimea - 1.7 times, and in the Kaliningrad region - by 28%, "the source said.

One of the main reasons for the observed dynamics was the coronavirus pandemic.

This opinion was expressed in an interview with RT by a member of the Guild of Realtors of Moscow Yevgeny Konoplev.

According to the expert, against the background of quarantine restrictions and partially closed external borders, Russians increasingly began to think about purchasing their own housing within walking distance from the sea. 

“The pandemic has changed the way Russians live.

Some of the citizens last year were unable to go on summer holidays to foreign and Russian hotels, so they thought about buying their own housing at domestic sea resorts.

At the same time, some clients consider apartments in Sochi as a permanent vacation spot, including in winter, ”the analyst explained. 

In addition, the high interest of Russians in buying and renting resort real estate is associated with issues of safety and comfort.

Pavel Sigal, the first vice president of the all-Russian public organization for small and medium-sized businesses "Support of Russia", told RT in an interview with RT.

“There is still a tense epidemiological situation in the world, and external borders may close at any time.

Therefore, Russians are often afraid of being stuck in a foreign country without money and the opportunity to return to their homeland.

At the same time, long-term rental housing, especially by large companies, is a way to reduce the cost of living at sea while maintaining comfortable conditions for rest, ”the expert explained. 

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According to analysts, the demand for housing in the seaside resorts was partly spurred by record low mortgage rates.

Recall that in 2020, the Central Bank lowered the key rate to 4.25% per annum - the lowest level in the entire post-Soviet period.

Against this background, in June 2021, the average rate on issued mortgage loans dropped to 7.07% per annum - to the minimum value for the entire time of observation. 

“Reducing the cost of servicing loans had a positive effect on the real estate market.

As a result, many buyers, who postponed expensive purchases until better times, decided to spend money on square meters in various regions of Russia, including seaside resorts, ”emphasized Yevgeny Konoplev. 

In addition, the growing demand for resort real estate in the past two years could be associated with low interest rates on bank deposits and deposits, which sank noticeably into the pandemic, experts say.

“Therefore, some citizens transferred money from banks to real estate in resort cities.

The Russians understand that, due to quarantine restrictions, other countries may remain closed for travelers for a long time, so the demand for domestic vacations should remain at a high level, "Mikhail Kogan, head of the analytical research department at the Higher School of Financial Management, told RT. 

The emerging trend for permanent remote employment may become an additional driver of the growth of citizens' interest in apartments in Russian resorts, says Aleksey Popov.

According to him, if until 2020, mostly freelancers and some IT specialists went to the “warm winter” in Southeast Asia, now this type of employment has become available to a much larger number of office workers. 

“At the same time, the possibilities to leave Russia, for example, for several months, are still extremely limited.

In such a situation, real estate in the Krasnodar Territory, Crimea and even in the Kaliningrad Region, where in winter the "European" climate with an almost guaranteed absence of severe frosts, seems to be an interesting solution to the housing issue, "the expert concluded.