According to the results summarized at the end of the third quarter of 2021, the total budget for apartments sold in the Moscow International Business Center increased by 35% compared to the total value of all residential real estate transactions completed in the business center last year, reaching 15.7 billion rubles. Compared to 11.6 billion rubles in apartment sales in 2020 and 14.1 billion rubles in 2019.
Knight Frank cites these figures in its research. The company's experts also noted that the number of available apartments in the Moscow International Business Center (MIBC) continues to steadily decline. According to the latest estimates, there are 278 available. This is 29% fewer than in the second quarter and 48% fewer than the number of similar listings available at the end of last year.
This situation is a consequence of the lack of new sales starts in the complexes under construction. Since the launch of residential sales at the Neva Towers multifunctional complex in 2018, new lots in the business center submarket have only appeared due to the division of larger spaces into smaller, yet more sought-after, units. Therefore, as of the end of Q3 2021, there are no vacant apartments smaller than 50 square meters in Moscow City. However, lots between 50 and 100 square meters remain the most popular, accounting for 66% of transactions completed in 2021 and 71% in 2020.
Furthermore, there's a trend toward rising prices. Currently, the average price of apartments on the new-build market is 699,000 rubles per square meter. This is 5% higher than the average price of apartments in the City's skyscrapers at the end of the first half of 2021. Compared to the end of 2020, it has increased by 6%.