Moscow property comes tumbling down

Residential property prices around Russia are showing some signs of stability after more than a year of steady decline, according to a study by the "Mir Kvartir" (World of Apartments) real estate portal published last month.

But there are still problems in many of the 30 towns monitored by the federal website - particularly in Saratov, which posted a 3.8 per cent fall in the week to Monday, bringing the average price per square metre down to 32,200 roubles.

Eight cities - Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Ufa, Smolensk, Novokuznetsk, Abakan and Barnaul - recorded no change in the weekly survey, while a further six recorded minimal variations of just 0.1 per cent either way.

But only Omsk (1.9 per cent) and Kazan (0.9 per cent) posted large increases, while Saratov was joined by Tyumen (-1.2 per cent) and Izhevsk (- 0.7 per cent) in recording sharp falls.
Omsk, which has the third cheapest property in Russia according to "Mir Kvartir", was picked out as one of the ten worst-performing residential markets in the country earlier this year after posting a big fall in 2009.

But since then the Siberian city has managed a small recovery, with prices reaching 29,300 roubles per unit.

Moscow remains the most expensive place to buy property in Russia, with prices of 159,400 roubles per square metre running at almost double the 80,700 average in St. Petersburg.

Despite falling prices over the past year or so, 2012 Olympic host Sochi (74,300 roubles) is third, ahead of Moscow region - where sprouting middle-class suburban developments near Moscow rub shoulders with falling demand in declining industrial centres further from the capital.

At the foot of the table, troubled Tolyatti is second cheapest at 26,800 - reflecting the ongoing crisis at the Avtovaz car plant which is the town's key employer - while the Volga city of Zhigulevsk brings up the rear with average prices of just 21,800 roubles per square metre.

Market rates

Prices (roubles) per square metre

Moscow 159,400 +0.1%

St. Petersburg 80,700 -0.1%

Sochi 74,300 -0.4%

Moscow region 69,300 +0.5%

Yekaterinburg 53,700 0.0

Samara 51,800 +0.2%

Novosibirsk 47,100 0.0

N. Novgorod 46,400 -0.2%

Yaroslavl 45,300 +0.1%

Ufa 44,700 0.0

Rostov-na-Donu 44,200 -0.2%

Perm 42,800 -0.3%

Khabarovsk 41,800 -0.4%

Krasnoyarsk 40,200 0.0

Tomsk 39,700 -0.1%

Kazan 39,100 +0.9%

Tyumen 37,700 -1.2%

Voronezh 36,100 -0.1%

Izhevsk 35,400 -0.7%

Abakan 34,400 0.0

Smolensk 34,300 0.0

Novokuznetsk 33,600 0.0

Barnaul 32,900 0.0

Saratov 32,200 -3.8%

Bryansk 31,800 -0.1%

Ulyanovsk 30,500 -0.2%

Kursk 29,500 -0.2%

Omsk 29,300 +1.9%

Tolyatti 26,800 -0.2%

Zhigulevsk 21,800 -0.1