An analysis of dwelling market in Vilnius, Lithuania

Abstract

The current situation in the real estate market in Lithuania is favourable for real estate developers. Dwelling prices in Vilnius are much lower than those in other EU member‐states. However, the rate of their increase is one of the highest in the European Union. At the end of 2003, one of the causes of the purchasing boom was the anticipated rise in real estate prices, when Lithuania was gradually integrating into the European Union. The growing income of the real estate sector and high profit attracted more and more companies to real estate market. But the situation in the real estate market has changed. Therefore, to protect the investments in real estate, customers should carefully select the investment projects, paying special attention to reliability and competence of project developers. The analysis of financial indicators of six specially selected project developers made by the authors allowed them to state that not all real estate developers in the market are reliable and able to satisfy liability claims because they may face solvency problems. In some cases, indicators even warn about a threat of bankruptcy for a company. In addition to objective factors influencing the market, such as the conditions of crediting, the economic development of the state, standard of living of the population, migration, etc., some negative effects play an important role in the process of price rising. Authors analyzed the difference in price between the cheapest and most expensive dwellings in different segments of real estate market in Vilnius, Lithuania.

First published online: 18 Oct 2010

Keyword : Dwelling market, Real estate developers, Dwelling prices