Konstantin PISARENKO: ABOUT SECRETS and the future of Kiev real estate

23.12.2021

In 2021, the Ukrainian real estate market has noticeably intensified. Developers have launched many new properties, while apartment prices and demand have risen markedly in all segments. Some experts are already comparing the current situation with the situation in 2008, when the real estate market collapsed, not only in Ukraine, but throughout the world. We will not guess on the coffee grounds what awaits us. Banker.ua spoke with the founder of THE CAPITAL, one of the capital's real estate agencies, Konstantin Pisarenko, who has not only created an effective team providing expert services in the premium real estate market, but is also trying to form a new philosophy of perception of agency services, moving away from the outdated cliché "realtors" to the broad concept of "real estate experts". By the way, if you are thinking about buying real estate, we recommend that you contact our professional luxury real estate agency THE Capital. On May 21, 2020, Konstantin Pisarenko launched the Real Estate Without Censorship YouTube channel, which has become one of the most famous in the Ukrainian YouTube segment. On the eve of the New Year holidays, together with Konstantin, we summarize the results of a busy year for the real estate market in 2021 and predict trends for the coming year. ABOUT POSSIBLE REAL ESTATE MARKET Crash We have not had such a growth in the real estate market since 2014. However, I think that Ukraine is waiting for the collapse of the market. This “bubble” is deflating, and the main question is not in the months when the recession will begin (I think the recession will begin within two to four months), but how much it will deflate. Read more:Renting out an apartment: how to write an ad correctly? Why will this happen? There are many objective factors, but the main thing now is that there is not enough money to buy new apartments from the investors themselves. Even now, the sales departments of developers are not fulfilling sales plans. I think that subsidence is possible up to 15-20%. Of course, no one knows exactly how this domino will begin to take shape. The reason for those who wanted to “park” the money is that they did it, and law No. 5600 has not even come into force yet! ABOUT THE COST OF BUSINESS-CLASS REAL ESTATE I will not talk about all of Ukraine, but specifically about Kiev. Everything that developers are trying to build at least in the Comfort class will now rise in price very well. In the next 2-3 years, such real estate may increase even more, because the average price of "Comfort" goes off scale for $ 1500 / m², and "Comfort +" is already moving towards $ 2000. Let me give you an example. The cost of an apartment in the residential complex "French Quarter 2" is $ 2500 / m². For "Comfort +" this is a lot, and when this segment begins to "creep" to the segment of the business, premium class, as, for example, in the residential complex "Bulvar Fontanov" and compete with it directly, people often choose a publicized object. That is, they choose French Quarter 2 at the same price (a difference of 5-10% is already the same price), when there is poor sound insulation, courtyard territory, there is practically no possibility to park, unlike Boulevard of Fountains, in which with this no questions at all. ABOUT COUNTRY REAL ESTATE If we talk about our average customer who buys the premium segment, then this is a 40-year-old family man with children. And when you have children, you, unfortunately, cannot afford to live outside the city in the full sense of the word. Children should go to school, attend sections, circles, birthdays of their friends. So it turns out that if you live outside the city, you live in a car, or you must have an unrealistic number of staff, assistants, a personal driver. Therefore, a country house as an addition to your main home or as a summer residence is, of course, wonderful. Otherwise, it is inconvenient for the average family with children. Read more:How to rent out non-residential premises?

ABOUT THE BUSINESS SEGMENT CLASSIFICATION

I can't consider a house with ceilings of 2.7 or 2.8 m as a business class object: it's tight, you don't feel premium in this house. Not so long ago I shot a video for my channel in a beautiful house, where I really liked it. And I would really like to call this property "Business" or "Premium", but the ceiling is 2.8 m. We are talking about Obolon Residences. This is a really cool house, but I don’t understand why they saved on ceiling height. Was it difficult to lose one floor? Business class is underground parking, three-meter ceilings, when you have a concierge or decent security at home, this is a large beautiful front door (in business class there can be no such thing as an “entrance”). It should be a good yard area, even if it is one house, with a playground, a place for walking, infrastructure inside the house, for example, a gym, a shop, a beauty salon, etc. Now in Kyiv there are such objects. For example, several interesting houses are being built in the Pechersky district of Kiev - LCD Nordica Residence and FJORD, also the most interesting house with three-meter ceilings Creator City and UNIT.Home with interesting features, located in the historical center of the Shevchenkovsky district of the city in close proximity to the parks of Pushkinsky, KPI and Kiev zoo. Now several houses are being built in Podil, which will be included in the business class segment, the same La Manche, Spas Sky and many others in different parts of the capital.

ABOUT CORPORATE AND SOCIAL BUSINESS RESPONSIBILITY

First of all, we care about our employees so that they care about their customers. Because caring is what is lacking in society. Secondly, we consider it important to take care of a person in such a way that he wants to pay you. Because in our country the image of a realtor who "squeezes" money from his clients, manipulates them, is firmly entrenched at the head. We want to position ourselves in a completely different way: a realtor is a person who helps. There are people who help to buy a car, inspect it, make a technical conclusion. Without certain knowledge, you will not do this. The same is true in our business area. As a real estate agency, we don't care which developer's properties to sell. For us, the needs of the client are more important - to hear and find what he needs. If, for example, the client is a bachelor, he can be sold an apartment in TARYAN TOWERS. Because how can we sell such an apartment to a family in a house where there is no normal yard? We understand that Bulvar Fountains or Novopecherskie Lipki are great places for families. I think that we should be paid for expertise. And a big plus when we work with developers who understand that agencies are their assistants.

PREMIUM SEGMENT AS AN INVESTMENT

You won't earn much on the premium segment. There are, of course, exceptions, but we had only two such objects: Tetris Hall and TARYAN TOWERS towers. There are many more such objects in the "Comfort" segment. The premium segment is the safety of money, good liquidity, if necessary, it is easier to sell it. You can't say that you can hit some jackpot there.

BUILDING BOOM-2021

Now they are building a lot, about five times more than ever before the 2008 crisis. Both Kiev and from all sides of the suburb are actively being built up. Some new residential complexes can accommodate 10, 15 and even 20 thousand people. That is, these are already kind of satellite cities, not residential complexes. And people who come to the metropolis can start in these complexes.

KEY TRENDS OF 2022

  • Country estate. Suburban real estate developers are ready to listen and hear, they are not spoiled, you can conduct a dialogue with them, ask for additional options, for example, lakes and fountains on the territory, plant more trees, a kindergarten, a swimming pool.
  • Large LCDs. People don't want to live in solitary houses. They want to live in large beautiful residential complexes with good infrastructure. They are willing to overpay to live with their own kind, in their class / environment. A good example of this is the Great Residential Complex on the banks of the Dnieper.
  • Blurring of the concept of "city center". The concept of "center" is already blurred, and not everyone already needs the center of the city. Because getting there is like wasting a lot of time if you don't work there. Everyone wants to live where they grew up, spend more time, so each district of the city has its own centers. Fine Town is a good example of this. For some, this is a neighborhood of the world, but now people are ready to pay $ 2200 for a "square" and wait a year and a half for a comfort-class apartment there. And so in each district of Kiev its centers, conglomerates are formed, for which people are ready to pay big money.
  • Coastal area. The trend of the next decade is that the coastal area will finally begin to develop. I believe that the entire industrial zone should be thrown out of the city, and the coastal area, as in all European countries, should be given over to residential development. People should live in houses with great views.
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