24-02-2010 / Cut-price offices, booming apartments

But economy-class rates remained largely unchanged, with three-room flats even falling slightly in cost, blamed on a traditional January lull.

Bills increased fastest for one-bed business class flats, which were up 7.2 per cent at 38,600 roubles on average.
There were also 24 per cent more people seeking business-class accommodation, RIA Novosti reported.

In economy class housing the average one-room apartment was available for 24,000 roubles a month, while a two-room flat costs 30,000. Rents for three-room places fell 1 per cent to 38,000.

Cheaper offices

Rental prices for offices are falling faster in Moscow than anywhere else in the world - but the city remains among the most expensive to rent business premises.
Office rents in 2009 tumbled by 50 per cent on average.

And that's a far bigger fall than second-placed Dublin (25 per cent ) or third-placed Madrid (24 per cent).

However, average annual rents of $700 per square metre make Moscow Europe's third priciest city for office space, behind only London ($1,300) and Paris ($1,000), while the Russian capital also had the second busiest rental market, with 802,000 square metres traded in 2009.

 

Source: Moscow News