St. Petersburg, 22 March 2023. In 2022, a total of 3.5 million sq. m of new housing was commissioned in St. Petersburg, including 3.3 million sq. m in multifamily residential buildings. According to Nikoliers consultancy’s calculations, some 850,000 sq. m of the total (26%) was commissioned ahead of schedule, i. e. earlier than had been promised in project disclosures.

Earlier-than-planned commissioning is predominantly a characteristic of major nationwide development companies. Thus, Setl Group commissioned ahead of schedule over 250,000 sq. m of housing, LSR Group – 193,000 sq. m, Etalon Group – 90,000 sq. m, CDS – nearly 76,000 sq. m. However, some local developers with a focus on the premium segment, such as AAG, also pretty often do finish off their projects ahead of the announced deadlines.

Meanwhile, developers are slowing down their activity following introduction of the project financing model and amid macroeconomic turbulence. Dom.RF data show that by the end of March 2023 the overall volume of development projects under construction in St. Petersburg has shrunk to 7.6 million sq. m, which is 14% less than in March 2022 and just about a half of the level recorded in March 2019, when a total of over 14 million sq. m of housing was under construction.

Nikoliers analysts’ estimate that the downtrend will be sustained in the future with annual declines of about 10-15%. Developers pledged to commission a total of 3.4 million sq. m of housing in 2023, in line with the 2022 result. Meanwhile, Russia’s relevant federal national priority project specifies that the aggregate volume of new housing, including single-family dwellings, to be commissioned in St. Petersburg in 2023 and 2024 should be 2.77 million sq. m and 2.65 million sq. m, respectively.