Hryvnia prices for primary housing in Kyiv since early 2014 up by 15-17%, by year end could rise by 10-12% - expert

Kyiv, May 23 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Hryvnia prices for primary housing in Kyiv in the first five months of 2014 rose by an average of 15-17%, while those in U.S. dollars fell by 19-21%, the director of City Development Solutions (CDS) consulting company, Yaroslava Chapko, has said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine.

"We are completely repeating the trend of 2008, but everything is not as bad as many analytical publications write. Dollar prices on the market are falling and hryvnia prices are growing. While in 2008 the market needed several quarters to adjust prices, because after several years of rapid growth developers did not want to believe that there won't be former demand and prices, then in 2014 the market needed several months to adjust prices. Though it is not the market price ceiling," she said.

According to the expert, by the end of 2014 we will be able to see a completely different structure of the market, supply and the price situation on the market.

"Price fluctuations will be continued throughout 2014. Most developers to stimulate demand fixed the exchange rate in the range of UAH 9-10 per $1 for May-June 2014. It is likely that by autumn hryvnia prices will show growth within 10-12%," the expert believes.

According to Chapko, the major decline in prices in 2008 was in business class complexes, which forced developers to think about other factors affecting consumer choice except location. In 2014, the economy class is most affected as the most popular segment of the market. The reduction of prices in this segment by the middle of May compared to January 2014 amounted to 23.5% in dollar terms, while prices in the local currency increased by 10%.