Secondary market showed price decline in December

According to the Bureau of National Statistics, the secondary housing market in Kazakhstan went down in December 2022. This was the first time since March 2018 that prices on the secondary market have plunged.

«The price decrease was reported in Astana (by 5.1%), Shymkent (by 2.7%) and Aktau (by 1.6%),» the agency said in a statement.

At the same time, data showed a 1.6% decline in rental payments in December compared to November 2022.

However, prices in the primary housing market increased by 0.4%.

«Over the period from December 2021 to December 2022, real estate prices rose by 21.6% for the secondary housing market and by 15.6% for the primary market. In terms of rental prices, the growth was about 45% over the same period,» the bureau said.

In the regional context, Aktobe, Aktau and Semey have become the cities with the highest price increase in the primary market. The prices here rose by 29.3%, 26.6% and 22.3%, respectively.

In terms of the secondary market, the price increase rate was highest in Semey (49.6%), Aktobe (42.4%), Kyzylorda (39.8%), Aktau (39.3%), Taldykorgan (32.9%) and Kostanay (32.4%).

On the other hand, Almaty, Kostanay and Karaganda reported the biggest price increase in the rental market. Rental payments here increased by 70.5%, 54.6% and 53.1% respectively.

On September 21, 2022, President Putin of Russia announced the partial mobilization, a move that prompted thousands of young men to flee Russia. Many of them moved to Kazakhstan, which has had some consequences like higher rental housing prices. For example, those apartments that used to cost about $450 per month became much more expensive (up to $1058). Even a room in a regular apartment cost $325 in October. Many newcomers also wrote on social media about the shortage of rooms in hotels and hostels. However, later the rental market started to cool down.

In November 2022, statistics showed that prices grew by 16.6% year on year basis in the primary market, by 27.1% in the secondary market and by 54.2% in the rental market.

Many regions in Kazakhstan reported a high level of activity in the construction sector. For instance, in 2022, the Turkestan, Akmola, Almaty and East Kazakhstan regions reported a 43%, 11.8%, 10.9% and 8.4% increase in new housing respectively. In Shymkent, the market grew by 26.2% and in Almaty by 8.6%.

On the other hand, the Ulytau, Abay, Mangystau and Atyrau regions reported a decline in new housing supply (by 39.6%, 11%, 15.7% and 11.3% respectively). In the capital city of Astana, the tempo of new housing construction dropped by 13.4%.