Elite real estate as an indicator of stability at all times

To emphasize their financial well-being and high social status, wealthy people first buy elite real estate.

The protagonist of the famous Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, in order to demonstrate their wealth and return his beloved woman, buys a huge elite estate on Long Island among rich people’s villas, where they have chic parties. No one knows about the personality of Jay Gatsby himself, but there are a lot of rumors about his incredible wealth, and all this thanks to a chic house in an elite area. Nothing has changed since Fitzgerald. Today, to emphasize their financial well-being and high social status, wealthy people first of all buy luxury real estate.

Trends

The elite suburban housing market is changing along with the economic and political situation in the country. Over the past year, several new trends have emerged in the luxury segment. For example, Sergey Kolosnitsyn, director of the suburban real estate department of PENNY LANE REALTY , said that the most noticeable trend is the transition from the dollar to the ruble zone. The trigger for this process was a sharp jump in the dollar at the end of last year. Then many developers put up the ruble prices for houses, and this increased the demand. For example, among the first such projects were "Ilyinka" and "Petrovo-Far". Now for 24 million rubles. (that is, for 400 thousand dollars) you can buy a townhouse or a house that cost more than 800 thousand dollars last year. For developers, selling in rubles is especially beneficial if they took ruble loans in due time. Many sellers are switching to rubles, because they do not want to lose their buyers, while those who have left prices in dollars and have not lowered the price calmly refer to bargaining. This pricing policy has spurred the elite market and the performance of this "crisis" year exceeds last year's figures by 15%.

Another trend was told by Ilya Menzhunov , director of the elite real estate department of the Metrium Group company. In his opinion, the brightest trend that emerged in the beginning of autumn in the elite suburban real estate market is an increase in consumer activity in the high price segment from $ 5 million. However, such transactions were single this year, which is connected with the high volatility of the currency throughout the year and the general decline in the solvency of the population. Today, the ruble exchange rate has more or less stabilized, and dollar holders prefer immovable to a cash asset. In addition, a gradual decrease in dollar prices also contributes to higher demand. At the elite country market, since the beginning of summer, the value of objects in dollars has decreased by 4.36%. For the first nine months - from January to October 2015 - by 9.22%. The decrease in prices for objects located on Rublyovo-Uspensky and Dmitrovsky Highways was observed to the greatest extent. The reason for this was an increase in the number of proposals. Thus, the prices of objects gradually return to the level of the last year in ruble equivalent.

The next trend, which is noted by experts in the elite country market, is the discount. Roman Konyakhin , managing the exhibition of houses " Low-Rise Country " said that due to the stagnation of consumer demand, developers and sellers of elite suburban housing are already openly competing with each other, offering discounts to buyers, installments and special conditions for purchase. Moreover, today these preferences have become public - they sound not only during personal communication with the client, but are posted on the company's website, offered by telephone at the first call of the client to the office. The discount amount reaches 20-30%. In addition, the demand is held back by a large number of illiquid housing that has accumulated on the market over the past 5-7 years - huge palaces with decorations in the spirit of the former chic of the 90s. There is no demand for them. The maximum that interests customers in such cases is the land under the house, if the house is located in a prestigious place, on a good plot of land. In this case, customers are ready to bargain. But minus the price for the demolition of the structure (buyers in such cases only the area is interesting) the discount can reach 70-75% of the original price.

Nadezhda Khazova , the CEO of the estate estate agency, also notes that today buyers tend to insist on substantial bargaining and want to get a significant discount, to which not all sellers even in the current situation are ready. As for the change in value, then everything is very ambiguous. Today, very few objects are eventually sold at their original declared value, and many sellers exhibit their objects, immediately laying in their opportunity to trade by 20%. Therefore, the real price drop is difficult to fix.If we talk about highly liquid objects, built in good places, in a modern style and from high-quality materials, then the discount on such objects, as a rule, can be quite small. If we talk about objects with any flaws, then for them the final price of the transaction may be lower by 20-30% of the declared value.

New directions

As a rule, elite real estate is located in environmentally safe areas with well-developed infrastructure. Most of the high-end cottages are located on New Riga and Rublevsky highway. However, Dalnyaya Rublevka is gaining more and more popularity. For example, Sergey Kolosnitsyn believes that the demand for elite real estate has already begun to take shape near the Northern Odintsov Bypass (Rublevki-2). Many residents of the Rublevo-Uspenskoe highway use this toll road, which significantly reduces the way to the center of the capital. Entering this highway has already revived the demand for the Far Rublevka, but the potential of the highway has not yet been fully revealed. And according to Roman Konyakhin , almost all directions of the Moscow region at a distance of up to 60 km from the Moscow Ring Road have a chance to be elite. And the territories that now belong to or border with New Moscow - the growing mass development around is a negative factor, both for developers and for buyers of elite suburban real estate.

However, some experts believe that in the suburban real estate market all directions have long been formed. According to Ilya Mezhunov , there are no prospects and new locations for the construction of high-budget suburban real estate. He notes that it is difficult to imagine that potential buyers of luxury real estate are ready to buy a house in the south-east of the capital. Historically, the western destinations are the most prestigious and developers do not even try to develop an elite segment in other areas. The same notes and Hope Khazov. She stressed that Rublevo-Uspenskoye and Novorizhskoye are still the most expensive destinations. More budget - Kaluga and Kiev highway. One of the most inexpensive offers of elite segment houses can be found on Schelkovskoye, Gorkovskim im. Highway, depending on the distance from Moscow and the format of objects. Evgeny Klets , Head of Sales at Vector Investments also believes that it is unlikely that any new directions will appear in the elite segment in the near future. He noted that the Novorizhskoe direction had become very popular after the construction of a new highway, where it was possible to develop new villages and, thanks to the characteristics of the road, we could reach the center in just half an hour. Now there is no such situation. New routes are being built, mostly paid, and in this regard, a certain potential is in New Leningradka (toll road Moscow-St. Petersburg). However, firstly, it will be paid, and secondly, the road has not yet been put into operation. But with its discovery, it is not excluded that several new elite settlements will appear in this direction.

Consumer factor

The elite suburban real estate market will always have a buyer, even in the most adverse economic conditions. Ilya Menzhunov said that if some buyers leave the market, others will take their place, which we observe today. First, among businessmen who are interested in housing in elite settlements, there are more and more often those who, thanks to the policy of import substitution, have been able to increase production and sales of their products and, as a result, get more income. Secondly, customers who had previously preferred to spend time abroad became interested in buying a country house. However, the operational payments of foreign villas cost now twice as expensive, and now it becomes impractical to maintain them. Thirdly, our compatriots who have lived and worked abroad for a long time are buying elite cottages, and today they are forced to return to their homeland, as well as those who, due to their duty, are prohibited from owning property abroad.

Sergey Kolisnitsyn also notes that the elite remains virtually unchanged and is less subject to the negative influence of economic and political factors. However, it can be noted that today the buyer has become more rational, does not want to overpay for unnecessary options, for example, objects within the village infrastructure, if there are analogues nearby. Long ago, people came to the conclusion that large houses and plots require huge resources to maintain them in order, so they choose more comfortable area ratios. The fashion is changing - if before the owners wanted to invite guests to the sauna or billiards, now people, in principle, are moving away from the tradition of having parties at home. More often, everyone gathers at evenings organized by specialized companies.Houses are used to spending time with the family, so the options inside the house and the infrastructure of the villages are more family oriented. For example, in a modern wealthy family, the number of children is increasing more and more (at least two or three, and more in plans), so the buyer is now first interested not in the number of square meters, but in the number of bedrooms in the house, the ability to settle next to a child’s nanny, the presence of a school and kindergarten inside the village or nearby.

Summing up, it can be noted that the elite segment of suburban real estate does not change much, but under the influence of economic and political factors new trends appear on it. Buyers "elitki" the same as before. As well as a century ago in the days of Fitzgerald, wealthy people tend to demonstrate their wealth by buying luxury villas and estates. This is perhaps the only suburban real estate segment whose portrait of the buyer remains unchanged. That is why the demand for "elitka" was, is and will be.