Key signal: how rate cuts revived sales of new developments

      An increase in transactions on the primary housing market was recorded in all cities with populations over one million

      Photo: Realnoe Vremya

      There is a large pent-up demand for apartments in new buildings on the Russian housing market — even a small reduction in the key rate led to a rise in transactions in the country’s million-plus cities. The leaders in growth in the third quarter of 2025 were Samara (+64.6% versus the second quarter of 2025), Nizhny Novgorod (+53.8%) and Ufa (+49.6%), calculated Yandex Real Estate. Kazan secured the last place in the top ten — the number of transactions in the capital of Tatarstan increased by 22.8% compared with the second quarter — and this is higher than in the third quarter of 2024. The rise in the number of transactions in all 16 million-plus cities in the third quarter is a key signal of the start of market recovery. Buyers and sellers have adapted to the period of high rates. And demand for real estate will only increase as the rate falls.

      According to the Yandex Real Estate and Pulse of New Building Sales services, Kazan showed a steady increase in the number of new-build transactions in Q3 2025 — up 22.8% compared with Q2 and up 24.5% versus Q3 last year. A total of about 2.3 thousand transactions for the purchase of apartments in new buildings with a total area of more than 100 thousand sq. m. were concluded in the city during this period.

      In Q3 2025, all Russian million-plus cities recorded an increase in the number of transactions for the purchase of apartments in new buildings compared with Q2. In total, about 59.5 thousand shared-equity participation agreements (DDU) were concluded across the million-plus cities versus 49.1 thousand in Q2 (+21% q/q). In year‑on‑year comparison (versus Q3 2024) the number of transactions rose by 11.9%.

      Among Russian metropolises, the quarterly growth leaders were Samara (+64.6% q/q, about 1.4k DDUs), Nizhny Novgorod (+53.8%, about 1.8k), Ufa (+49.6%, about 2.6k), Krasnodar (+46.7%, about 4.6k) and Perm (+32.2%, about 1.8k transactions). By absolute number of transactions in Q3, Moscow (about 18.6k, +10.3% q/q) and St. Petersburg (about 8.4k, +11.3% q/q) lead.

      Change in the number of new-build transactions in Q3 2025

      Rank — City — Number of transactions in Q3, thous. — Change Q3/Q2 2025

      1 Samara 1.4 +64.6%

      2 Nizhny Novgorod 1.8 +53.8%

      3 Ufa 2.6 +49.6%

      4 Krasnodar 4.6 +46.7%

      5 Perm 1.8 +32.2%

      6 Volgograd 1.2 +26.8%

      7 Yekaterinburg 5.6 +26.2%

      8 Voronezh 1.9 +25.2%

      9 Novosibirsk 3.1 +24.4%

      10 Kazan 2.3 +22.8%

      11 Rostov-on-Don 3.6 +21.5%

      12 Omsk 0.5 +21.4%

      13 Krasnoyarsk 1.4 +15.0%

      14 Chelyabinsk 0.8 +11.7%

      15 St. Petersburg 8.4 +11.3%

      16 Moscow 18.6 +10.3%

      Data from the Yandex Real Estate and Pulse of Sales services

      “In the third quarter the key rate was cut twice, which became an important factor in boosting buyer activity,” comments Evgeny Belokurov, Commercial Director of Yandex Real Estate. “As a result of the period, the number of new-build transactions in all million-plus cities increased by 21% compared with the previous quarter.

      Aggregator statistics indicate that the market is responding not only to seasonal factors but also to the easing of monetary policy. Special offers from developers additionally affect dynamics, and the combination of these conditions produced a synchronous increase in transactions across all the country’s largest cities.

      “The rise in the number of transactions in all 16 million-plus cities in the third quarter is a key signal of the start of market recovery,” notes Artem Sovetnikov, head of the Pulse of New Building Sales service. “We also see stagnation in the volumes of unsold stock (+0.6% q/q on average across metropolises), which indicates sufficient supply.

      Against this background, the macroeconomic conjuncture is encouraging buyers who previously postponed deals to go ahead and buy now.”

      The head of the Schastlivy Dom (Happy Home) company, Anastasia Gizatova, noted that, for example, August 2025 turned out to be the best of all previous months of 2025 in terms of the number of registered participation agreements in shared construction (DDUs). In August 2025, 1,810 DDUs were registered.

      Previously, the Rosreestr office for Tatarstan recorded positive dynamics in the primary real estate market in July. Compared with June, the number of DDUs increased by 19.2% — from 1,419 to 1,692. A total of 12,502 DDUs were registered in the first eight months of 2025.

      At the same time, August 2025 proved to be almost twice as successful as August 2024, when only 958 transactions were registered. However, the record number of transactions fell in August 2023 — 2,490 — when everyone tried to catch the last train of the mass subsidized mortgage. For comparison, a year earlier, in August 2022, there were only 1,090 transactions — even fewer than this year.

      Thus, it is fundamentally incorrect to say that the new-build market stood still all year because of the high key rate.

      “The presence of positive dynamics and the growth in the number of transactions shows that demand for real estate persists across all segments. At the same time, more than half of transactions are carried out with own funds, without mortgage lending. I am sure that in the future, assuming a reduction in the mortgage rate, demand will only grow,” shared his opinion Ruslan Sadreev, Vice President of the Guild of Realtors of the Republic of Tatarstan.

      Today market participants have adapted to the existing conditions: those who want to buy do not postpone the purchase, and those who sell offer more lenient conditions, the expert emphasized.

      “We also record a noticeable revival in Kazan’s new-build market in the third quarter. The number of transactions increased despite a reduction in supply volumes compared with the same period last year,” commented Marat Gallyamov, General Director of Etazhi Kazan. “Demand cannot be called frenzied, but interest in buying new-builds has clearly strengthened.

      The main factor behind the growth was the dynamics of the key rate and the subsequent decline in mortgage and loan rates. Against this background, part of the population began to move funds from deposits back into real estate, viewing square meters as a more reliable way of preserving capital.”

      Yulia Garaeva

      More news about the event:

      - Apartment sales in Kazan’s new-builds grew by 22.8% for the quarter

       In Q3 2025, 2.3k new-build apartments were sold in Kazan, 22.8% more than in the previous quarter, reports RBC. 10:46 17.10.2025 GTRK Tatarstan - Kazan

      - Sales of new-builds in Kazan increased by 23% for the quarter

       Kazan’s new-build market demonstrates steady growth in Q3 2025. 10:34 17.10.2025 Kazan Vedomosti - Kazan

      - New-build sales in Kazan rose by 22.8% for the quarter

       In Q3 2025, 2.3k apartments were purchased in Kazan’s new-builds. 10:04 17.10.2025 Tatar-Inform News Agency - Kazan

      - Key signal: how rate cuts revived new-build sales

       An increase in transactions on the primary housing market was recorded in all million-plus cities

       Photo: 09:57 17.10.2025 Realnoe Vremya - Kazan

      Regional news on the topic:

      - In Perm, sales of new-build apartments rose by 30%

       Sales of new-build apartments in Perm rose in the third quarter. 15:01 17.10.2025 Business Class - Perm

      - Nizhny Novgorod residents are increasingly buying new-build apartments

       12:01 17 October, Anna Vasilieva, photo from the “Pro Gorod” archive

       In Q3 2025 the number of transactions for the purchase of new-build apartments increased in all large cities with populations over one million. 12:09 17.10.2025 ProGorodNN.Ru - Nizhny Novgorod

      - The volume of transactions with St. Petersburg new-builds rose by 11.3%: experts listed reasons

       An increase in new-build purchase transactions was recorded in the Northern capital. 12:00 17.10.2025 Neva.Today - St. Petersburg

      - In Q3 2025, sales of new-build apartments in Perm grew by a third

       Konstantin Dolganovsky

       According to information provided by Yandex Real Estate and Pulse of New Building Sales services, 13:43 17.10.2025 Novy Kompanion - Perm

      - Samara became the leader in quarterly growth of new-build transactions among million-plus cities

       According to Yandex Real Estate and Pulse of New Building Sales services, in Q3 2025 the number of transactions for the purchase of new-build apartments increased in all million-plus cities versus Q2. 11:38 17.10.2025 NIA Samara - Samara

      - In Ufa, 2.6k new-build transactions were concluded in Q3

       In Q2 purchases of under-construction housing numbered 1.7k.

       The number of participation agreements for under-construction housing rose by 50% in Q3 in Ufa, according to Yandex Real Estate. 13:36 17.10.2025 Bashinform - Ufa

      - About 300 new-build apartments were bought on DDU in the city in Q3

       SarBK: Around 300 transactions for the purchase of new-build apartments were concluded in Saratov in Q3 2025. 10:38 17.10.2025 SaratovBusinessConsulting - Saratov

      - Nizhny Novgorod residents actively snapped up new-builds

       According to Yandex Real Estate and Pulse of New Building Sales, the number of transactions for purchasing new-build apartments rose in all cities with populations over one million in Q3 2025. 10:01 17.10.2025 Nizhegorodskaya Pravda - Nizhny Novgorod

      - St. Petersburg new-build market showed growth in transactions over the past quarter

       Up 11.3 percent Photo: Dmitry Fufaev / “Petersburg Diary”

       According to analysts from Yandex Real Estate and Pulse of New Building Sales, 09:58 17.10.2025 Spbdnevnik.ru - St. Petersburg

      - Nizhny Novgorod residents became more active in buying new-build apartments

       Nizhny Novgorod was second among metropolises in quarterly growth of new-build transactions. 09:50 17.10.2025 Vremya N - Nizhny Novgorod

      - Rosreestr summed up three quarters on the capital’s primary real estate market

       Photo: ICPM

       In September 2025, the Moscow Rosreestr office registered 10,499 shared-equity participation agreements (DDU) relating to residential and non-residential real estate. 21:17 16.10.2025 Information Center - Moscow

      - Real estate sales in Nizhny Novgorod region fell by 23.8% over the month

       Negative dynamics persist throughout the last year.

       The volume of real estate sales in the Nizhny Novgorod region in September 2025 fell by 23.8% compared with September 2024. 16:54 16.10.2025 Vremya N - Nizhny Novgorod

      - Sverdlovsk region recorded an increase in the number of secondary transactions

       In Sverdlovsk region, 10,773 rights based on purchase and sale agreements were registered for September; in August the figure was 9,933. 16:43 16.10.2025 Artinsky Urban District - Arti

      - The number of DDUs with real estate in Moscow fell by almost 15% over 9 months

       The number of shared-equity participation agreements (DDU) with real estate in Moscow from January to September 2025 fell by almost 15% compared with the same period last year, reports the Moscow Rosreestr office. 11:14 16.10.2025 MSKNovosti.Ru - Moscow