50 Russian Cities: Secondary Housing Prices Stabilize, but the Primary Market Keeps Falling

After a sharp drop in activity in the summer of 2025, Russia’s secondary housing market began to stabilize. By October, the number of cities with falling prices had almost tripled, and demand partially recovered. However, developers report a decline in revenue, while experts warn of a lack of solvent demand.

In October 2025, the decline in secondary housing prices slowed significantly. According to research by consulting company SRG, negative dynamics were recorded in only seven of Russia’s fifty largest cities, compared to nineteen in September and twenty-eight in July.

This was the weakest summer season in the past five years: at that time, the share of cities with falling prices exceeded 50%, reminiscent of the situation in 2020 during the pandemic. By autumn, the situation had changed. In September and especially in October, the market entered a stabilization phase, which experts attribute to a reduction in supply volumes and stronger targeted demand in the most resilient locations.

Where Prices Fell

In October, the sharpest decline in secondary housing prices was recorded in Krasnodar — by 1.02%, to around $1,415 per square meter. For comparison, in September, Sochi led the decline with -1.44%.

Yaroslavl ranked second, where the average price dropped by 0.51%, to $1,111 per square meter. It was followed by Novokuznetsk (-0.48%, $1,032), Penza (-0.26%, $1,048), Khabarovsk (-0.24%, $1,489), Cheboksary (-0.21%, $1,265), and Ivanovo (-0.11%, $1,117).

Where Prices Rose

At the same time, price growth in October was recorded in 43 of the 50 cities. The most notable increase was in Kursk — up 2.68% to around $1,363. The city has maintained its leadership in price growth since the beginning of 2025.

Makhachkala ranked second, with prices up 2.48% to $1,408. Next came Vladivostok (+2.12%, $2,056). The top five also included Kaliningrad (+2.09%, $1,622) and Chelyabinsk (+1.97%, $1,216).

Recovery of Secondary Market Demand

According to Avito Real Estate, in the third quarter of 2025, 407,000 secondary housing transactions were completed in Russia — 18% more than in the previous quarter.

A quarter of all transactions occurred in five regions: Moscow and the Moscow region, St. Petersburg, Sverdlovsk region, and Krasnodar territory.

Experts link the recovery in demand to delayed purchasing decisions — many buyers who had paused during the summer returned to the market in autumn, seeking to finalize mortgages under previous conditions.

In Krasnodar, gross revenue of construction companies for January–September 2025 fell by 26.2% to $1.2 billion compared to the same period in 2024. Despite the decline, Krasnodar retained its fourth place in Russia by sales volume.

Moscow remains the leader, with developers earning $13.5 billion (+1.7% year-on-year). St. Petersburg ranked second ($2.84 billion, -23.5%), followed by Yekaterinburg ($1.23 billion, -14.7%). The sharpest decline was in Krasnoyarsk (-32.6%), while Krasnodar ranked second in the anti-rating.

At the same time, Nizhny Novgorod and Voronezh showed positive dynamics: +17.1% and +9.7% respectively. Overall, total revenue across all million-plus cities fell by 6.7%, from $27 billion to $24.7 billion.

Researchers attribute the decline to insufficient solvent demand and the lack of affordable financial instruments — primarily subsidized mortgage programs, especially in the mass segment.

Reduced Transaction Area

The total housing area involved in developer transactions in Krasnodar for the first nine months of 2025 amounted to 724,000 sq. m — 26.5% less than a year earlier. In 2024, the figure reached 947,000 sq. m.

A more significant decline was observed in Krasnoyarsk (-37%), Volgograd (-33.5%), St. Petersburg (-30.9%), and Samara (-27.5%).

The only city with an increase in transaction area was Nizhny Novgorod, where the indicator grew by 4.7% — from 209,000 to 218,000 sq. m.

Overall across Russia, the total area of lots in transactions fell by 18%, from 10.6 million to 8.7 million sq. m.

Thus, autumn 2025 became a period of stabilization for the secondary housing market and continued decline for the primary sector.

Experts at International Investment forecast that by the end of the year, moderate growth may occur in certain locations due to the shortage of quality housing. However, the lack of affordable mortgage programs and rising construction costs may continue to limit developer activity in 2026.