In the article RBK addresses impact of coronavirus pandemic on the real estate market, including commercial and business premises.

Real estate market has found itself in the midst of crisis. The majority of commercial property is used for business purposes related to customer visit. In terms of lockdown and turnover decrease, a half of players already went bankrupt, and another half cannot afford to pay rent at the pre-crisis rates.

According to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, real disposable household income in the Q2 has decreased by 8% and the GDP — by 9.6%. Recovery will be slow, therefore, we are entering a new reality where we need less grocery stores, shops, hotels, offices and apartments. Falling demand in real estate shall naturally lead to price decrease.

Quarantine has influenced the real estate market in different directions. Rental market, being the most flexible, has immediately responded with decrease by 10-20%: the tenants have lower income, so they are not able to pay at the pre-crisis rates. On the contrary, suburban rental market has increased: some property, especially, premium class, has become far more expensive.

Read the entire article at: https://realty.rbc.ru/news/5f224c839a79471e55d7afda

For more information about construction as a sector with a sizeable share in many economies, rising level of digitalization, and shifts in consumer sentiment in real estate, please see the Building and construction, Housing and Utilities and StayHomeEconomy.