Residential buildings dominate construction market

2009-12-21

In the first three quarters of the year, the number of buildings completed in Russia increased by almost 6%. Approximately 95% of these were residential, and the commercial market leads the field in terms of non-residential buildings.

152,481 buildings were completed in Russia between January and September, with total floor space of 52.1 million m². The share of residential buildings as a proportion of the total number has been growing continuously in recent years and now stands at 95%, which is almost 5 p.p. more than six years ago. The total floor space of houses completed this year remained almost unchanged in comparison with Q1-Q3 2008, although the number of units built increased by 5.7%.

In the non-residential subdivision, the total number of units completed increased by 9%, accompanied with a 7.3% increase in the total floor space of buildings in use. There were fewer commercial buildings completed than a year ago, but, with 2,833 units built (including 365 “administrative” i.e. office buildings), such structures dominate the non-residential arena. Over the three first quarters of the year, the number of healthcare and agricultural buildings grew at the most rapid rate. The number of “other” buildings completed (associated with religion, sports, transport, communication, etc.) fell by more than 5% during the period in question.

The Volga Federal District leads the field in terms of the number of buildings completed between Q1 and Q3 2009, and is followed by the Southern and Central federal districts. In the latter district, however, the total floor space of buildings was 50% greater than that of the Volga FD. Among the federal subjects, the Krasnodar Territory and the Moscow Province are the two leaders, but in the latter region the floor space of buildings completed was more extensive, which again indicates that buildings put into operation in the Central FD are usually larger than those of other parts of Russia. In Moscow, the number of buildings commissioned was low in comparison with other cities and regions, but the edifices actually built were very large, taking up 5,200 m² on average, whereas the overall average for Russia is 340 m².