Real estate prices up 25%

The prices on real estate in Azerbaijan have been on the rise and grew 25% in the past year, officials said.

“The increase is caused by the rising prices on construction materials and energy resources,” chairman of the State Real Estate Register Service, Arif Garashov, told journalists Thursday.

Garashov noted that in some districts of the country, a growth dynamics in prices on land plots is observed.

Analysts say the real estate market is expanding due to a number of factors affecting the cost of housing. These include inflation, production costs, the growing demand, as well as the ongoing construction boom and the government's steps to tighten control over the construction of residential buildings. The soaring prices on real estate are also caused by the lack of other opportunities for investments and the underdeveloped securities market, which is typical for ex-Soviet republics, experts concluded.

The prices in the country's real estate market rose 10-15% in February compared to the previous month. The prices on housing downtown Baku increased by an average of $100-150 per square meter and ranged between $1,450 and $3,000. The cost of housing outside the city center rose $50-120 per sq. m. and ranged between $700 and $2,400. On the outskirts of the capital, the prices reached $450 per sq. m.*