Expert names three types of buyers of capital apartments

Interest from regional buyers is reviving in the primary residential real estate market in Moscow. According to experts, if at the beginning of 2025 their share in business and premium class projects varied within 7–10%, then by the end of the first half of the year it had grown to 12–18%.

The increase in sales indicates a change in consumer sentiment and a redistribution of investment demand in favor of real estate in the capital, notes Yulia Arkhangelskaya, head of commercial services at the development company Mangazeya.

In the first quarter of 2025, regional buyers demonstrated restraint. Its main factor was the high degree of uncertainty, including due to expectations of a change in the key rate. However, after the Central Bank meeting, at which a reduction in the key rate was announced, the share of clients from the regions began to grow.

An additional incentive was the gradual reduction of interest rates on bank deposits. Investments in real estate began to be considered again as a reliable instrument for preserving and increasing capital. Together, these factors led to the activation of regional investors, especially in the business and premium segments.

Yulia Arkhangelskaya notes that buyers' behavior has become more pragmatic and balanced. The expert identifies three key behavioral scenarios of regional investors.

The first is hybrid, when the client’s goal is not only to improve the family’s living conditions here and now, but also to simultaneously make a profitable investment for the future.

- There are about 35% of them. Their capital starts from 20 million rubles. Sometimes they initially target investment real estate, but in the process of making a decision they reorient themselves to buying housing for a family, most often with one or two children. The main motivation for buying is attractive terms for a family or subsidized mortgage. Thus, the transaction simultaneously solves the housing issue and acts as an investment, - the expert explains.

The second scenario is buying real estate for a 14-15 year old child preparing to enter a capital university. According to the expert's calculations, buyers in this category make up 15% of the market. They focus on a budget of 10-12 million rubles, use short-term mortgage programs and focus on the deadline for completing the property.

Yulia Arkhangelskaya adds that the main motivation of buyers is to ensure comfortable and independent living for students in their own housing from the first year.

The third type is the so-called solo clients, who make up half of the market. These are residents of the regions aged 35–40, professionally active in several cities, but strategically oriented towards Moscow.

- Clients purchase an apartment as a future support for moving - a "springboard". The transaction is most often financed through a subsidized mortgage for a short term in order to gain a foothold in the capital now. In the future, it is planned to "unpack" the capital: sell real estate in the region, withdraw deposits and early repay the loan. Rational buyers consider the transaction as the first step to moving and permanent life in Moscow, - the expert adds.

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