If you don’t have the sea: pandemic excitement will raise prices for summer cottages

Due to the ongoing pandemic, interest in summer cottages has received a new surge: travel abroad is still difficult. Such assessments in an interview with Izvestia were given by representatives of real estate agencies in several regions of Russia.

The demand for rent is also starting to grow on the news about the restriction of air traffic with Turkey. Experts expect an average increase in long-term rental rates by June. At the same time, a further increase in rental fees will be possible if Russians cannot get to Turkish resorts after June 1. Already, experts say there is a shortage of hotels in Russian resorts, which also pushes citizens to seek out-of-town recreation. Because of this, realtors are waiting for an increase in demand, which may lead to a spontaneous revision of prices for renting summer cottages in the Moscow region and in the Leningrad region.

Go by the forest and the river

The most active demand for “houses in the countryside” falls on May-October, when people prefer to rent suburban housing for the whole summer, move their families and enjoy outdoor recreation, only if necessary, leaving for the city. This year, due to the situation with pandemic restrictions, the demand for dacha rent may again turn out to be increased, according to companies and associations surveyed by Izvestia in several regions of the Russian Federation, where large megalopolises or large urban agglomerations are located. Therefore, it is more profitable to take care of finding a country house in advance, already in April, when demand is not yet so high and, accordingly, prices are too.

In connection with the next restrictions on travel abroad this year, the demand for dachas in the same suburbs will remain, said the general director of the real estate agency “Pro Exchange” Ekaterina Nikitina to Izvestia. However, according to her estimates, it will still be lower than in the previous period.

– Since last year, some of the tenants have registered their dachas for 2021, another part of the tenants have acquired suburban real estate on a mortgage and have already begun to pay for their own dacha. Well, there is another part of the clients who leave the solution of the dacha issue for later – and have not even begun to search yet. The peak period of demand can be expected at the end of April – beginning of May, – said the head of Pro Exchange.

Viktoria Kiryukhina, chief expert of the Cyan analytical center, believes that the main rise in prices last year has already happened.

– Now there is no excitement on the market yet. For example, in the Moscow region, the total number of views of ads for renting a house from January to mid-April 2021 was two times less than in the same period last year, ”Kiryukhina told Izvestia.

– The average rental rate of a country house in the Moscow region today is 75 thousand rubles a month against 67 thousand rubles in the period when the self-isolation regime was just announced. The volume of supply in the Moscow region now is 6.5 thousand houses and summer cottages against 6.8 thousand a year earlier. That is, the choice decreased by 4.4%. The rate increased by 12%, – said the chief expert of the company “Cyan”.

Cyan analysts expect long-term rental rates to grow by another 2-4% by June. At the same time, further price increases are possible in the medium term.

Valery Vinogradov, vice-president of the Association of Realtors of St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region, notes that this year prices for renting suburban housing in the Leningrad Region and neighboring regions have even become lower than in the past. For example, he says, “now you can see very good two-storey country houses for 60 thousand rubles a month, last year the price for such houses ranged from 80 thousand and more.” There are also more affordable housing, from 20 thousand rubles a month.

Vladimir Sokratilin, President of the Association of Consulting Companies (ASCONCO), is convinced that in the Leningrad Region the cost of renting a modern house for the summer compared to last summer may increase by tens of percent.

– If popular foreign destinations are closed, then we can expect a rise in prices several times. Prices for renting suburban (suburban) real estate in the vicinity of large cities will grow in all market segments, he says. – Following the abrupt growth in demand in expensive market segments, prices can be expected to rise several times.

To places not so distant

According to Maria Zhukova, Managing Director of Miel, this year it is cheapest to rent a small garden house 70-100 km from Moscow, with type-setting furniture from different eras, with outdoor amenities, summer water supply on the site, etc. According to her, such options can be found for 15–20 thousand rubles a month in many directions.

“At the same time, modern tenants of summer cottages in the Moscow region for the summer are looking primarily for comfortable options, without“ everyday ”problems,” says Zhukova. – The presence of communications in the house and the Internet are prerequisites. The need to carry buckets from the well and visit the amenities in the yard repels those who want to rent a summer cottage for a family for the summer.

The offer price depends primarily on the quality of the house itself and its condition, the site and its location, distance from Moscow, communications, etc. Thus, a small, but modern and well-equipped dacha 150 km from Moscow can be rented from May to October for 35 thousand rubles a month. Also, for 35–38 thousand rubles a month, you can find a comfortable house at a distance of up to 100 km from the Moscow Ring Road in many directions, but on the same site as the owner’s house. However, tenants are reluctant to consider such options, since they are forced to share a plot with the owners, adjust to their schedule, etc.

According to the managing director of Miel, the cost of comfortable country houses for several months with modern furniture and appliances, with all amenities, well located, starts today from 40-45 thousand rubles a month (plus utility bills).

– We saw the same situation in 2020. The cost of country houses can reach up to 2 million rubles a month for luxurious mansions on Rublevo-Uspenskoe highway in Moscow region, – Zhukova noted.

In “Cyan” “Izvestia” was told that in the Moscow region the most budget houses for rent can be found in the following directions: Yegoryevskoe, Novoryazanskoe and Gorkovskoe highways. In the Leningrad Region, the average rental rate is already 54 thousand rubles per month. The most budgetary districts are Tosno, Luga and Gatchina.

– The cost of renting a dacha, as noted, starts in the same suburbs from 10 thousand rubles, – they say in “Cyan”. – Parts of the house – from 3 thousand rubles for about 20 sq. m, on which you will live. So the initial base cost is roughly comparable for both options (in terms of area). Another question is that there are about 6.5 thousand houses for rent in the Moscow region. And the proposals with the rent of a part of the house are 40 times less.

You should not look for budget options on the sea coast of the Leningrad Region, says Pavel Lutsenko, General Director of the World of Apartments.

– In a picturesque place, and even near the water, housing can be rented out more expensive than in the near and middle zones. Other things being equal, dachas rented out with the owners living there are cheaper, as well as dachas that are not a separate house, but half a house, or an uncomfortable shed, a dilapidated house with amenities on the street, etc., says Lutsenko. – There are many such options, and you can find among them extremely cheap – literally for 5-10 thousand rubles a month. In this case, the owners set a condition – help in the garden and around the house, since they themselves are elderly people. There are even advertisements for surrender for free, again, with the condition of help in the garden, caring for a bird or cattle, or with the prospect of buying out the dacha.

If you are suddenly rich

The average rental price of a high-budget cottage in the suburban market (from 400 thousand rubles / month) in the metropolitan area at the end of the first quarter of 2021 was 1.4 million rubles. During the quarter, the indicator decreased by 3%. At the same time, there is an increase in the volume of supply by 7%, Oleg Mikhailik, director of the suburban real estate department of the international company Knight Frank, calculated for Izvestia.

– The market is gradually releasing offers that were withdrawn at the beginning of the pandemic (a year has passed since the period of high demand), in particular, more affordable lots, which affects average prices, explains Mikhailik. – However, spring is considered the most active period in the suburban rental market, as many start looking for houses by the summer, so it is most likely that most of the vacated offers will be withdrawn again. No significant changes in average rental prices for high-budget cottages are expected by the summer.

Gentlemen of Fortune

Renting a part of the house is always more profitable than the entire building, but when choosing this option, one must take into account aspects of psychological compatibility and community of interests with landlords, lawyers and psychologists warn. In “Cyan” they say that it is more profitable to rent a house for a long time – in this case, you can count on a discount. The most budgetary options are dachas without communications: heating, water supply in the house, drainage, etc. Another way to save money is to choose a house far from the city with the worst transport accessibility: this way you can save even one and a half times.

When concluding an agreement in writing, it is very important to discuss not only the price of the agreement, payment periods and the rights and obligations of the parties, urges Dmitry Uvarov, a member of the Russian Bar Association. It is also necessary to discuss the procedure for using the house and the plot, the possibility of using the garden / vegetable garden for their own purposes and the need to take care of them in principle. And all this must be fixed in a written agreement in order to avoid conflict situations in the future. Here, as in the case of renting an apartment, it is important to attach an inventory of the property in the house to the contract in order to avoid disagreements at the end of the rental period. It is possible and necessary to prescribe the procedure for “control” over the tenants’ residence, the schedule for paying utility bills.

– You should be afraid of concluding an agreement with the owner’s relatives (or other third parties) instead of the owner himself, since there is a possibility that the owner did not plan to rent the dacha in principle – this should also be written in the agreement that all issues are resolved with the owner of this property, – says Dmitry Uvarov, member of the Russian Bar Association.

If the owner turned out to be an elementary swindler, took the money, but did not let it on the doorstep, then the tenant has the right to use legal methods of protection only if the contract was concluded in accordance with all the rules in writing. If the contract was concluded in words, you can call the police, but they can only have a psychological effect on the landlord. The money under the contract, the obligations under which the landlord has not fulfilled, may be collected in court. However, it should be remembered that a court decision is not always identical to the subsequent collection of funds in the event that the debtor does not have funds at the time of initiation of enforcement proceedings.

It is imperative to look at the originals of ownership documents, the owner’s passport, etc. It is also important to discuss all the terms of the lease and thoroughly write them down in the contract. It is also important to indicate who is responsible for mowing the grass, who can use the harvest from shrubs and trees already growing on the site, etc.

It is also important to make an inventory of things in the house, their condition, check the serviceability of all systems and also indicate this in the documents. An inventory of buildings on the site will help avoid accusations of damage or loss of property. The signing of the contract and the deed of acceptance is the main tool that can protect the tenant. Moreover, if the dacha is rented for up to 12 months, its registration with the Federal Register is not required, the head of the “World of Apartments” explained.

And, of course, when renting a summer residence, do not forget about the most important rule – never pay before concluding a contract. After all, one of the most common methods of fraud is a request to transfer part of the rental payment even before showing the object, in order to confirm the seriousness of your intentions or to “book” accommodation.