"Construction in Vilnius is rapidly picking up pace, although there is a considerable number of unsold apartments. This leads us to the conclusion that competition among new project developers will be more intense. This is a good sign for buyers as that means bigger competition, choice and bargaining power," Saulius Vagonis, head of the Valuation and Market Research Unit at real estate company Ober-Haus, said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Plans call for building 1,400 new apartments in Vilnius this year, a two-fold increase from 737 built in 2011. More than 2,100 apartments are currently under construction in the Lithuanian capital as part of 22 housing projects.
Vagonis predicts that housing prices will remain stable, as with the economy growing, supply is likely to increase, which will keep prices from rising at the rates seen in Riga or Tallinn. Apartment prices in Vilnius went up by a mere 0.7 percent last year, compared with 15.8 percent in Tallinn and 5.8 percent in Riga.
This year, around 1,000 new apartments are to be built in Riga and 500 in Tallinn.
