There has been a y-o-y increase in rental prices in Tallinn of 18 per cent, to July 2012, according to Tõnu Toompark on his adaur blog.
This undoubtedly is connected with the short supply of rental properties in Tallinn at the moment.
According to Tõnu and citing data from real estate portal kv.ee, the volume of rental apartments on the market has increased y-o-y, but not by much, which may put a downward pressure on residential rental prices through the summer and autumn – as noted there has been a rise up to now.
Tõnu cites more data from kv.ee which states that there were 1 996 apartments up for rent on the portal in June, which is only a two per cent increase y-o-y.
However, the shortage in availablility of rental items is not as perceptible today as was the case a year ago, Tõnu continues.
This will be predominant in those areas of Tallinn where more apartments have come on to the rental market, which has happened in all districts. writes Tõnu, except North Tallinn (which includes Kalamaja and Kopli) the Soviet-era residential district of Mustamäe and the leafy, sought-after outer suburb of Nõmme. These three areas have seen a fall in the volume of rental apartments available (by as much as -37 per cent in the case of Nõmme).
Fallinn demand may be the result of rising rental asking prices (as well as the latter being the result of falling supply). The average rental asking price in Tallinn was a 6.10 Euros per square metre in July 2011; a year later that figure had risen to 7.20 Euros per square metre.
In any event this makes the rental market attractive for investors; a shortage of supply and rising rental levels mean a property could be let out very quickly and at higher prices, ensuring good cashflow.
The district of Tallinn with the highest rise in number of rental apartments available y-o-y to July 2012 was the residential suburb of Kristiine, according to Tõnu’s data, at 23 per cent. The city centre (which includes the Old Town) saw a 10 per cent rise in number of available apartments over the same period, from 736 to 806 items (also by far the highest total number of items of any region, as might be expected).
Outside of Tallinn, Pärnu saw an 18 per cent rise in apartments available for rent, whereas Tartu saw the opposite trend with a -26 per cent fall over the same period.
The figure for the whole of Estonia was a -4 per cent fall.
The original article (in Estonian) and data is here.
Andrew Whyte
Tallinn Property by Goodson & Red
