The war in Ukraine has significantly affected the rental property market, causing price fluctuations, changes in demand and new priorities for tenants. From February 24, 2022, prices for apartments, especially in the Western region, have tripled. There are practically no such prices for renting an apartment, as there were before the war. The owners of the apartment are apparently profiting from the war and setting exorbitant prices. The tenants themselves, despite the rather high prices, still rent housing. According to the State Standard, the average monthly rent for a 1-room apartment in January 2024 was 6,818 hryvnias. During the month, the price increased by 3.2%.
How prices changed during the two years of the war in Ukraine was investigated by Yuliya Khomenko, a journalist of the “FAKT” IA.
Western Ukraine
The Transcarpathian region, with its picturesque landscapes and relatively safe environment, has become one of the main refuges for Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war. This, of course, could not help but affect the rental housing market, causing significant price fluctuations and new trends. In the first days of the war, it was easy to find an apartment in these regions, but a month later there were no free apartments in this region at all, and the cost of renting a one-room apartment jumped three times. Already by the end of April 2022, the rental situation stabilized, and vacant apartments appeared again. After the hype died down, rental prices began to decline again. For UAH 10,000, you could rent an entire house for two families outside the city. However, this did not last long – in August, housing prices rose sharply again.
In some European countries, the conditions for Ukrainian refugees are changing and people do not want to stay there, so they return home. However, they do not risk returning to apartments in more dangerous regions, and, accordingly, are again looking for housing in the western regions. All regional centers in the west of the country enjoy the greatest demand – Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Khmelnytskyi, Uzhgorod, Rivne and all of Volyn. According to the publication Mind, home owners calculate all rental prices in dollars, and in the current situation, the cost of one month’s accommodation has increased again, and prices will “walk” in the next few months. According to Derzhstart, the highest cost of housing is in the West of Ukraine. Here, the average cost of renting an apartment is UAH 19,675. The average price per m² is UAH 354. Of course, the price depends on the area of the city.
Prices for renting apartments in Lviv by district:
- Halytskyi — UAH 19,990
- Railway — UAH 17,511
- Lychakivskyi — UAH 17,708
- Sykhivskyi — UAH 17,117
- Frankivskyi — UAH 19,006
- Shevchenkivskyi — UAH 21,643
Prices for renting one-room apartments in Lviv start from UAH 5,500. For such an amount, you can rent, for example, a house with an area of 25 m². The conditions in such apartments are not very comfortable, but everything necessary for life is there. However, there are very few such offers – out of over 1,000 ads, there are only 3-4 apartments at this price. The highest price is, of course, for an apartment in the city center, where the price ranges from 12,000 to 30,000. Although in 2023, prices for apartments in Lviv will start at 4,000 thousand.
“For example, if in January 2022 a one-room apartment in Lviv could be rented for 7,000 hryvnias, in the spring the price rose to over 10,000 hryvnias, and closer to the summer – up to 15,000 hryvnias. In December, the average price of one-room apartments was 16,250 hryvnias per month“, the Institute of Analytics and Advocacy notes.
The greatest demand was and is for apartments for families with children or animals. At the same time, the demand for studio apartments decreased, because they rarely corresponded to the “two walls” principle. In such accommodations, apart from the bathroom, there was usually nowhere to hide. The situation with renting apartments in Ivano-Frankivsk is somewhat different, according to the real estate search site dom.ria.com, the average price is UAH 13,654.
Center of Ukraine
Dnipro has become one of the key “hubs” for Ukrainian migrants since the beginning of the full-scale war. This, of course, could not but affect the rental market in the region. In general, the demand for rental housing in Dnipro has increased significantly, as many people sought refuge in this relatively safe city. The supply of rental housing could not meet the growing demand, which led to a significant increase in prices. Renting housing in Dnipro has become very expensive, especially for cozy and comfortable apartments. Since the summer of 2023, the Dnipro real estate rental market has been showing a steady decline in demand and prices. This is due to a smaller flow of internally displaced persons who sought refuge in the city after the start of a full-scale war. Therefore, apartment prices in Dnipro are currently stable. For 7 thousand you can find a good apartment and not far from the center. The largest deficit is observed in the segment of 6-10 thousand hryvnias. The owners of such apartments are not inclined to bargain. Experts predict that rental prices in Dnipro will continue to decrease during the fall of 2024. Fortunately, the situation on the housing rental market in Dnipro has stabilized. Rent prices have returned to pre-war levels, because some migrants have found housing in other places or returned to their homes. The average cost of renting a one-room furnished apartment with recent repairs is from 8 thousand hryvnias per month, depending on the district. A nice two-room apartment in Dnipro can be rented from 9-10 thousand hryvnias, and a three-room apartment – from 10-11 thousand hryvnias.
Regarding the prices for renting an apartment in Vinnytsia, on the website dim.ria you can find a one-room apartment from 6-7 thousand hryvnias, a two-room apartment – from 7-9 thousand, a three-room apartment – from 9-10 thousand. Cherkasy, another popular city in central Ukraine, resembles the neighboring regional center in terms of trends. The price range in this city is similar to Vinnytsia. What can you say about the offer – it is more limited in Cherkasy. Rents in Kyiv rose by 14.3% to UAH 8,727, so the capital is in third place in terms of apartment prices.
The average cost of renting an apartment in Kyiv according to the real estate search site dom.ria.com is UAH 51,285. The average price per m² is UAH 592.
Prices for renting apartments in Kyiv by district:
Holosiivskyi — UAH 47,340
Darnytskyi — UAH 31,363
Desnyansky — UAH 11,441
Dniprovsky — UAH 39,450
Obolonsky — UAH 39,450
Pechersky — UAH 67,065
Podilsky — UAH 47,261
Svyatoshynskyi — UAH 35,505
Solomiansky — UAH 35,505
Shevchenkivskyi — UAH 51,285
One-room apartments in Kyiv
Prices for one-room apartments start from UAH 4,950. For such an amount, they offer housing with cosmetic repairs in Sviatoshyn district. The area of the apartment is 35 m², it is furnished and equipped with appliances.
Zhytomyr
In Zhytomyr, apartment rental prices have increased significantly. Before the war, you could rent a good apartment in the center for 4,000 hryvnias. Currently, there are practically no such prices, and if there are, then these apartments are in very bad condition. And in general, to find an apartment, you need to look for two weeks or a month, because all normal offers are taken away very quickly. The realtors themselves say that now there are a lot of immigrants in the city, so good options are not delayed for long. The average price of an apartment in the city is 8,000 thousand hryvnias. A one-room apartment can be rented for 6,000, but it is far from the center. In Zhytomyr, the owners have raised the prices for apartments. And prices continue to rise.
As a result of the hostilities and the humanitarian crisis, rental prices in the front-line regions are currently the lowest. The average price for a one-room apartment is UAH 2,831 in the Kherson region, UAH 3,286 in the Sumy region, UAH 3,485 in the Mykolaiv region, UAH 2,960 in the Kherson region, UAH 3,008 in the Sumy region, and UAH 3,501 in the Mykolaiv region.
The war had a significant impact on rental housing, causing prices to jump and tenant demand and priorities to change. Prices have increased throughout the country, but the most – in the West of Ukraine. And it is very unfortunate that some Ukrainians have now gone abroad, receiving help and free housing there, and their apartments are being rented out at exorbitant prices to people who were left homeless because of the war or moved to a safer place.
