Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Experts from the Institute for Forecasting and Macroeconomic Research (IPMI) analyzed the change in real estate prices in Tashkent for the period from August 2021 to July 2022.

The number of contracts for the sale and purchase of real estate in Tashkent for 7 months of 2022 amounted to 49 thousand (27% of contracts throughout the Republic of Uzbekistan) and practically did not change compared to the corresponding period of the previous year (48.3 thousand).

According to the analysis, the level of prices in the secondary market for real estate in Tashkent in July 2022 increased by 12% compared to the corresponding period in 2021, while prices for new buildings increased by 8.3%. It should be noted that since May 2022, there has been a decrease in the price level both in the primary (price per 1 sq.m. in May was US$943.6, in June - US$919.9) and in the secondary (US$891.1 - May, US$882.6 - June) market.

Real estate prices in Mirabad, Yakkasaray, Shaykhantakhur, Mirzo-Ulugbek, Chilanzar and Yunusabad districts are higher than the average price (new buildings - 1 sq.m. US$957.2, secondary market - US$888.3) in Tashkent. The lowest prices were observed in the districts of Bektemir and Sergeli.

The sharp rise in house prices was also observed in other countries. For example, real estate prices in the UK increased by 10.7% per annum in June this year, while the inflation rate in June reached 9.4% per annum. This trend indicates a quick reaction of prices in the real estate market to inflationary expectations.

According to the Global House Price Index, despite high inflation and rising mortgage rates, which limit the ability to purchase housing for the population, in the first quarter of 2022, there was an increase in housing prices in 56 countries of the world by an average of 10.2%. The increase in prices may be due to the redirection of financial flows to the real estate market in connection with ongoing global changes.

The analyzes indicate that the allocated resources during the 6th month of the current year, within the framework of state programs for mortgage lending, made it possible to maintain activity in the real estate market.

From January to July 2022, over 41.44 thousand people received a mortgage loan for a total of 7.6 trillion soums, of which 5.5 trillion soums was allocated from the funds of the Ministry of Finance, 1.78 trillion soum - own resources of commercial banks. The share of mortgage loans allocated in Tashkent in this period amounted to 30.5% (2.32 trillion soums). It should be noted that during January-June 2021, 3.5 trillion soums were allocated for mortgage lending 25.3 thousand people across the country.

With the actual invariability of demand in the real estate market in Tashkent, the growth in housing prices is associated with inflation expectations and the volatility of the rate of construction companies and property owners.

At the end of 2019, the exchange rate of the national currency weakened by 14% against the US dollar, in 2020 - 10.2% and in 2021 - 3.4%. The decrease in housing prices over the last 3 months of the current year (May-July) may be associated with the strengthening of the national currency (by 2.6% or from 11179.8 soums in April to 10886 soums in August) in this period.

The implementation of the goals set in the "Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026" in subsequent periods will ensure activity in the real estate market while maintaining price stability. In particular:

- Creation of 14 housing and construction clusters in the regions and clusters for the production of building materials in 8 specialized districts (cities) will double the production of building materials and reduce the cost of housing;

- Continuing the practice of allocating subsidies to cover part of the down payment and payment of interest on a mortgage loan for the purchase of housing in subsequent periods will expand the population's opportunities to purchase housing.