As it was expected and forecast, the year 2018 was truly productive in the real estate markets of the Baltics. In the environment of the growing economy, high supply and demand indicators continue to be recorded in the capitals of the Baltics and other major cities. The upward trend is observed both in the commercial and residential property markets.
If since the last economic downturn we have seen a sufficiently rapid recovery in the real estate market in the capital cities of Estonia and Lithuania, the capital of Latvia, Riga, could not boast of greater changes. It seems, however, that the largest city of the Baltic countries is finally waking up from deep winter sleep.
A significant amount of office space of up to 140,000 sqm should supplement the market in 2019–2020. This is exactly what the capital city of Latvia lacked in order to compete with Vilnius and Tallinn for the attention of international companies. A possibility not only to get established, but also to plan any further expansion in modern buildings is one of the main factors for bringing larger companies to a specific region or city. In 2019 Riga will also see the opening of one of the largest shopping centres (Akropole) in the Baltic countries and the expansion of several other shopping centres, which will contribute significantly to the growth of the quality retail space in the city. The number of apartments built in Riga in 2018 increased by 65 % compared with 2017. Of course, apartment development volumes are still significantly behind those in Vilnius and Tallinn, but such momentary leap is an indicator of bolder steps taken by developers.