Traditionally, LUN interviewed the CEO of blago. The largest portal of new buildings asked about our company's vision for 2023: how prices for primary real estate will change, what will happen to demand and what to expect this year. Roman Korzhak shared his vision of the Ukrainian market development in a new digest. In your opinion, how did the year 2023 start?

This year began with expectations of Ukraine's victory and the realization of the efforts that will have to be made to achieve this goal. We are talking about victory on all fronts, including economic, political, and information. We have entered the new year more determined to work hard and achieve our goals. By the way, 2023 also started with transformations for our company. At the beginning of the year, we launched a rebranding campaign to scale up our operations. We are now blago, a technological innovation company that creates cities. We don't just build real estate, but comprehensively change cities using modern technologies, filling them with services and infrastructure for a comfortable, high-quality life.

  What do you think this year will be like for developers?

To continue construction in 2023, developers will have to cope with more than one problem. But, based on the experience of last year, I am sure we will be able to do it. Many problems have been carried over from 2022. For example, the rise in price and shortage of materials, mobilization of workers, broken logistics chains, shortage of qualified personnel, inflationary processes, etc. But we have entered the new year with a positive attitude, optimism, and even more ambitious goals to achieve our goal and rebuild the country.

  Where do you think prices for new buildings will go - up or down?

We are constantly monitoring the real estate market in Ukraine and see a continuation of the trend of the past year. In 2022, prices for newly built apartments increased by more than 40% in hryvnia terms on average. This year, in the western regions, the cost per square meter in a new building will only increase. By the end of 2023, we forecast a 30% increase in prices, which is quite attractive for investment. I can confidently say that Ivano-Frankivsk is a cozy and comfortable city for living, and there is always a demand for housing here. About 20% of our buyers come from other regions, but due to various factors, they moved to our city for permanent residence.

  Do you notice an increase in demand for new buildings? How have investor preferences changed? And how have investors themselves changed?

Buyers are now very demanding about everything: living space, interior of the lobbies, availability of parking spaces on the territory, landscaping, playgrounds, number of elevators in the entrances. Today, we are trying to meet the needs of the most demanding buyers and create large-scale technological innovation projects. How have investors changed? Our audience of buyers has become younger. Previously, the vast majority of primary housing buyers were people aged 35-45, but now the core of the audience is shifting towards the 26-35 age range. And every year this trend will continue.

  Do the projects of your new buildings change to meet the challenges of today?

The blago team constantly upgrades its large-scale projects every year. We are the first in Ivano-Frankivsk to implement a swimming pool on the roof of one of our residential complexes (ed. Manhattan UP residential area), build kindergartens and schools, and develop the city's infrastructure. We are already laying down interesting futuristic ideas when designing new residential complexes. By the way, in early 2023, our company announced the start of construction of the SKYGARDEN residential complex, which envisaged a new concept of housing - the tallest high-rise building with a large green area of more than 2.6 hectares.

What steps should the government take to help developers?

In this difficult time, it is very important that the government supports developers in terms of transparency of legislative norms, provision of loans, development of the state program "eHouse" and reduction of the tax burden. It is also important not to complicate the work of municipal and notary structures.

  What steps should developers take to survive in the market?

To be loyal to customers, flexible to changes and true to their ideas. By loyalty, I mean to create favorable conditions for buying an apartment in a newly built residential complex. Given current prices, not every family can afford to buy an apartment. Therefore, developers are to some extent also responsible for the affordability of the housing they build. It is important to join government mortgage programs, develop special purchase conditions for socially vulnerable groups and, of course, for those who are now risking their lives and fighting for our freedom. Flexible to change means being able to make important decisions in an extra-fast mode, effectively manage available resources without violating obligations to customers and investors. Being true to ideas means not changing your values and priorities under any circumstances. At every stage of project implementation, you need to think about customers - the future residents of these projects. They should feel only pleasure from living in a new home. Therefore, it is important to build with high quality, reliability, and always on time.