Riga Homebuyers Turn to More Affordable Districts, Citadele Mortgage Data Shows

Citadele, a bank operating in Latvia, has published figures on home lending in Riga for the first nine months of this year. They show the average mortgage rose from 83,100 to 84,500 euros, while buyers increasingly pick districts where apartments can be bought at lower prices.

Jūlija Pauča, Citadele's Head of Retail Lending for the Baltics, says buyers are becoming more pragmatic and are looking for a balance between location, housing quality and what they can afford. In her words, interest has grown in districts with a wider supply of standard-series apartment blocks.

Where deal numbers are rising fastest

The sharpest increase in activity is in districts where the average home loan this year stays below 70,000 euros:

• In Jugla, the number of deals financed by Citadele more than doubled within a year, and the average loan grew from 36,500 to 64,400 euros.
• In the Latgale Suburb, deal numbers also more than doubled, but the average loan fell from 61,400 to 54,500 euros.
• In Vecmīlgrāvis, activity rose significantly; the average loan is 41,600 euros, compared with 39,400 last year.
• In Imanta, deal numbers grew more moderately, while the average loan dropped from 78,500 to 68,600 euros.

Most popular districts

Centre has the most home deals financed by Citadele, followed by Purvciems, Pļavnieki, Imanta and Jugla. These five districts together account for about 41% of all of the bank's home financing deals in Riga. Property values differ widely among them: the average financed property in Centre is worth 236,400 euros, in Āgenskalns 155,500 euros, and in Ķengarags 54,700 euros.

Secondary market

The number of secondary-market deals financed by Citadele in Riga rose by 12% over the year. The average loan issued increased by 15%, from 69,100 to 79,400 euros.

Pauča says this indicates that buyers are ready to consider a broader range of homes rather than only new developments. She points to the variety on offer in size, price and location as an advantage, making it possible to find a suitable property even where there are few new projects.