Review of construction sector in Azerbaijan (january-april 2013)

Analysis of development trends in the construction industry of Azerbaijan allows evaluation of the enormous potential of the industry. According to the Ministry of Economic Development, housing stock in Azerbaijan has increased by 30 percent over the past 20 years.

According to the Azerbaijani State Statistics Committee, the volume of construction work in Azerbaijan increased by 22.2 percent in January-April 2013 compared to the same period of last year.

Some 68.5 percent of the total volume of construction work fell to the primary construction, reconstruction and expansion, 17 percent - overhaul, 2.6 percent - current repair, 11.9 percent - other construction work.

In particular, the volume of construction work carried out by private companies hit 78 percent.

Main indicators of construction sector in Azerbaijan in January-April 2013

Source: State Statistics Committee

Construction of 100 new industrial plants was completed in Azerbaijan in 2013, and some 90 enterprises are currently under construction.

In April 2013, housing commissioning in Azerbaijan increased by 10.9 percent compared to March. According to the State Statistics Committee, 138,300 square meters of housing was commissioned in April 2013 compared to 124,700 square meters in March of this year and 104,900 square meters in April 2012.

In January-April 2013, 509,000 square meters of housing was commissioned, or 16.8 percent more than in the same period of 2012 (435,900 square meters).

Building materials

According to the State Statistics Committee, in January-April 2013, enterprises involved in the production of building materials in Azerbaijan produced goods worth 105.1 million manat, or 25.5 percent more than in the same period of 2012.

In January-April 2013, enterprises produced 565,200 tons of cement (a 6.3 percent growth), 62,200 tons of plaster (2.4-fold increase) and 395,500 tons of ready-mixed concrete (a 8.3 percent growth).

As of May 1, 2013, the warehouses of enterprises had stocks of finished construction products worth 16.7 million manat, which accounts for 5.9 percent of all finished products available in the warehouses of the country.

According to the Property Market Participants Public Association (PMP), in April, the market prices for building materials decreased by 2.61 percent compared to the previous month. Compared with the beginning of the year, the average price rose by 0.2 percent, while a 3.3 percent decrease was observed in comparison with the same period of 2011.

The share of domestic products in the total volume of construction materials stood at 53.4 percent.

Monitoring was conducted on 37 items and 87 kinds of building materials.

According to the report, a significant decline in prices affected imported materials. Thus, the cost Ukrainian armature was 760 manat per cubic meter (compared to 790 manat in March 2013). Timber also fell in price - the cost of a cubic meter decreased by 2.1 percent to 230 manat in April (235 manat in March 2013). The largest price decrease was recorded for glass products of Iran.

The summary table demonstrates the decline in prices for some building materials in April:

Primary housing market

According to the Property Market Participants Public Association, in April, prices for primary housing market in Baku rose compared to the previous month by 0.8 percent to 864.3 manat per square meter.

Prices rose by 2.9 percent compared to the previous quarter, and by 5.4 percent compared to the same period last year.

Compared with the peak crisis period (September 2008) on the world financial markets, housing prices in Baku fell by 27.6 percent (at the time the cost per square meter was 1,194 manat).

In April, the number of new buildings proposed on the market increased by one unit and totaled 401. The number of construction companies decreased by one and totaled 134.

Secondary housing market

According to the Property Market Participants Public Organization, in April, the average cost for secondary housing increased by 0.7 percent compared to the previous month and amounted to $ 1,211 per square meter.

In April, supply on the secondary housing market declined by 3.7 percent. The number of apartments offered for sale decreased to 5,400.

The share of Yasamal, Nasimi, Narimanov and Khatai districts in overall supply portfolio was 78.7 percent. Formation of a portfolio at the expense of these four areas for a long time has been associated with the entry into the market of new buildings in these areas. Studies show that the primary market portfolio of supply is formed mainly by these four districts.

The proportion of secondary residences proposed on the market at a price lower than the average amounted to 53.1 percent. The average room rate on the secondary market in July was 2.79, the average price of each room - $46472 and of an apartment - $113,162.

The dynamics of bargaining for the sale of second homes has increased over the month by 1.5 percent.

The dynamics of deals for the sale and purchase of secondary homes has increased over the month by 1.5 percent.

Prices for apartments in Baku

Prices are shown as of April 2013.