In January-June, 2016, the commissioning of housing in Azerbaijan fell by 11.8 percent year on year, according to the State Statistics Committee of Azerbaijan.

Some 213,700 square meters of housing were commissioned in June (currently the best indicator in this year) against 110,800 square meters in May 2016 and 146,600 square meters in June 2015. During the period in 2016, commissioning of housing reached 767,700 square meters compared to 870,400 square meters in the same period last year.

Some 69.5 percent of the total volume of construction work accounted for primary construction, reconstruction and expansion, 12.2 percent - overhaul, 2.9 percent - current repair and 15.4 percent - other construction work.

Some 88.1 percent of the total volume of construction work was carried out by non-state construction companies.

Primary and secondary housing market

The price of one square meter in the primary housing market of Baku fell by 3.1 percent and amounted to 1 405,670 manats In June 2016 compared with the same period last year.

The fall in prices in the primary housing market can be clearly observed in the period from June to November 2015, when prices fell by nearly 10 percent. Then, the primary housing market was able to stop the recession, and from November 2015 to June of this year, prices rose by seven percent. Against the backdrop of rising prices, construction companies announce discounts that compensate for the rise in prices. This makes it possible to achieve a balance between the rise and fall, and the primary market prices continue to maneuver.

The market research has shown that from March to June, prices on the primary market increased by only 7.5 manats (0.5 percent). In April, prices increased by 10 manats compared with March, fell by 10 manats in May and again rose by 7.5 manats in June.

The shift of demand in favor of the primary housing market is reflected in the price situation as well. If in January 2014, the prices in the secondary housing market were higher than the prices in the primary housing market by 15 percent, in June of this year, this difference reached a low of 1.4 percent.

Prices in both segments of real estate market tend in the same direction - towards a fall. But in contrast to the primary housing market, where the decline in annual terms amounted to only 3.1 percent, price decline on the secondary housing market for the same period looks much more tangible - 12.4 percent. if the low lending rates of secondary housing market continue, the price decline in the secondary housing market will continue. Against the background of what is taking place, one can confidently predict that due to the shift of demand towards the primary housing market, the price difference will also change in favor of this segment of the market.

Rental housing market

According to MBA Group consulting company, the rental housing prices in Baku this summer will be lower than in 2015. The reason is a decline of real estate prices in general, as the real estate prices in Baku have decreased by three percent since early 2016.

Usually in previous years, the real estate prices in Baku increased in spring months. Then, the prices stabilized in summer and declined by the end of the summer. The prices increased in early autumn again. But in 2016 the prices have decreased since January.

The market prices will begin to stabilize in summer. The prices are expected to increase only by the end of August. The real estate market prices will likely to gradually stabilize in summer, especially on the housing market. The prices will increase only from the end of August and early September.

The rental housing market is traditionally in demand in summer months. So, the prices for the country houses are mainly observed on the market. The prices for rental apartments and houses in the city are usually lower in summer than in other seasons. The prices for rental apartments and houses in the city are gradually declining by the end of August, but then begin to increase. This is connected with an increase in the number of students coming from the districts of the country. The prices for rental country houses are increasing from late May, reaching peak in July and August and then begin to gradually decline.

The average rental housing price in the summer months ranges from 4 manats to 5.6 manats per square meter of housing. The rental price for one square meter of housing in the country house is three manats in winter, but in summer the prices increase up to 4-5 manats per square meter. The rental housing prices decrease from 6.5-7 manats per square meter to 5.5-5.6 manats in the city in summer.

After several months of decline the rental housing prices began to gradually stabilize. The prices decreased by 2.3 percent in April compared to March. The prices increased by 1.5 percent in May compared to the previous month.

Construction material market

The companies engaged in building material production in Azerbaijan, produced goods worth 163.3 million manats in January-June 2016, or 23.5 percent less than in January-June 2015.

During this period, Azerbaijan produced 1036,200 tons of cement (a 25-percent decrease compared to January-June 2015), 57,200 tons of gypsum plaster (a 38.1-percent decrease), the report said.

Azerbaijan also produced 214,400 tons of ready-mixed concrete (a 59.9 percent decrease), 29,100 cubic meters of precast concrete building structures (a 3.4 times growth), 2,180 tons of processed marble, travertine, alabaster and items made of them (a 64.6 percent decrease).