THE OVERVIEW OF OFFERS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF COMMERCIAL AND PUBLIC AND BUSINESS OBJECTS IN SAINT-PETERSBURG AND ITS SUBURBS:  1ST HALF OF 2009

Review object

The following categories of offers for the construction of commercial property objects in Saint-Petersburg and his suburbs have been considered:

1. Land plots for new construction projects;
2. Standalone buildings for reconstruction (we have not considered parts of buildings nor the premises inside the buildings);
3. Property complexes (Land plots with buildings and facilities).

Information sources used

To analyze the market of land for public and business use in Saint-Petersburg we have used our own PETERLAND database, materials from printing matters («Delovoi Peterburg» («The Business Petersburg»), («Kommercheskaya nedvizhimost'» («The Commercial Real Estate») etc.), data by realtor and consulting companies, published in the mass media or on real estate information resources of the Internet, as well as data from private sources. Totally, 97 sources have been used. The results of the study are presented on maps and diagrams below.

1. Structure of offers

For the 1st half of 2009 we have considered 249 offers, with land plots constituting the majority of offers – approximately 50%. The relation between the types of offered objects is shown on Diagram 1 below.

In terms of ownership the objects are of all types: privately owned objects, objects in long-term and short-term lease and objects being the part of investment projects.

The analysis of offers showed that most of the objects are privately owned. Thus almost all standalone buildings are owned by individuals or legal entities. For property complexes hybrid ownership is typical: in 70% of property complexes both land and buildings are privately owned, while in 30% of complexes the buildings are owned while the land is leased (in one form or another).

The distribution of land plots by ownership type is more diverse as shown on Diagram 2 below.

As you can see the majority of offered land plots are privately owned – 55%. However, the share of land plots available as parts of investment projects is also considerable – 21%.

Further we have carried out the distribution of the land plots by purpose, location and price.

2. Purpose of objects on offer

The purpose of land plots, property complexes or buildings in Saint-Petersburg is determined by the General City Plan and recently adopted Land Use and Development Regulations. Most of the objects considered are located, as per the General City Plan within zone «D» (business development area), while the rest are located within zone «Zh» (residential development area) and «P» (industrial development area), where the construction of public and business objects is also permitted.

All the objects on offer have been divided into two groups as per the purpose of use:

1. Business objects – new construction or renovation objects for the allocation of business-centers, administrative offices, hotels, banks.
   
   
2. Multipurpose objects – property objects, which can be used for the construction of shopping centers, shopping and business centers, malls and for the complex development of the area.

In accordance with the above mentioned distribution, 31% of all objects have been qualified as business objects and 69% – as multipurpose objects.

On Diagram 3 the relation between the types of offers and their target purpose is shown:

As you can see, standalone buildings constitute the majority (83%) of objects for business construction. While the majority of offers for multipurpose use are land plots – 73%.

3. Territorial distribution

The territorial distribution of offers for the construction of business objects is shown on Map 1.

It can easily be seen that the objects for business construction are concentrated within the central districts of the city.

The territorial distribution of offers for the construction of multipurpose objects is shown on Map 2.

It is obvious that as contrasted with Map 1, the objects for multipurpose construction tend to distribute evenly throughout the city. Some groups of such objects can be found along Pulkovskoe Highway.

4. Distribution by price

The price analysis showed that there are no distinct price groups for both business and multifunctional objects. The formation of prices is subject to so many factors that the prices for such objects are highly differentiated.

It can only be noted that the target purpose of such objects (business or multipurpose) has no effect on the price of land plots or buildings. Other factors (such as location, utility networks availability) have far greater effect on price.

On Diagrams 4 and 5 pricing distributions of the offered objects by price are provided. Diagram 4 shows the price distribution for the land plots suitable for the construction of new objects, while Diagram 5 provides the same figures for standalone objects subject to renovation. The prices for all offers are given in US dollars.

Diagram 4 shows that more than a half of the land plots (57%) are within the price category of under $200/sq.m and 79% fall into the category of under $400/sq.m. One should note that a considerable number on offers (13%) has the price of over $1000/sq.m. And the higher threshold of prices makes $3000-$3500 per sq.m (small land plots for multipurpose use in the center of the city).

The price of offers for standalone buildings also showed even distribution within the range from $180 to $14000 per sq.m of floor space. More than a half of offers (54%) have the price under $3000/sq.m. The other half has the price over $3000/sq.m, while the most expensive offers are up to $14000/sq.m. Such high prices are due to the location of such objects for the most lie within the central districts of the city (see Map 1).