House prices were up 0.85% y-o-y in Q2 2020

Latvia’s housing market is now stabilizing with the average apartment prices in Riga rising slightly by 0.85% during the year to Q2 2020, following y-o-y rises of 0.83% in Q1 2020, 0.49% in Q4 2019 and 0.46% in Q3 and annual declines of 0.13% in Q2 and 0.46% in Q1. Quarter-on-quarter, house prices in the capital city increased slightly by 0.11% during the latest quarter.

Supply is now falling

In Riga, apartment supply was down 10% in July 2020 from a year earlier, according to Arco Real Estate. Likewise, the supply of apartments in the largest housing districts also fell by 8% y-o-y in July 2020.

Rents, rental yields: moderate rental yields of 4.1%

Riga apartment costs are around €2,789 per sq. m. 

Latvia: typical city centre apartment buying price, monthly rent (120 sq. m)
	Buying price	Rate per month	Yield
Riga	€ 334,680	€ 1,132	4.06%

Recent news: Latvia’s economy contracted by 9.8% year-on-year in Q2 2020, worse then the previous quarter’s 1.5% fall and the biggest decline since Q1 2010, according to the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia. Quarter-on-quarter, the economy shrank by 7.5% in Q2 2020, following a 2.9% drop in Q1. The European Commission expects the economy to shrink by as much as 7% this year, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a sharp turnaround from growth of 2.2% in 2019 and 4.6% in 2018.