House prices were down 1.34% y-o-y in Q3 2020

Latvia’s housing market is now weakening with the average apartment prices in Riga falling by 1.34% during the year to Q3 2020, following y-o-y rises of 0.85% in Q2 2020, 0.83% in Q1 2020, 0.49% in Q4 2019 and 0.46% in Q3 2019. Quarter-on-quarter, house prices in the capital city fell by 1% during the latest quarter.

Supply is now falling

In Riga, apartment supply was down 17% in October 2020 from a year earlier, according to Arco Real Estate. Likewise, the supply of apartments in the largest housing districts also fell by 19% y-o-y in October 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 3.1% year-on-year in Q3 2020, following annual declines of 8.9% in Q2 and 1% in Q1, according to the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia. Quarter-on-quarter, the economy grew by 6.6% in Q3 2020, the biggest quarterly growth ever recorded, partially offsetting the q-o-q falls of 7.1% and 2.3% in the previous two quarters, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The European Commission expects the economy to shrink by 5.6% this year, a sharp turnaround from growth of 2.1% in 2019 and 4.6% in 2018.