Primary vs. secondary market: how the real estate market in Ukraine changed in 2025

After the shock of the first years of the full-scale war, the real estate market in Ukraine is showing a gradual recovery. Over the past year, prices per square meter have shown stable growth, and the primary real estate market has begun to outpace the secondary market in terms of growth rate. UNN spoke with Olena Sosedka, co-founder of Concord Fintech Solutions and fintech expert, about changes in the Ukrainian real estate market.

Primary market in price

According to the State Statistics Service, in Q1 2025, housing in Ukraine rose in price by almost 4%, and over the year, prices per square meter increased by 11.2%. It is worth noting that the dynamics indicate that prices are growing faster in the primary real estate market - by almost 15% compared to just over 9% in the secondary market.

According to Olena Sosedka, Ukrainians have become more active in investing in real estate, as they consider it a tool for preserving their own capital.

"Prices are rising not so much due to an increase in purchasing power, but rather due to inflation and the rising cost of building materials. But there is an important nuance: Ukrainians are increasingly considering real estate not for living, but as a tool for preserving capital - instead of deposits or keeping funds in foreign currency," explained Olena Sosedka.

It is worth noting that currently, the largest increase in prices per square meter is observed in the central and western regions. For example, in Lviv, the average price per square meter from a developer in the primary market, according to the real estate website lun.ua, has reached 57,600 hryvnias. The average cost of a square meter of economy-class real estate in Lviv's primary market reaches 39,900 hryvnias.

In Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi, the average price per square meter from a developer in the primary market is 36,000 hryvnias, while for an economy-class square meter, developers want up to 26,100 hryvnias.

At the same time, in Kharkiv, primary market prices have slightly decreased and now stand at 27,900 hryvnias, with developers asking 21,100 hryvnias for an economy-class square meter.

In Odesa, on the contrary, the primary market shows active price growth. Here, developers are asking for an average of 46,200 hryvnias per square meter. At the same time, in economy-class new buildings, a square meter will cost up to 29,300 hryvnias.

Kyiv is stable

In the capital, the real estate market has shown stable growth over the past year. Currently, the average price per square meter in new buildings reaches 54,000 hryvnias, which is slightly cheaper than in Lviv. According to Olena Sosedka, this may be due to Lviv being perceived as a safer city, as Kyiv is more often subjected to massive missile and drone attacks.

"Currently, there is a trend that Ukrainians have moved part of their foreign currency savings into housing in the western regions, considering them a 'safe haven.' This is rather an emotional reaction to the prolonged war and the desire to have reserve housing in a conditionally safe city and thus preserve capital," noted Olena Sosedka.

It is worth noting that for premium-class housing in the capital, one will have to pay an average of 134,200 hryvnias per square meter. In the business class, a square meter costs 73,400 hryvnias, in comfort - 46,600. However, prices for economy-class have slightly decreased since the beginning of this year and reach 41,000 hryvnias per square meter. Of course, everything depends on which district of the capital the apartment is located in.

Regarding the secondary housing market in Kyiv, 1-room apartments here are sold for an average of 54.5 thousand dollars, 2-room apartments - for 68 thousand dollars (this segment has slightly decreased in price since the beginning of the year), and 3-room apartments - for 94.8 thousand dollars. 

Secondary market grows slower, but steadily

According to the geoinformation system for collecting, analyzing, and visualizing price indicators of the Ukrainian real estate market "Uvecon", apartment prices in the secondary real estate market have stabilized and in the first quarter of 2025 began to show an upward trend in most regions of Ukraine. The average cost per square meter reached 40-42 thousand hryvnias.

For example, according to real estate sales websites, in Lviv, a 1-room apartment is on average asked for up to 64,700 dollars, in Ivano-Frankivsk – 38,300 dollars, in Chernivtsi – 53,000 dollars, in Odesa – 43,700 dollars, and in Kharkiv – 22,000 dollars. At the same time, there is an increase in the number of housing sale advertisements.

"The secondary market attracts buyers due to lower risks, because here the house is already built, commissioned, and all documents are available. But investors today are not just looking for a roof over their heads, they analyze liquidity, logistics, proximity to borders. The thinking of Ukrainians and the choice of real estate have become more rational and thoughtful. They have become less focused on, for example, proximity to the center, and more on whether there are strategic objects nearby, which areas Russia shells more often, etc. That is, the security factor is primarily in focus," noted Olena Sosedka.

The expert also noted that the state program "eOselya" stimulates Ukrainian citizens to buy housing, as it provides quite attractive conditions for purchasing housing in both the primary and secondary markets. In 2025, 2,778 Ukrainians purchased housing under the "eOselya" program for 5.1 billion UAH, of which almost 60% accounted for the primary market. In total, since the program's inception, loans totaling over 29.1 billion UAH have been issued.

"Now the real estate market is evolving. Square meters are no longer just a roof over one's head. This is a new form of financial behavior in wartime," summarized Olena Sosedka.

Recall

Earlier, UNN reported that when choosing suburban housing, Ukrainians prefer private houses. According to Ivan Kudoyar, head of the board of the Union of Real Estate Consultants, small townhouses priced up to 100 thousand dollars are in the highest demand.