Over the past four years the market for apartments in commercial buildings has grown at a very rapid pace, and today these apartments account for approximately 30% of offerings on the Moscow residential market. Roman Tkachenko spoke with the magazine Salon Nedvizhimosti about the commercial apartment market.
Today the market offers buyers both modestly sized apartments and spacious penthouses with panoramic views of Moscow. Commercial apartment owners enjoy the benefits associated with having a professional facility management company, which is responsible for the maintenance of engineering systems, cleaning, security and upkeep of the surrounding territory.
According to Roman Tkachenko, Head of the Representative Office of RD Group in Russia, apartments at mix-used commercial buildings and business centers are an indelible part of the unique environment created for the life and work of office workers. For example, one of the buildings of the Romanov Dvor business complex includes apartments intended for the top managers of Western companies which have set up their headquarters in the complex.
TAXES
One of the key issues for potential buyers of commercial apartments is the relatively high cost of utilities compared to ordinary residential buildings and higher property taxes. “The tax for commercial apartments is calculated just as for hotels and offices and amounts to 0.5-2%,” explains Roman Tkachenko. “However, the higher tax rate is compensated by the more affordable prices for this type of residential property. As a rule commercial, apartments cost 15-20% less than apartments of a comparable size in residential buildings located in the same districts.”
In late February Moscow municipal authorities announced that before the end of 2015 commercial apartments may be reclassified as ordinary apartments and the city would introduce a moratorium on the construction of such apartments. Roman Tkachenko notes that if commercial apartments assume the status of ordinary apartments, then their prices will be sure to rise.