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RIGA, Jan 9 (Xinhua) -- Apartment prices in Riga's Soviet-time housing blocks continued to rise throughout 2016, climbing 7.6 percent from the beginning of the year, Latvia's Arco Real Estate company said in its latest housing market report.
The fastest price increases were recorded in February, March and April when apartment prices in the Latvian capital rose by more than 1 percent on average. The slowest rise was recorded in September. In December, apartment prices edged up 0.3 percent, reaching 705 euros per square meter, according to the Arco Real Estate report.
In 2016, prices rose for apartments of all sizes and types in Riga.
Depending on the number of rooms, apartment prices climbed 7.2-7.9 percent, resulting in the steepest annual increase since 2010 when apartment prices jumped 16.9 percent on year.
Like in previous years, apartment inventory fell sharply during the last month of 2016, declining by 15.2 percent in December. The number of apartments for sale decreased for the eighth month in a row and was significantly lower than in December 2015.
At the end of 2016, however, apartment prices were still 56.5 percent below the all-time high, recorded in mid-2007 when the price of a non-renovated apartment in Riga averaged at 1,620 euro per square meter.
In December 2016, apartment prices in the Latvian capital were 15 percent higher than at the beginning of 2014 and 10.7 percent higher than at the beginning 2015. Enditem
