Housing and Real Estate in Saint Petersburg

The information on this page is generally accurate as of December 16, 2010. Exchange rate of 1 dollar (USD) to 30.65 rubles (RUB) was close to the best one could find that day in Saint Petersburg (Sankt-Peterburg), Russian Federation. This rate is used for currency conversions below, unless otherwise stated.

Real estate

Introduction

Apartments in Russia are graded by the number of rooms. Bedrooms, living-, children's, dining-rooms, dens, et cetera are counted towards rooms number; corridors (hallways), bath- and toilet-rooms as well as kitchens are counted separately. Rooms can be both isolated (the entrance is from a corridor) or adjacent (the entrance is from another room).

Sale

Average sale offer price of real estate in Saint Petersburg according to “Bulleten Nedvizhimosti” magazine (name translated into English as “Real Estate Bulletin”) at the end of December, 2010:

Item description	Price
	rubles per sq. meter	rubles per sq. foot	dollars per sq. foot
In secondary market (previously built)	82,250.00	2,683.52	249.31
In primary market (newly built)	not more than 70,000.00	not more than 2,283.85	not more than 212.18

Note: one square meter equals to 10.763910417 square feet.

For comparison with Moscow:

According to “Incom-Nedvizhimost” real estate agency average price of one square meter of Moscow secondary real estate in March 2011 was 199,400 rubles. At the exchange rate of 1 to 28.05 this makes 7,108.73 dollars, which is 660.42 dollars per square foot.
Update: According to “Indicatory rynka nedvizhimosti” center one square meter of residential real estate in Moscow as of May 16, 2011 cost 137,048 rubles. At the currency conversion rate of 28.05 this constitutes 4,885.85 dollars per m², or 453.91 dollars per square foot.

Rent

At the end of December, 2010 average rental offer price (monthly) according to “Bulleten Nedvizhimosti” magazine was as follows:

Item description	Price
	Rubles	Dollars
One room apartment	18,700.00	610.11
Two room apartment	25,500.00	831.98
Three room apartment	33,800.00	1,102.73

For example, a one room apartment on the third floor of a six-storey building, located in the very historical center of Saint Petersburg, complying to Western standards, with the room itself being 26 square meters (280 square feet), at the end of December, 2010 was offered for rent at 24,500.00 rubles (799.35 dollars) per month.

For comparison with Moscow: according to “Azbuka Nedvizhimosti” real estate agency average rental payment in Moscow during January 03 – January 09, 2011 was 69,900 rubles (2,636.96 dollars at the currency rate of 1 to 30.30) per month.

Utilities

Heating

By federal law centralized heating starts when daily mean ((minimum+maximum)/2) temperature falls below 8 degrees Celcius (46.4 Farenheit) for five consecutive days, and finishes if daily mean temperature exceeds 8 degrees Celcius (46.4 Farenheit) during five consecutive days.

Monthly heating costs range from 13.97 rubles (0.46 dollar) to 20.48 rubles (0.67 dollar) per one square meter (10.763910417 square feet). Newer and reconstructed houses tend to have lower heating costs (within above mentioned limit).

Electricity

Tariffs depend upon whether the house is appointed with an electrical oven in established order. Newer houses generally meet this requirement.

Item description	Price (cost) per kilowatt hour
	Rubles	Dollars
Houses appointed with electrical ovens	1.79	0.06
Other houses	2.55	0.08

Telephony & Internet

A landline telephone with unlimited calls costs 370 rubles, which is 12.07 dollars, per month.

The largest internet provider in the city (“InterZet”) offers unlimited traffic with speed of 5 megabits per second for 450 rubles (14.68 dollars). This fee is for a month of service.