Real estate in Latvia

Exclusive apartments

Buying prestigious luxury property always shows the status of the owner. And also the purchase of an exclusive apartment is always a profitable investment, this property does not become cheaper. Exclusive apartments in Riga can be bought in the most prestigious areas of the city with an excellent location. From the windows of these apartments, as a rule, there is an amazing view of the spiers of the old town of Riga, of the magnificent parks, and of the Daugava river. Exclusive apartments in Jurmala are most often located in beautiful places, on the sea shore.

Exclusive property is represented by apartments, studios, lofts and penthouses. Offers for exclusive apartments are very varied and may include: designer interior, exotic woods in the interior, natural granite and marble floors, parquet made of valuable wood, a fireplace, smart home system, air conditioning, 24-hour physical security, and video surveillance.

Apartments in the historical center

These are apartments in the most beautiful districts of Riga: in Old Riga – the oldest part of the city with 13th century architectural monuments; in Art Nouveau in Riga – with richly decorated facades of houses from the beginning of the 20th century; in the so-called noble nest or the embassy district of Riga. There are many embassies, financial institutions, places of entertainment and recreation, offices of many commercial banks in Latvia, government institutions, theaters, concert halls, bars and clubs, as well as the most beautiful parks of the city.

The best apartments of this type are located in fully renovated houses, with new heating, water supply, and sewage systems. In the roomy and bright apartments with high ceilings the historic layouts have been saved, ceiling moldings and oak parquet repaired, and wooden windows renovated. Such apartments are often offered with furniture, carefully chosen to match the style of the house.

Apartments in new projects

Newly built apartment complexes are carefully designed and built with environmentally friendly quality materials; living in them is comfortable and safe. For the construction modern technical solutions have been used, and when choosing materials they are first evaluated for their energy efficiency in order to provide tenants with the minimal consumption of resources and comfortable living in warm apartments. When choosing a place for new buildings, developers pay attention to both quiet and green areas far from central highways for nature lovers, and to the city center for those who always want to be in the center of events and enjoy all the urban benefits: excellent logistics, developed infrastructure, leisure facilities, etc.

New buildings are usually equipped with elevators, landscaped courtyards, underground or ground-based parking lots and spaces for bicycles, airy lobbies providing convenient access to the apartments and elevators, and also facilities for parents with baby strollers and for people with limited motor function abilities.

Apartments in new buildings are offer fully finished or finished on the instructions of future tenants.

Series type apartments

Buying an apartment on the secondary market has its pros and cons: from the pros – often apartments are sold already renovated and partially furnished. Due to this, apartments do not require additional investment. The main disadvantages can be pending burdens and debts for an apartment. The disadvantages include quite high utility bills, firstly, because of the poor condition of the general connections (plumbing, sewage, wiring), and secondly, because of the low energy efficiency of houses built mainly of panel blocks without sufficient insulation.

Apartments on the secondary market in Latvia are cheaper than new ones, since many of them were built back in the Soviet era or even in the pre-Soviet years. There were not many cars back then, so there may be a shortage of parking spaces in the neighborhood. Serial houses were usually built a bit away from the city center, which makes tenants of neighborhood dependent on public transport, its timetable and routes. On the other hand, being away from the city center usually means rest from the noise and fuss, close to nature: near many of neighborhoods there are forest parks or whole forests.

Purchase prices

You can buy an apartment in Latvia from € 20,000, but this will be either a modest apartment in a small town, or a studio in a panel house in Riga. If we talk about apartments in panel houses in neighborhood, then a one-room apartment in good condition can be purchased for € 20,000-30,000. A two-room apartment costs € 30,000-40,000, a three-room apartment for € 35,000-50,000, and a four-room apartment for € 40,000. The average price for an apartment in a new project is € 150,000-180,000.

Apartments for rent

Renting an apartment is a great alternative to hotels for a short stay in Latvia and an opportunity to live in the country without immediately investing money in buying a property.

People who come on a business trip or for a weekend, often choose the second option between the rooms in the hotel and the apartment, as it is very profitable, especially in the case of several people, and convenient for several reasons. Those who have repeatedly stayed in hotels know that there is no way to cook for themselves, and the products offered are two to three times more expensive than in a supermarket. In this case, the advantages of the apartment are obvious, because here at any time of the day you can cook a favorite dish for yourself or have a cup of tea.

Renting an apartment for a long term allows you to get to know the country better, get an opportunity to meet with its people, traditions, and accumulate information about the real estate market and offers before buying a property. It is also a convenient solution to the housing problem for freelancers and other professionals who are not tied to a place of work.

Rental amount

The amount of rent for an apartment may vary depending on the city, district, number of rooms, condition of the renovation, furniture, etc. You can rent an apartment in Latvia starting from € 20 per day or from € 100 per month. The highest rent is in the capital of Latvia – Riga. In Riga, the cost of renting a one-bedroom apartment can start from € 200. If you want to rent a two-room apartment, you will have to pay € 250 per month. These are prices for apartments in serial houses in neighborhoods. If we talk about the center of the capital, a one-room apartment will cost about € 300 per month. Utility payments are not included in the rental price. When concluding an agreement on renting an apartment, as a rule, rent is paid for the first and last month plus a security deposit in the amount of one month’s rent.

Utility payments

Utility payments depend not only on consumption and a set of services of the service company, but also on the location of the building. For example, the cost of a typical apartment of about 60 m2 in Riga in the winter season will be about € 200, in the summer – € 100.

Monthly payment consists of a bill for house management services, which includes routine maintenance of the apartment, savings for future repairs, garbage collection (calculated based on the number of people declared in the apartment), water supply and sewerage, water heating, a heated towel rail, etc. If you consume two or three cubic liters of water (cold and hot water meter are installed everywhere), the bill will be about € 70-80. In winter, € 40-60 will be added for heating.

The cost of electricity (calculated according to the meter data) with a consumption of 70-80 kW will be about € 15 per month.

Gas (calculated according to the meter data) costs about € 5-7 per month.
TV package + Internet will cost € 20-25 per month.

Finally, each owner pays an annual property tax, for the above-mentioned apartment of 60 m2 in a neighborhood of Riga, the cost is about € 120 per year.