If at the beginning of 2014 the commercial real estate market in Latvia has seen steady demand, then with the beginning of spring and summer, the number of transactions decreased. It happened due to the weakening of Russian ruble, aftermath of Olympics in Sochi and the events in Ukraine, writes ee24.com citing realia.lv.
In the first months of the year small offices, industrial and warehouse premises up to 3,000 sq.m were quite popular in Latvia. In the second half of April, the demand began to fall. Vitālijs Varslavans, Head of Commercial Department at Realia, names three reasons for the stagnation of this segment: the fall of the ruble against the euro, hard times for Russian business after the Olympics in Sochi and the events in Ukraine. Although the latter factor may play into the hands of Latvia, country where Ukrainian businessmen are ready to transfer their production.
Commercial property market in Latvia also suffers because of internal reasons: in particular, some owners unreasonably increased the rent.