This year, growth in real estate prices is likely to continue, according to Andris Božē, Member of the Management Board of housing developer and construction company YIT Latvija.
He notes that housing prices in Latvia are still around 30–40% lower than in Lithuania or Estonia, and if the economic environment remains stable, a natural convergence toward the Baltic price level can be expected. Božē predicts that this will not be a sudden jump, but rather a predictable development trend that corresponds to the income levels of economically active residents.
Among the key challenges, Božē highlights construction costs and planning-related bureaucracy. The complex and time-consuming approval procedures continue to hinder both large-scale and mid-sized projects, increase development costs, and discourage investors from entering the Latvian market. To develop not only individual projects but also an environment where people want to live, a high-quality dialogue between the industry, the state, and municipalities is needed, Božē believes.
Given that the real estate sector managed to break out of the stagnation experienced in previous years, Božē is generally optimistic about 2026. YIT Latvija’s main goals for 2026 are to continue developing projects with high added value, strengthen its position in the regions, and advocate for improvements in the sector, including active involvement in discussions on the future development of Riga’s neighborhoods.
The company will also continue work on its largest project to date, “Rubīns” in Zolitūde. In 2026, YIT Latvija plans to actively continue work on already launched projects such as “Silvas nami” in Purvciems and “Mārpagalmi” in Āgenskalns, as well as submit applications for new development projects, thereby contributing to the growth of Latvia’s residential housing stock.
As previously reported, YIT Latvija’s turnover in 2024 amounted to €35.246 million, which is 2.4 times more than in 2023, while the company’s profit increased by 47% to €2.83 million, according to information from Firmas.lv.
YIT Latvija was registered in 1998, and the company’s share capital amounts to €47,429,278. The owner of the company is the Finnish firm YIT Housing.
The YIT Group operates in eight countries — Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden, and Poland. The group’s turnover reached €1.8 billion in 2024. Shares of YIT Corporation are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki.
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