Rental market 2025: where Ukrainians are moving to and why housing prices are rising
1 October 18:17
ANALYSIS FROM 
Residential real estate rents in Ukraine have gone up with the onset of autumn. At the same time, despite the large number of apartments and houses on offer, demand has declined. What factors influence the rental market today, what kind of housing Ukrainians choose, what caused the rise in rental prices, and why demand is falling, we found out
According to the State Statistics Service, the country is experiencing an increase in rental rates. Overall, since the beginning of the year, the average increase in rental prices for 1-room apartments in Ukraine has amounted to 5.04%, but each region has its own indicators.
Oddly enough, Sumy region became the leader, where the rent of a 1-room apartment increased by more than 32%. While in December 2024 the average price was about UAH 4.13 thousand, in July 2025 it was already UAH 5.46 thousand.
The second most dynamic region was Kyiv region (13.71%), where rents increased from UAH 5.46 thousand to UAH 6.2 thousand.
Also, significant growth was recorded in Poltava (12.06%) and Zhytomyr (11.27%) regions.
But in some regions, on the contrary, the cost of rent has decreased since the beginning of the year:
Kirovograd region – a decrease of 3.72% (from UAH 6.37 thousand to UAH 6.1 thousand). At the same time, prices were declining until April, and began to rise in May.
Cherkasy region – decrease by 2.26% (from UAH 8.77 thousand to UAH 8.57 thousand). Here, the dynamics was reversed: growth until April, then a decline.
According to LUN analysts, the most expensive rent is now in Uzhhorod (Zakarpattia region), where a 1-room apartment costs an average of UAH 19 thousand.
Kyiv is in second place: uAH 18 thousand – for owners, about UAH 16 thousand – for rented apartments.
Lviv ranks third with an average rent of UAH 17 thousand.
According to LUN, the largest increase in rental prices was recorded in Odesa, but this is rather a seasonal phenomenon. And in Kharkiv and the region, a one-bedroom apartment can still be rented for about UAH 4 thousand.
Young people are leaving – housing is vacant
The sharp rise in prices in Sumy region is due to the fact that the city has become a frontline city, with many military and IDPs moving there, which has increased demand.
The demand for housing is high. People from the frontline areas are moving to Sumy. The military are also looking for apartments, which are not provided to them for free, but rather the owners raise prices. They often argue that after the military move in, repairs or general cleaning are needed. There is also an increase in the number of immigrants from the border areas, which further influenced the price increase,” said
[Kommersant] lyudmila, a Sumy realtor, told [Komersant].
In Kyiv, as noted by Vladislav Kulishenko, deputy chairman of the board of the Ukrainian Real Estate Association, there is a lot of vacant housing amid reduced demand. Although rents have increased by 10-17% over the year (previously, one could rent a one-bedroom apartment near the metro for UAH 6-7 thousand, now it costs UAH 10-12 thousand), there are fewer tenants.
Prices have risen, and demand has become selective. People are looking for either cheap housing or apartments in residential complexes with new renovations, shelters, and parking. There are fewer people moving to Kyiv. People come from Dnipropetrovs’k region, but there is no massive flow. People who had large houses are now looking for cheap apartments for UAH 8-10 thousand. Also, after men under 23 were allowed to travel abroad, many young people left. This freed up a lot of housing. IT workers who could afford expensive housing are now leaving even with their girlfriends,” Kulishenko said.
“In addition, some areas of the capital remain unpopular because of the constant shelling.
There are more applicants than apartments in the suburbs
Due to the forecasts of a difficult winter, tenants began to ask about the availability of generators for elevators, and also became less interested in apartments with electric stoves – they prefer gas ones. There is a great demand for housing with autonomous heating, which is almost impossible to find in Kyiv, but is available in the region.
In Irpin, for example, the situation is different: there is demand, but almost no supply. At the same time, prices have almost caught up with those in Kyiv: a one-room apartment in a new building in Irpin costs the same as in the center of the capital in the old stock.
Now there are at least five applicants for one apartment. There are very few offers. The priority is apartments with new renovation, furniture, where no one has lived, and with autonomous heating. And not only IDPs are looking for housing. Even Kyiv residents have started to take an interest in the suburbs, and there are many requests for houses. Prices have also increased: one-bedroom apartments are rented for an average of 15 thousand UAH, two-bedroom apartments – for 20 thousand UAH,” says realtor Iryna Makarenko.
“What realtors are unanimous about is that rental prices are unlikely to go down. They are also sure that even in the case of blackouts, Ukrainians will not go to the west of the country en masse.
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Author – Alla Dunina
