The answer to this question should be looked for not so much in the cities themselves, but in your wallet. Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv are now equally attractive to investors, but the only difference is in what starting capital you plan to enter the market with. Prices are constantly growing, so quickly analyze your options so as not to miss the chance to acquire housing in your favorite city.
Ivano-Frankivsk is a promising capital of IT and youth
Ivano-Frankivsk is gradually adopting the status of the IT capital of Ukraine. Young professionals with good incomes flooded the city, which affected the real estate market. If in January last year the average cost of 1 m² was at 23,400 UAH, then at the beginning of 2024 it moved to 28,500 UAH. In just a year, the price increased by 21.7%. Such indicators are, without exaggeration, rare in the real estate market, so they interested analysts and forced them to take a closer look at this city.
What objective factors influenced the rise in prices?
- Political and economic situation in the country. After a slight stagnation, there is a rapid increase in the level of employment, and with it the salaries of some categories of specialists. The number of internally displaced persons and military personnel, who are most interested in purchasing housing and have some privileges and benefits, also influences this. The focus is on the primary real estate market, which has begun to move its pistons with pre-war strength. Its activity and the emergence of an increasing number of available offers also caused increased demand and slightly increased prices.
- Increasing demand and interest from wealthy investors. Ivano-Frankivsk is not only a good place to live, but also to make money, so people invest in residential real estate here to form a stable and profitable investment portfolio. The ingenuity of investors is pushing developers to increase prices.
- Rise in price of building materials. The war directly affected supplies and logistics, so even buying the usual cement became an order of magnitude more expensive. In order not to work at a loss, developers raise prices.
The rapid rise in prices has been going on for a year now and doesn’t even think of stopping, although it is felt differently in different real estate segments:
| April 2023 | January 2024 | April 2024 | |
| Economy class | 20,000 UAH/m² | 18,600 UAH/m² | 18,600 UAH/m² |
| Comfort class | 22,700 UAH/m² | 28,300 UAH/m² | 29,400 UAH/m² |
| Business class | 27,900 UAH/m² | 32,200 UAH/m² | 34,700 UAH/m² |
| Premium class | 33,000 UAH/m² | 35,500 UAH/m² | 38,400 UAH/m² |
Despite the increase in the cost of square meters, experts insist that now is the time to jump on board the departing train and invest before the price tags begin to bite even more. They unanimously note the advantages of the Ivano-Frankivsk real estate market over all others:
- economic development of the region;
- increased quality of life;
- infrastructure development.
Ivano-Frankivsk is starting life from scratch and strives to create the image of a promising and modern city, so with its prospects it is already attracting new inhabitants. We invite you to look at the average rental prices that are relevant for February of this year, and independently calculate the profitability of your hypothetical apartment to make sure that the experts are not mistaken:
| 1-room apartments | 11,500 UAH/month |
| 2-room apartments | 13,400 UAH/month |
| 3-room apartments | 15,000 UAH/month |
Eternally beloved city of Leo
The real estate market in Lviv too not afraid of war. Demand here, as in Ivano-Frankivsk, only continues to grow. Already in April 2021, the cost of 1 m² was 24,000 UAH. Now the numbers have increased to 53,700 UAH/m². In such contrast, 28,500 UAH/m² in Frankovsk seems like real luxury. In just a few years, the price tag has even more than doubled. Of course, not every apartment in Lviv will cost you a fortune. It all depends on its location and area of the city. Traditionally, real estate on the outskirts is much more affordable than in the center. Despite this, the most popular properties are in the Shevchenko, Galitsky and Lychakiv districts, where the top of Lviv society mainly live. The cost is also affected by the presence and condition of repairs, infrastructure development, number of floors and other characteristics of a particular object.
| Center | Outskirts | |
| 1-room apartments | 65,500 UAH/m² | 55,000 UAH/m² |
| 2-room apartments | 100,000 UAH/m² | 81,300 UAH/m² |
| 3-room apartments | 139,000 UAH/m² | 89,000 UAH/m² |
As in the case of Ivano-Frankivsk, price formation in Lviv is influenced by:
- political and economic situation in the country;
- abundance of displaced persons and military personnel wishing to acquire housing;
- war and all the consequences that come from it.
The location of the house and the type of heating also play a big role. They prefer proximity to parks and those locations in which tourists will be minimally visible. As for heating, this issue is of more concern to investors in the secondary market, since beautiful historical buildings do not always have all the conditions for a comfortable life. Since we're talking about the secondary, let's look at its prices:
| 1-room apartments | from 62,000 UAH/m² |
| 2-room apartments | from 90,000 UAH/m² |
| 3-room apartments | from 110,000 UAH/m² |
The charm of history and the original Lviv flavor are inferior to modern trends, so investors are still primarily interested in new-generation residential complexes, which have their own infrastructure and embody the now popular concept of “city within a city.”
Developers are increasingly following the lead of displaced people and are trying to create more affordable complexes. To do this, they sacrifice the size of the apartments. Even if such objects are not very convenient for personal residence, they are considered one of the most popular on the rental market. You can rent out your home in Lviv at a very good price:
| Center | Outskirts | |
| 1-room apartments | 17,000 UAH/month | 14,000 UAH/month |
| 2-room apartments | 21,000 UAH/month | 15,000 UAH/month |
| 3-room apartments | 23,000 UAH/month | 15,000 UAH/month |