Classification of real estate: from “economy” to “elite”

Recommendation points

• Economy class
• Business Class
• Premium class
• Deluxe

Reading various advertisements for the purchase or sale of apartments and houses, news about the construction of new residential complexes and cottage settlements, you constantly come across such characteristics of real estate as “economy class”, “premium class”, “deluxe”, “elite” and etc.

A person who is ignorant of all the diversity of the residential real estate market is often quite difficult to understand all the differences and features of each category of apartments. In fact, it is clear that “economy” is the most inexpensive, ordinary housing “no pretensions”, and the category of “elite” implies that the apartment has a number of additional advantages. But what is the difference between “premium class” and “business class” and how to understand such a characteristic as “a cottage village offers houses that are in the segment between” business “and” elite “- it is already difficult to understand.

It is worth noting that, although there is a generally accepted classification of residential real estate objects, there is no consensus among specialists, and many developers assign categories to their new residential complexes and are completely guided only by their desire to sell at a higher price. In this respect, the Russian real estate market, as always, has serious differences from the market of Western countries, where all the requirements for elite houses are clearly spelled out and are met by all developers without exception..

Economy class

So, the most inexpensive, ordinary apartments, which, according to real estate agencies, occupy about 68% of the total residential real estate market in Moscow. Often the concept of “economy class” is confused with such a category as “social housing”. This is not entirely true. Real estate “economy class” is freely sold on the market, and anyone can buy it, you only need a certain amount of money. But social housing is issued by the state to privileged categories of citizens, state employees, valuable employees in need of better housing conditions, migrants from dilapidated and dilapidated houses, fire victims and so on..

It is clear that social housing will also belong to the category of “economy class” in terms of its characteristics – our state is not obliged to provide free high-comfort housing, and it cannot afford to waste budget funds on such a luxury. But it is impossible to single out social housing in a separate category – these are ordinary “economical” apartments that belong to the state and are allocated to beneficiaries on certain conditions.

If we highlight the main characteristics of “economy class” housing, it turns out that there are very few requirements for such apartments:

• ceiling height – from 2.5 to 2.7 meters;
• there are always more than 100 apartments in a residential complex of this class, usually it is multi-storey – about 20 floors, and up to 11-12 apartments can be located on one staircase;
• located in a typical, not very attractive in terms of location, residential area, most often somewhere on the outskirts, and in the case of capital real estate – even closer to the Moscow region;
• housing “economy class” is often built from panels, but recently developers have nevertheless begun to make a choice in favor of monolithic-frame or monolithic-block construction, so that today “housekeepers” can be located in buildings built using very different technologies;
• only one small open balcony;
• typical layout – apartments on each staircase are similar to their neighbors above and below, we are not talking about individual projects;
• an ordinary, often noisy and slow elevator, which can also be attributed to the “economy class”;
• in such residential complexes, the first two floors are often reserved for commercial real estate; offices and noisy entertainment centers can be located here. On the one hand, a well-developed infrastructure is good, on the other, one can only dream of peace and quiet;
• the presence of a car park in a residential complex of “economy class” is not at all necessary, but lately developers are increasingly attracting buyers with a parking lot equipped on the adjacent territory – there are usually fewer car spaces here than apartments in the house;
• there is usually no garbage chute in such houses. However, this characteristic is already not indicative at the present time – the arrangement of garbage chutes was also abandoned in other, more prestigious buildings, since this is considered unaesthetic and violates the general atmosphere of a clean entrance, shining with new decoration;
• the minimum living space is 20 square meters per person, that is, one-room apartments can have a very small area and represent studio apartments, where the kitchen is combined with a single room.

The main advantage of “economy class” apartments is their relatively low price. This is the most affordable category of real estate, designed for an average income level. However, despite such simplicity and the absence of additional comfortable conditions, in Moscow and other cities of Russia “economy class” apartments are available to ordinary citizens only on a mortgage basis, since their price is still too high.

Business Class

Of course, much more comfortable and with a number of additional advantages in comparison with the “economy class” real estate.

So, not all new residential complexes may belong to this category of apartments, but only those that were built using monolithic frame technology or from silicate bricks. There can be many apartments in such buildings – up to 150, however, no more than eight can be located on one site.

Other characteristics of “business class” buildings include:

• ceiling height – from 2.8 to 3 meters;
• the minimum area per inhabitant is 40 square meters, so there simply cannot be small one-room apartments of 30-35 square meters in such complexes;
• there must be a well-equipped parking lot, where each apartment must have at least one place for a car;
• there can be two balconies, for example, one glazed loggia and a relatively small open balcony;
• many residential complexes of “business class” offer their residents and additional services, such as 24-hour security and concierge service. This, of course, immediately affects the size of the monthly rent, but is appreciated by residents as an indicator of a higher status of housing and a guarantee of security..

According to statistics, today 25% of residential complexes in Moscow belong to the category of “business class”, this housing is in demand among those buyers who seek additional comfort, can afford to pay a cost that is 10-20% higher than the price of housing in Lcd category “economy”, but do not “reach” the level of buyers of luxury real estate.

Premium class

It should be noted right away that it is with the “premium” category that truly elite real estate begins; in general, the “elite” segment includes only two types of housing – “deluxe” and “premium”.

Such objects still differ from each other, for example, the “premium class” has the following characteristics:

• the technology for the construction of buildings of this type is strictly limited – only a monolithic frame or ceramic brickwork;
• there are no 100 or more apartments in premium-class houses, usually their number is strictly limited – up to 30-40 residential areas, while on one site there can be no more than four;
• ceiling height – from 3 to 4 meters;
• the presence of both a loggia and a balcony is required, in addition, there is usually also a spacious terrace;
• without fail, the premium class residential complex has an underground, warm parking, which usually provides two parking spaces for each separate apartment;
• the territory is isolated, closed, is under round-the-clock security;
• a project for the construction of a “premium class” house is always an individual proposal of an architectural bureau, taking into account both the terrain and the customer’s wishes;
• most often, “premium” housing represents infill development or buildings that have arisen in prestigious, central areas on the site of demolished dilapidated housing;
• apartments in residential complexes of this category are distinguished by an improved layout, often buyers are offered housing with a free layout, with the ability to independently decide how many living rooms will be in the apartment and how exactly they will be located;
• a residential building of “premium class” is obliged to offer its residents an increased level of comfort – silent elevators, video cameras in common areas, impeccable finishing of staircases and hallways, concierge services, and so on.

Today, residential complexes of “premium class” are only 5% of all residential real estate in the capital, an offer not for everyone, characterized by a fairly high price and a prestigious location.

Deluxe

The most expensive apartments in all respects are the most expensive, the most prestigious, exclusive and attractive, but inaccessible to the vast majority of Russians. To be eligible to be classified as elite real estate of the DeLuxe class, a residential complex must have the following characteristics:

• no more than 30 apartments in the building, only one or two apartments on the site;
• residential complexes of “deluxe” class are always erected according to individual projects, taking into account the peculiarities of the surrounding landscape. These are often historical, carefully reconstructed houses in the center of a metropolis;
• high-speed Internet, cable and satellite TV, intercoms, the most modern utilities, a unified air conditioning and ventilation system, autonomous heating – all this is an indispensable attribute of a DeLuxe class house;
• apartments in buildings of this type always have a loggia, a balcony, a terrace, and often a winter garden;
• the ceiling height exceeds 3.1 meters;
• in the underground or located in a separate annex, at least two parking spaces, and sometimes more, are provided for one apartment;
• the housing infrastructure may include a sauna, a swimming pool, landscape design of the territory, and so on;
• The most important difference from the category of “premium class” housing is that the staff of the complex is engaged in cleaning the apartments of the “deluxe” class, of course, with the consent of the owners. Such a service should automatically be included in the list of advantages of the complex.

According to real estate agencies, in Moscow, only 2% of residential real estate can be classified as DeLuxe, this is the most expensive housing, most often – Club houses located in the historic city center.

Today, many experts note that new residential complexes, which by their characteristics can be classified as elite real estate, that is, the categories of “premium” or “deluxe”, are being built not in prestigious areas, but on the outskirts. Such a pronounced trend in recent years is due to the fact that buildings in the center of a metropolis can not always boast of a closed adjoining territory, isolation from other buildings. And there are fewer and fewer vacancies in city centers, and in order to meet demand, developers are forced to explore new territories..

However, the experts themselves note that the development of the area with buildings of “business”, “premium” or DeLuxe class can in itself make the area more prestigious, which will increase its status.

One more nuance – as we can see, among the characteristics of real estate categories there are no such features as “high quality building and finishing materials.” According to Vasily Sopromadze, President of Corporation C and a well-known developer in St. Petersburg, now such a characteristic of housing has become a matter of course and to claim a higher status only on this basis is the same as to say – “we offer apartments with all the amenities “, Whereas in the XXI century you won’t surprise anyone with a toilet in a house.