Verkhovna Rada extends moratorium on farmland sales to January 1, 2008

The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine`s parliament, has passed a bill extending the ban on the sale of farmland until January 1, 2008. A total of 354 MPs out of 436 registered for the vote supported the bill amending the Land Code of Ukraine.

Until January 1, 2008, the bill bans land property rights from being included in the statutory funds of economic entities. The bill also bans the purchase and sale of state-owned farmland and farmland under communal ownership, except when it must be purchased for public needs. The bill also bans until January 1, 2008, the purchase and sale or any possible alienation of farmland owned by Ukrainian citizens or legal entities other than through the transfer of farmland as inheritance or the legal exchange of one farmland plot for another. As earlier reported, in June, the participants in the anti-crisis coalition agreed to prolong the moratorium for one year, until January 1, 2008 [the current moratorium is valid until January 1, 2007], and lift it after a set of measures on the functioning of the land market are developed and introduced.

There are 33 million hectares of arable land in Ukraine. Some experts estimate the value of Ukraine`s arable land as more than UAH 300 billion. The bill has to be signed by the president [Viktor Yuschenko] to take effect. The Universal of National Unity, an agreement signed by the president and other leading politicians, stipulates that the moratorium on farmland sales will be extended until January 1, 2008.

Kiev city planners approve 350 m USD shopping/office complex

Ukrainian real estate company XXI Century Investments Public Ltd said the city planning committee of Kiev has approved a 350 mln usd mixed-use Vyrlytsia complex in Kiev's Darnytsia district.

The complex comprising shopping, entertainment, hotel and office space would be on a total building space of around 500,000 sq metres. Construction is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2007.

Earlier this year, XXI Century extended its leasing agreement to 25 years with Kiev City Council on the land where the mixed-use Vyrlytsia complex in Kiev will be built.

Vyrlytsia is a station on Kiev Metro's Syretsko-Pecherska line

Ukrainian Business Group invest $3 million in new construction company in 2007

Ukrainian Business Group plans to invest $3 million in the construction of a construction firm in Kyiv in 2007, UBG President Ruslan Demchak said during a press lunch in Kyiv on Wednesday. "The amount of investments in the infrastructure of a new construction company according to plans will be $3 million," he said. Demchak said that the company would offer the whole range of services - starting from the registration of documents and land plots to the sale of housing. The company will work in Kyiv`s `satellite`-towns - Boryspil, Brovary, Vyshgorod, and Vyshneve, he said. Demchak said that next year the company would build two apartment houses.

UAH B1.705 paid for rent of land sites in Ukraine to Dec 1

As of December 1, a total of UAH 1.705 billion was paid in rent for land sites, which is 73.2% of the plan for 2006, according to a posting on Tuesday on the official Web site of the State Committee for Land Resources.

According to the report, the highest level of payments was recorded in Kirovohrad (96.4%), Cherkasy (95.3%) regions, Crimea (84%), Odesa (83.6%), Poltava (83.5%), Donetsk (79,7%) and Mykolaiv (78.3%) regions, and the lowest level was registered in Kyiv (23.5%), Lviv (34.5%), Zakarpattia (35.8%) and Ivano-Frankivsk (44.1%) regions. There were no payments in Sevastopol since the start of the year.

The committee press service said that in Ukraine in 2006, a total of 4,500 land rent agreements were signed. The largest number of agreements were signed for a period up to five years - 62.2% of the total number of agreements. The total area of leased land sites is 17.7 million hectares, or 64.7% of the distributed land.

Sambu Construction began negotiations with Lviv authorities

The south Korean company Sambu Construction began negotiations with Lviv authorities about building a hotels in town. Were shown a sites that city authorities made a decision, that there are can be built the hotels for football championship «Euro-2012».

Lviv hotels occupancy arrives at 80% now. At the same time quality of services in hotels is wish the best. From local operators, in Lviv four hotels position itself, as 4-star, but certificated from them only one. Should be, Sambu Construction will build together with the partners from Singapore. An investor is predisposed to the construction a small hotel, whereupon will make a decision about the further bigger format in Lviv.

Sambu Construction is establish in 1948. A company is specialized on building of dikes, motorways, railways. Other business area is business parks building, dwelling-houses and hotels. In particular, a company owns a few hotels in Japan, Pakistan and Nepal.

Kiev passed out East Europe on the residential real estate cost

Now, rising residential prices at Kiev is passed many capitals of East Europe, such as Warsaw, Vilnius, Tallin, Riga and even Saint-Petersburg. Substantial gap remains from Moscow, where average price exceeded $4 thousands per 1 sq. m.

Annual demand at the Kiev real estate market makes more than 20 000 flats. The basic demand is formed due to well-off people and visitors which during the last three years annually fill up Kiev on K 55-60 persons.

Experts say average month proposition is 3 500-4 000 flats for sale. Offers at the used flat market almost in 4 times more than on new ones.

A National Bank of Ukraine is prepared for the prices collapse on real estate market

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) was prepared by the project of "Order of currency operations, related to the export and import of financial capital" which foresees a temporary moratorium on personal crediting in foreign currency.

The promise of National Bank Head, Vladimir Stel'makha can play on a hand that, who wants to improve the housings conditions. A rising price on residential real estate already resulted in that the half of all of transactions at the market of habitation is carried out by mortgage loans. From Ukrainian national mortgage association (UNIA), up to 85% mortgage oans are given out exactly in currency. If national Bank will succeed to forbid the currency crediting, on the estimations of experts, the more than half of potential borrowers will give up services of banks, not wishing to pay for the hryvna credit of 17--18% annual. This process, as experts consider, can be outpoured in falling of demand at the market of the real estate to 40%.

Opera five-star hotel opening in Kiev

A "boutique" hotel is contained by 138 numbers, 7 luxury room, executed in different styles of the known operas. In a hotel there is the Italian restaurant with the European kitchen, conference hall on 250 persons, spa-center, fitness-club, jewellery boutiques and two parking into 25 places.

Service on business floor will be hardly higher, than in other. For this category of guests the separate is foreseen business-reception for registration and departure from a hotel, after every guest a butler will be fastened. To attract business travelers, a hotel developed the special bonus system: for example, on 15th time of visit of hotel customers will get a gift to the amount of about 1 500 UAH.

The cost of the new lux Kiev hotel now makes from a 540 euro per day, standard number are 304 euros. In March 2007, when fully options will make off of rooms finishing and equipment, the prices will grow up to 20%.