By AZE.US
With the new academic year approaching, students arriving in Baku from Azerbaijan’s regions are struggling to find affordable rental housing.
The market is facing both rising prices and a shortage of available apartments.
Demand is highest for homes near universities and metro stations. Monthly rents in older apartment buildings now average:
- One-bedroom apartments: 450-500 manats ($265-$294)
- Two-bedroom apartments: 600-700 manats ($353-$412)
- Three-bedroom apartments: 800-1,000 manats ($471-$588)
Real estate agents say rents have increased by approximately 20% compared with last year. In neighborhoods with convenient public transportation, finding a one-bedroom apartment for less than 500 manats has become increasingly difficult.
Many students try to reduce expenses by sharing apartments in groups of three or four.
However, some landlords refuse to rent to students, particularly groups of young men, and instead prefer families or female tenants.
Affordable dormitory rooms are also in short supply and fill quickly.
Real estate expert Elnur Farzaliyev attributed the situation to seasonal demand and a decline in the number of available rental properties.
He said the demolition of older apartment buildings, private homes and residential neighborhoods in and around central Baku has removed part of the city’s low-cost housing stock from the market.
The overall increase in property prices is also pushing rents higher. According to Farzaliyev, the surge in demand before the academic year creates conditions for landlords to artificially inflate prices.
As a result, some students are being forced to look for housing on Baku’s outskirts. Although rents may be lower there, students face additional transportation costs, longer commutes and, in some cases, the need to change buses several times to reach their universities.
AZE.US