Kazakh housing indicators on the rise
Published on 16/10/2014
Kazakhstan's housing stock continues to improve, according to new figures which point a positive picture for the residential construction industry.
Figures published by the Ranking.kz analytical service show that the total housing area in Kazakhstan amounted to 336.1 million square metres in 2013, with the housing stock rising by 11 per cent to 32.7 million square metres.
Living space
The figures also show that the total living area per person continued to rise last year, and is well on course to exceed UN standards.
Between 2012 and 2013, the living area per Kazakh citizen rose from 19.6 to 20.9 square metres, with urban areas now making up 62.5 per cent of the country’s housing stock.
The total housing area per person has now risen from 18.3 to 20.9 square meters in five years and is rapidly approaching the UN’s recommended standard for housing, which stands at 30 square meters per person.
Analysts note that the average total area per person in the city is larger than in the countryside, with the housing rate in urban areas standing at 23.7 sq m per person in 2013, compared with 17.4 sq m in rural areas.
Well on course
If the current rate of expansion is maintained, Kazakhstan will be able to reach UN standards by 2019 or 2020; particularly if the medium term housing growth rate remains within seven per cent.
Over the past two years, Kazakhstan has also reduced the space taken up by damaged houses to 750,000 square meters, with the proportion of damaged stock reaching an all-time minimum of 67 per cent of total housing.
Perhaps the most significant improvement has been seen in residential investments, which stood at 477.8 billion KZT ($2 billion) in 2013; around 70.8 billion KZT more than the year before, or a 17.4 per cent increase - the most significant rise in five years.
Encouragingly, that is set to be maintained in 2014 and beyond that, with the the residential investment amounting to 57 billion KZT in August alone, and 383.8 billion KZT for the first eight months of 2014, signifying that the Kazakh housing market will continue to make strides as the year progresses.