The key facts
- The expert considers the low price of an apartment without finishing a deceptive saving: spending on plumbing, electrics, furniture and workers often exceeds the initial budget.
- For mortgage borrowers the situation is more complicated: while the home is unfit to live in, they have to pay the loan and possibly rent another place.
- According to Rakuta, finished apartments are sometimes found on the market at the price of unfinished counterparts — with a limited budget he advises choosing them.
Ready-made renovation vs bare concrete walls
Buying an apartment with a finished renovation in 2026 may prove more advantageous than purchasing a home without any finishing — due to rising prices for building materials and workers' services. This opinion was expressed by real estate expert and mortgage broker Dmitry Rakuta in an interview with the online publication Podmoskovye Segodnya (cited by Life.ru).
Why a 'cheap' apartment ends up costing more
According to the specialist, the low price of an apartment without finishing creates a deceptive impression of savings. After the purchase, the owner has to spend money on plumbing, electrics, furniture, household appliances and builders' work, and the final amount often turns out to be higher than the initial budget. An added difficulty is finding qualified craftsmen: mistakes by a crew lead to rework and new expenses, and the finishing work itself can drag on for a year or longer.
Who finds it especially hard without finishing
Such costs are especially painful for mortgage borrowers. While the apartment is unfit to live in, the owner is simultaneously paying off the loan and solving the housing question; if they are also renting another place, the burden grows even heavier. Rakuta advises first of all assessing the condition of the utilities, wiring and walls: a solid foundation matters more than appearance, since rehanging wallpaper or refreshing the interior is cheaper than doing a major renovation.
When the option without finishing makes sense
Buying a home without finishing, in the expert's view, suits those who have spare money and time and want to design the interior themselves. The main condition is that the difference in apartment prices should cover the upcoming expenses. Sometimes the market offers finished apartments at the price of similar homes with bare concrete walls: in that case the buyer moves in sooner and avoids extra costs. With a limited budget, Rakuta recommends looking at options where the renovation has already been done.
Context: Russians' priorities after age 30
Life.ru previously wrote, citing its own research, about how the financial priorities of Russians change after age 30: 25% of respondents, as they age, prefer improving their living conditions over large purchases, including renovation and upgrading appliances; 23% focus on savings; and 18% consider paying off a mortgage or other loans more important than acquiring additional real estate.
