Compact, but: why microstudies are leaving the housing market

In two years, the number of micro-apartments for sale in new buildings in the capital has decreased 7.5 times. Experts attribute this to new requirements for minimum living space and a decrease in investment demand. At the same time, compact apartments are still in demand among young buyers, investors and those for whom location is more important than square footage. How the small—size housing market is changing in Moscow and the regions - in the Izvestia article.

Why microstudies are disappearing

Micro-apartments with an area of up to 20 sq. m. They may disappear from Moscow's new buildings within a year. According to Kalinka, their share in total sales decreased from 14.5% in 2023 to a critical 4.6% in 2026.

"Their sales have fallen 7.5 times, from 1,059 apartments in 2023 to 141 in 2026," said Victoria Grigorieva, Managing Partner of the ecosystem. — This is due to the law, which requires the design of apartments with an area of at least 28 square meters. m. At the same time, sales of larger studios are falling much slower. This suggests that buyers are willing to choose studios if they have enough space to live in.

Dmitry Proskurin, Commercial Director of Metrium, said that 182 lots with an area of up to 20 square meters were presented on the primary market in Moscow in August 2026. m inclusive against 453 lots a year earlier. Their number has decreased by more than one and a half times.

"There are 178 apartments and four apartments among them," the expert added. — 126 microstudies belong to the mass segment of "old" Moscow, 42 belong to the business class, and 14 more such lots are sold in New Moscow. There are currently no such options in the premium and high-budget segments. New apartments with an area of up to 20 sq. m. m can completely disappear from the market within a year.

The area of the most compact micro—apartment currently for sale is 14.1 square meters, Dmitry Proskurin noted. The most affordable option costs 5 million rubles for an area of 18.2 square meters, and the most expensive is 22.2 million rubles for 19.6 square meters.

These are mainly lots in projects that were launched before the introduction of new requirements, explained Victoria Kardash, head of the territorial Sales Department of A101 Group of Companies.

"Such offers will continue to appear on the secondary market," she stressed.

What is happening with small-sized housing in Russia

The average area of housing currently under construction in the country is about 50 square meters, Dmitry Proskurin noted.

"The number of micro—apartments in new projects is decreasing even in regions where they can still be built," he added. — This is due to the increasing role of family mortgages in the structure of sales under DDA.

Three years ago, the share of lots with an area of up to 25 square meters. The share of the total construction volume in Russia reached 7%, now it has decreased to 6%, said Yulia Bocharnikova, executive director of the federal company "Floors".

According to Victoria Kardash, in general, the situation with small-sized housing in the country is not uniform. There is no single federal ban on the construction of apartments of less than 28 square meters. m. yet: the recommendations of the Ministry of Construction on the minimum area are optional, and specific requirements may vary depending on the region. Therefore, small-sized housing is still quite common outside of Moscow and the Moscow region.

The trend towards reducing micro-apartments continues. This is not only due to restrictions on the construction of housing up to 28 square meters. m in the metropolitan area, but also with a change in customer preferences, explained Yulia Bocharnikova.

The remaining microstudies will be sold within the framework of the construction permits already received, in the future such options will be found on the secondary market and in the "gray" segment, said Svyatoslav Ivanov, head of the sales department of the company "Blossom Capital".

— Buyers of such housing can be divided into three categories, — said the expert. — The first is young people, for whom the studio becomes their first home. The second is investors: about 30% consider this format as an investment, and renting out a studio earns 30-40 thousand rubles per month. The third is those who focus on location: when choosing compact housing, the area occupies only the seventh place in importance, second only to location and transport accessibility.

Will micro-apartments disappear from the market

Microstudies will not disappear from the market, and world experience confirms this, says Denis Zhalnin, CEO of the People development company. According to him, this housing format will occupy its own narrower niche.

— Small apartments are suitable for single people, renting out or as a starting option when the family does not have the opportunity to purchase a larger apartment, — he noted.

The main risk of studios is their liquidity. Despite the lower total cost due to the small area, the price per square meter in them is usually noticeably higher than in ordinary studio apartments. Therefore, when choosing such housing, it is important to take into account not only the overall budget, but also the ratio of price, space and comfort, Denis Zhalnin added.

However, the trend towards limiting microformats is gaining momentum, recalled Svyatoslav Ivanov. Following Moscow and the Moscow region, where the ban on the construction of facilities is less than 28 square meters. The m is valid from 2024-2025, recommendations to abandon such apartments were received by St. Petersburg, Tatarstan, Sverdlovsk and Novosibirsk regions.

— In the Leningrad region, the number of apartments with an area of up to 25 square meters per year. m decreased by 38% — from 3269 to 2031, — he noted. — In Russia as a whole, the share of studios in the primary market decreased from 17% to 15%. In the Novosibirsk region, this figure has also decreased from 20% to 18%, but there is no direct ban on construction yet, and the market remains oversaturated: over the years of preferential mortgages, more than 60 thousand small—sized apartments have accumulated there, and more than half of them were purchased for investment purposes.

At the same time, the dynamics is reversed in resort towns. In Anapa, studios and studio apartments account for 79% of all transactions, in Krasnodar — 58%. In Crimea, the share of studios among one-room apartments has increased by 14 percentage points in five years and now stands at 15%. In the first quarter of 2026, studios in Crimea rose in price by 7%, and one—bedroom apartments by 9%. This shows that investors' interest in compact housing in tourist regions remains high.