According to the executive director of the Association of Developers, Tornike Abuladze, in the first quarter of 2019 the prices of apartments (sq.m) will increase by 100-120 USD. According to him, the reason for the rise in prices is the 41 st resolution that came into force last year. However, large portion of the projects had already commenced by then and thus the changes did not apply to them. Abuladze explained that the costs are higher mainly due to the incorporation of fire safety norms. “The cost per square meter will increase by $100-$120, which comes to approximately 200-300 in GEL. In addition to the fire safety norms, the process of issuing permissions has become stricter which means that there is more demand on the market than supply.”Says Abuladze.
In addition, Abuladze stated that although the demand will increase the costs of construction, it will also increase the reliability and quality of the buildings and will have a positive impact on the estate market in the long run. For reference: the document requires the developers to install fire escapes and fire rescue lifts, to construct buffering zones, and to install other fire protection systems for emergency situations. In addition, the regulation imposes stricter requirements for higher buildings. Namely, high buildings fall under the regulations if the upper story floor is 23 meters above the ground. In these cases fire escapes are required. If the upper story floor is 37 meters above ground, the building must have two fire rescue lifts that a rescue squad can access in order to evacuate people. For buildings higher than 130 meters there are different requirements. These buildings must have an additional independent exit.
Author: Tamuna Qemertelidze
