Russian-occupied Crimea sees housing price hikes caused by Crimean Bridge construction

Real estate prices have soared in Crimea following the construction of the Kerch Strait Bridge, which was illegally built by Russia to link the occupied peninsula with its mainland Krasnodar Krai.

In Crimea's used real estate market, prices are growing at double the pace in Moscow's, the Russian daily Kommersant reported on March 7.

Today, the average price of apartments in the "secondary" market in the Russian-annexed peninsula has grown by 14% on average, to RUB 92,000 per square meter (UAH 37,000/US$1,383), while in Moscow – by 6.9%, to RUB 203,000 per square meter.

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Experts name the opening of the bridge linking the peninsula with mainland Russia among the factors that contributed to the price hike.

As was earlier reported, the occupiers had faced another problem related to the construction of railway approaches to the Kerch Strait Bridge. When laying railroad tracks near the village of Baherove, builders damaged main water pipes, which are now being replaced with new ones.