Riga

The Riga city administration is actively addressing housing challenges through various initiatives. The city aims to reduce the queue for municipal apartments, which stood at 3,800 people in 2017. Riga has expanded eligibility for housing assistance to include families with three or more children, those who lost homes due to mortgage defaults, and residents of substandard municipal buildings.

To create more affordable and sustainable housing, Riga is participating in the "Rental Housing for Latvian Professionals" program. This initiative plans to build up to 2,266 affordable rental units by 2030, targeting essential workers in sectors like education, healthcare, and law enforcement. The city is also allocating land and co-financing these rental apartments.

Riga is focusing on renovating existing housing stock, with a goal to renovate 2,000 Soviet-era buildings by 2030. The city is applying New European Bauhaus principles to involve the community in renovation projects, as seen in the Ziepju 11 residential building.

Additionally, Riga is investing in green infrastructure, planting more trees, and improving parks and recreation areas to enhance livability. The city is also promoting energy efficiency through measures like installing solar panels on municipal buildings and implementing a CO2 emission reduction program.

To improve waste management, Riga is expanding its network of sorted waste collection sites and introducing textile sorting containers.

Riga's housing market is currently experiencing a period of stabilization after rapid growth. As of June 2023, apartment prices in Riga dropped by 8.42% compared to the previous year, reaching €892 per square meter. The city is seeing an increase in new residential developments, with 2,180 new apartments built in 2023.

The total housing stock in Latvia reached 77.75 million square meters in 2020, with Riga accounting for a significant portion. Approximately 82.8% of housing in Latvia is owner-occupied, while 17.2% is rented. However, specific figures for Riga are not provided.

Recent data on median rental and purchase prices per square meter in Riga is not available in the search results. However, rental yields in Riga were reported at 8.47% in 2024, indicating a potentially attractive market for investors.

Public and social housing play a limited role in Riga's housing market. Latvia has one of the smallest social housing stocks among OECD countries, with less than 2% of the total housing stock compared to about 7% in other OECD nations. To address this, the Latvian government and the European Investment Bank are collaborating on an affordable rental housing project, aiming to construct up to 2,260 apartments by 2030 for young professionals in essential sectors.