{"id":594654,"date":"2026-10-27T13:55:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T10:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reform.news\/?p=594654"},"modified":"2026-10-27T14:04:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T11:04:14","slug":"national-bank-deputy-chairman-assesses-returns-on-investments-in-minsk-apartments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/national-bank-deputy-chairman-assesses-returns-on-investments-in-minsk-apartments","title":{"rendered":"National Bank Deputy Chairman Assesses Returns on Investments in Minsk Apartments"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Aliaksandr Yahorau<\/strong>, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of the National Bank, used his program on Belarusian television to assess the prospects for investing in Minsk apartments, but ended up promoting irrevocable deposits at Belarusian banks. The National Bank is pursuing a consistent policy of increasing such deposits and even sets targets for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs buying an apartment as an investment worthwhile today, in the autumn of 2026?<\/em><\/p>\n

First, we need to acknowledge one fact: over the long term, a square meter of property in Minsk has done an excellent job of protecting capital and outperforming inflation. Over the past 20 years, starting in 2005, the real increase in the price per square meter, fully adjusted for inflation, has amounted to around 125%. That translates into a solid average real annual return of 4% in foreign currency. And that is without taking into account the income that could be earned from renting the property out. By September 2026, asking prices in Minsk had reached a new all-time high, exceeding $2,500 per square meter.<\/em><\/p>\n

But let us take a conservative approach. Buying an asset at an all-time high after a prolonged, uninterrupted rise always carries a considerable risk of a correction. Markets move in cycles. Let us compare the returns from renting out an apartment in Minsk with those from a simple irrevocable bank deposit in Belarusian rubles.<\/em><\/p>\n

Take a standard, ready-to-move-in one-bedroom apartment in Minsk with good renovations. The price is around 300,000 rubles. If you rent it out, after paying the fixed tax and accounting for one month without a tenant while you look for a new one, you will receive a net return of around 4.5% per year.<\/em><\/p>\n

Now let us look at irrevocable ruble deposits. Interest rates are currently around 12\u201314% per year, meaning that a deposit outperforms bricks and mortar. But we have not taken into account the increase in the value of the asset \u2014 the apartment. If the price per square meter in rubles rises by 9\u201310% annually, the returns would be comparable. Clearly, it is important to assess the risks, but potentially you could achieve a return comparable to that of a deposit,\u201d<\/em> Yahorau said.<\/p>\n

It should be noted that he did not analyze scenarios in which price growth per square meter in Minsk comes to a halt and property values fall. Nor did the National Bank\u2019s first deputy chairman consider the possibility of deposit interest rates declining. Instead, he decided to examine the option of investing in property while it is still under construction.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut there is a theoretically more attractive option: buying an apartment at the foundation stage, renovating it, and then reselling it or renting it out. Many people pursue this strategy. Yes, if you buy an apartment during the initial construction phase for 180,000 rubles and invest another 70,000 rubles in high-quality renovations, you will end up with an asset worth the same 300,000 rubles, having spent only 250,000 rubles. Your capital appreciation \u2014 your paper profit \u2014 would amount to around 50,000 rubles. That is a 20% return on the capital invested. Sounds good? Very!<\/em><\/p>\n

But this is no longer passive investing. It is a fully fledged active business. You take on substantial hidden risks: the renovation budget may be exceeded, materials may become more expensive, and the developer may delay completion of the building. During this period, which could last two or three years, your money is tied up. It is dead money.<\/em><\/p>\n

It generates no income and is eroded by inflation, whereas a deposit would already be earning compound interest. Managing a deposit takes 15 minutes in a banking app on your phone. Monitoring construction, inspecting the apartment, purchasing basic building materials, finding reliable contractors and fixing their mistakes \u2014 that is a full-time second job.<\/em><\/p>\n

You literally earn that 20% paper profit through your own time and nerves. And third, diversification. The main rule for investors is not to put all your eggs in one basket. Assess your personal tolerance for risk. A logical strategy today would be to place part of your available capital in a Belarusian ruble deposit, locking in a high interest rate, and invest the remainder in real estate if you are prepared to accept all the associated risks,\u201d<\/em> Yahorau concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aliaksandr Yahorau, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of the National Bank, used his program on Belarusian television to assess the prospects for investing in Minsk apartments, but ended up promoting irrevocable deposits at Belarusian banks. The National Bank is pursuing a consistent policy of increasing such deposits and even sets targets for them. \u201cIs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":594655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sharing_image":{"poster":"https:\/\/reform.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/6ae0853391ac0.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"template":"691142dd","mode":"auto"},"_sharing_image_fieldset":{"dTVKfmI95PYT":"National Bank Deputy Chairman Assesses Returns on Investments in Minsk Apartments"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[142339,142338,143126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-594654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-main","category-news","category-business"],"wps_subtitle":"","permalink_manager":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/119"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=594654"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":594658,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594654\/revisions\/594658"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/594655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=594654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=594654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=594654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}