‘One could expect the real estate prices to go up 20% to 30% in 2007,’ President of Ural Chamber of Real Estate Pavel Kuznetsov announced at today’s press conference.

‘The average existing home prices in Yekaterinburg doubled last year; as for the downtown area, the prices grew by 127%. The price growth rate has slowed down recently: apartments only got 3% more expensive in January. At the moment, the figures come to 60,000 to 70,000 RUR per square meter of a dwelling located outside the city center and to 70,000 - 75,000 RUR in the downtown area,’ Mr Kuznetsov said.