Azerbaijan.US
In Azerbaijan, housing is increasingly losing its primary function as a place to live. Over recent years, apartments have turned into investment assets, bought not for residence but for future financial gain. This has become one of the defining trends of the local real estate market.
The shift is especially visible in Baku. New residential complexes are rising across almost all districts of the capital, with high-rise buildings being commissioned on a regular basis. Yet a striking and increasingly common picture has emerged: many fully completed buildings remain dark at night, with few lights visible in the windows.
These buildings are not unfinished or abandoned. The reality is that a large share of apartments is owned by the same investors and left vacant. By keeping properties off the market, owners are able to maintain prices at elevated levels, even as demand weakens.
As a result, housing prices have drifted further away from real household incomes. For the average citizen, purchasing an apartment has become largely unaffordable. What was once an economic issue has now evolved into a broader social problem.
This trend, however, is not unique to Azerbaijan. Globally, real estate has increasingly been treated as a financial instrument, particularly in the post-pandemic period.
In Russia, years of continuous price growth – especially in Moscow and other major cities – turned housing into a tool for capital preservation. Recently, however, demand has declined sharply, and market momentum has weakened.
Turkey’s real estate sector has gone through a similar phase. At one point, strong inflows of foreign investors artificially inflated prices. Today, both domestic and foreign demand are falling, while prices remain disconnected from actual purchasing power.
In Europe, the slowdown is even more pronounced. Rising interest rates have made mortgages less accessible, pushing housing markets into a cooling phase. Unsold inventory is increasing across many countries.
According to analysts, a correction in property prices is becoming increasingly inevitable, although in some markets it has yet to be fully felt. Psychological resistance among sellers remains strong, but statistics tell a different story: the number of unsold apartments continues to rise.
New developments are no longer selling at the pace seen in previous years. Investors are shifting to a wait-and-see approach – one of the clearest signals of an approaching downturn.
Globally, discussions about a gradual decline in real estate markets are becoming more open. Historically, such downturns unfold in stages: demand weakens first, prices stagnate next, and only then does a sharper decline follow.
In Azerbaijan, these risks are increasingly visible. Thousands of vacant apartments reflect the market’s underlying imbalance. When housing is purchased not for living but purely for investment, it becomes a warning sign. The true value of real estate lies in people who inhabit it.
Buildings with darkened windows are no longer just a visual anomaly – they are an indicator of a growing social and structural imbalance.
