ArmInfo. Recent reports circulating in Armenian and Russian media regarding a sharp surge in demand for Yerevan apartments by Russian citizens—allegedly driving up rental prices—are speculative and inaccurate, according to real estate expert Rustam Grigoryan.
In an interview with ArmInfo, Grigoryan, a founding member of the Council of the Association of Real Estate Agencies of Armenia and director of the Kolibri real estate agency, dismissed the reports as unverified media claims intended to sway public sentiment.
"I refute this news. There is nothing like this on the real estate market at the moment," Grigoryan stated, citing internal agency data and feedback from key players across Armenia's real estate sector.
Grigoryan also debunked rumors linking the alleged demand spike to a potential autumn mobilization in Russia, noting that official Russian sources have denied such claims and that no corresponding migrant influx has materialized on the ground.
While acknowledging minor seasonal overheating in the rental sector, Grigoryan attributed it entirely to normal summer tourism, pointing to official figures showing a 10% to 15% increase in tourist arrivals. "The idea that there is relocation, or that the overheating in the market is due to migration, is not true," he emphasized.
Note, official data from the Real Estate Cadastre supports the market's stability, registering 2,890 rental transactions across Armenia in the second quarter of 2026—a 2% decrease compared to the same period last year and a marginal 0.1% decline from the first quarter. Yerevan accounted for the majority of these transactions at 54.2%, while Vayots Dzor recorded the lowest share at 1.3%. Overall, apartments represented 3.1% of total registered transactions, with detached houses accounting for 1.5%.
