House Beat

Jun 10 2009 9:47AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |
Blog This! using: Blogger.com | LiveJournal |

By Paul Deffenbaugh

Professional Builder columnist, John Rymer, is spending June doing sales training for a home builder in Moscow. He will be posting regular updates and observations on this blog.

Single family homes in Moscow are referred to as “County Cottages.” Even though today’s homes can often exceed 5,000 sq. ft. in size, and are only a few blocks or miles from hi-rise condominiums, the name appears to be a derivative from the old Soviet days. Under USSR rule, Party big wigs were the only ones who were eligible to live in suburban single family homes in Moscow. As everyone was suppose to be “equal,” under Soviet rule, the name appears to be an attempt to convey that the homes were not an ostentatious lifestyle but simply a substitute for “Sky Homes” or state supported high rise apartments which housed the vast majority of Moscow families.

While most residents of Moscow continue to live in Sky Homes, the emerging middle class are increasingly drawn to Business Apartments – privately developed hi-rise condominiums. These developments provide many amenities which we take for granted today – such as connected or underground parking, fitness centers, central air conditioning, etc. Pricing can exceed $600 per sq. ft. and the homes are typically sold as “partially finished” (more later.) Parking is a particular problem for much of government housing, as most residents of Moscow during Soviet days, were excluded from owning cars, hence little or no parking was provided in highly dense developments. While many families own a car in today’s Moscow, it is not unusual to have to park up to a mile away from your home – providing a big incentive to move to non-government housing.