Buyers were not exactly lining up to grab the land plots for sale at Kyiv's inaugural land auction on July 15.
Although only one was sold, the Kyiv City Administration was not discouraged, saying that more auctions will occur in the near future.
Describing the incentives for participating in auctions, the administration’s deputy head, Anatoly Mukhovikov, said winners are automatically granted all the documents they need to confirm their right to use the land for a purpose determined by the administration. If the buyer were to purchase land outside the auction system, it could take up to two years to secure the needed documents.
Land is conveyed to the purchaser within ten days after the date of sale.
The auction took place at the Ukrainian Interbank Currency Exchange. UICE Executive Director Oleksandr Rudyachenko said that the use of the land should correspond to “the general plan of the development of the city and construction works in the capital.”
The winner of the first auction was businessman Oleksandr Fedorets, who acquired a parcel located at 13b Prospekt Vossoedinenya, which the administration decided should be used for an automobile service station and car wash.
The 0.084‑hectare plot, the smallest available at the auction, went for Hr 295,250 after five rounds of bidding starting at Hr 245,250.
Fedorets said he’s satisfied with the purchase.
“I thought the land would cost me much more,” he said.
According to the city administration’s policy, at least two bidders must compete for land for a sale to be made. The nine plots that didn’t sell on July 15 did not receive sufficient bids.
Despite the fact that only one plot of land was sold, Mukhovikov said he expects more sales in the future and the administration will hold auctions twice a week in the future, if there is enough interest.
“We shouldn’t expect significant results from the first auction, as the market is just forming. The main purpose of the auction was to indicate market prices for land in Kyiv,” Rudyachenko said.
The price for land in Kyiv has increased on average by 50‑60 percent since 1999, and in some cases by 400 percent.
Land in the city center costs from Hr 1,700 to Hr 2,100 per square meter, and in the outskirts, from Hr 200 to Hr 300.
Lviv was the first Ukrainian city to hold land auctions. The first was held in 2001, and the second last month.
Under the Land Code adopted in October 2001, the sale and purchase of non‑agricultural land is now permitted in Ukraine. Sale and purchase of agricultural land will be possible only after Jan. 1, 2005.
