UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 29, 2015. The number of purchase and sales agreements relating to office space dropped by 30% to 40% in Yekaterinburg this year compared with the year 2014, Severnaya Kazna Commercial Estate Director Sergei Chupin said at a press conference.

Chupin says the number of rental and lease contracts also declined by 15% to 20%.

‘This means the Ural business community en masse is now switching to less expensive segments. The market’s overall downward trend has to do with the dramatic economic downfall, a 30% decline in investments, loans getting more expensive, and structural problems in the financial sector. All this has reduced the effective demand drastically,’ Chupin said.