Riga vs Tallinn: Apartment Prices Are Farther Apart Than Rents
As Estonian and Lithuanian property developers show growing interest in Riga, the differences between the Baltic capitals’ housing markets are attracting attention.
An October 2026 comparison by Baltic Focus, using data provided with permission by Live Baltic, an independent Baltic property marketplace, covers apartment sale and rental listings alongside registered transactions.
Tallinn’s median asking sale price is 54% higher than Riga’s, while its asking rents are only 28% higher. The structure of the housing markets adds another dimension to this difference.
Riga and Tallinn housing markets
| Market indicator | Riga | Tallinn |
|---|---|---|
| Median asking sale price, €/m² | €2,589 | €3,990 |
| Median asking rent, €/m²/month | €11.56 | €14.82 |
| Apartments advertised for sale | 6,370 | 4,749 |
| Apartments advertised for rent | 2,045 | 1,636 |
| Apartment transactions, Jan–Sep 2026 | 7,763 | 6,581 |
| Transactions per 1,000 residents | 13.2 | 14.3 |
Source: Live Baltic. Listings collected on 20 October 2026; registered transactions for January–September 2026. Population: official figures as of 1 January 2026. Transaction datasets use different selection methods.
Older housing and new developments
Riga’s apartment market has a pronounced division between the housing offered for sale and the properties appearing in registered transactions.
Apartments in buildings completed in 2001 or later account for 73% of sale listings with a known building age, but only 18.8% of registered transactions in the corresponding dataset.
Tallinn also shows a substantial difference: buildings completed in 2011 or later account for 53% of classified sale listings and 17.8% of transactions.
This difference in composition helps explain why the median price of advertised apartments can be substantially higher than the median price of completed sales.
In Riga, the registered transaction median is €1,230/m², compared with the advertised €2,589/m². Tallinn’s corresponding transaction median is €2,929/m², against €3,990/m² in advertisements.
Consequently, Tallinn’s premium over Riga reaches approximately 138% in registered transaction prices, compared with 54% in asking prices. These are different sets of properties, however, rather than evidence of discounts achieved through negotiation.
The rental market
The age of residential buildings also influences the relationship between purchase and rental prices.
In Riga, apartments in buildings completed from 2001 onwards are offered for sale at a median €2,791/m², compared with €1,160/m² for Soviet-era housing. Yet their respective asking rents are €13.59 and €8.47/m² per month.
Tallinn shows a similar pattern. Apartments built in 2021–2025 command a median asking sale price of €5,000/m² and rent of €19.35/m² per month. For apartments built in 1971–1990, the corresponding figures are €2,725 and €12.29.
In both cities, newer apartments carry a substantially larger price premium in the sales market than in the rental market. The building-age categories differ between the two capitals, so their premiums are not directly comparable.
Market activity
Riga recorded more apartment transactions in absolute terms during the first nine months of 2026. However, the per-capita comparison is affected by differences in the underlying data.
The Riga dataset excludes certain grouped transactions and may not yet include all late-September registrations. These exclusions reduce Riga’s reported transaction rate relative to a complete, unfiltered count. The resulting per-capita figures should therefore not be treated as a definitive ranking of market activity.
For developers assessing opportunities in Riga, the distinction between the markets is relevant. Riga offers substantially lower apartment purchase prices than Tallinn, but rental rates are relatively closer. Meanwhile, registered transactions remain heavily concentrated in older housing, despite the prominence of newer properties in sale advertisements.
The figures describe the market at a particular point in time. They do not establish whether Riga is undervalued or how prices may develop.
Data: Live Baltic — Riga and Live Baltic — Tallinn. Baltic Focus has used the data with the company’s permission and retains independent editorial responsibility for the analysis.
