Old buildings as a new resource: rethinking Ukraine’s housing crisis

In Ukraine today, the housing deficit is not just a number — it’s a condition of the country itself. The war has reshaped the logic of supply and demand: housing is no longer a market category but a matter of survival. According to the Kyiv School of Economics, more than 2.8 million apartments have been destroyed or damaged, and total recovery needs now exceed $520 billion. Even in the best-case scenario, new construction covers less than 1 % of annual demand.

This means Ukraine has effectively lost the balance between what disappears and what is being created. Developers are postponing new projects: high-interest loans and security risks make it impossible to plan more than six months ahead. Yet people continue to search for homes — not “with a view” or “in the center,” but simply where it’s safer, and where housing still exists.

Half of Ukraine’s housing stock was built before 1990. These buildings have long lost energy efficiency and suffer from aging infrastructure — but they retain their greatest advantage: land, address, and shared ownership. That’s where the country’s unrealized capital lies. What is seen today as a deficit could tomorrow become a resource.

KSE analysts note another shift: over 60 % of Ukrainians plan to remain in their regions but want new or renovated housing. Many are ready to act collectively — to sell, exchange, or rebuild their homes together. It’s more than a behavioral shift; it’s the birth of a new kind of market — a market of shared decisions.

When ten neighbors in an old building realize they can’t manage repairs, sales, or investor talks on their own, a space opens for a platform that takes on the logic of coordination. This is where DOMOVA comes in.

DOMOVA helps owners see opportunities where others see decay: uniting neighbors, assessing value, finding an investor ready to invest not in a single apartment but in an entire building or block. What once sounded utopian now fits perfectly into the framework of legal reform and Ukraine’s recovery economy.

Investor interest in housing is growing despite risks. According to KSE and Reuters, construction profitability in Ukraine now reaches 40–45 %, roughly double the European average. It’s not speculation — it’s a direct result of scarcity: demand far exceeds supply, especially in safer regions. Prices for new housing in western Ukraine already surpass $1 200 per m², while in frontline regions they hover around $700.

All this shapes a new paradigm — not “build more,” but “rethink what exists.” Old buildings once written off are becoming potential revitalization sites — spaces for new investment and new social models. The idea of collective sale or reconstruction is moving from niche experiment to part of the national recovery conversation.

In this sense, the deficit is not a verdict. It’s a turning point. Ukraine may not rebuild everything from scratch, but it can renew much of its housing stock through partnership — between residents, municipalities, and private capital.

DOMOVA operates precisely at this intersection — between loss and opportunity. Where destroyed housing stops symbolizing despair and becomes the beginning of a shared process. Not “bring back what was,” but “build better than before.”