Homes in Perm Krai for the Price of an iPhone

A trend is gaining popularity on social media where residents of various Russian cities show what kind of housing you can buy for the price of a new smartphone. It started with Vorkuta — users saw that beyond the Arctic Circle you can buy an apartment starting from 100,000 rubles (about $1,100 at current rates). In recent years, few people have remained in Vorkuta — everyone is moving from the Far North to more promising cities. Zoomers started joking that they can afford an apartment in this city, and they record videos reviewing prices.

In the Perm Krai, you can also buy a house for the price of a new iPhone. On average, in Perm stores, the price for it varies from 130,000 to 162,000 rubles (about $1,400–$1,800), depending on the model: the iPhone 17 Pro is cheaper than its improved version, the Pro Max. A journalist from 59.RU studied housing options on a free classifieds website — we show what is offered at laughable prices.

Two-room house in the Gornozavodsky district

A log cabin with an area of only 12.3 square meters (132 sq ft) is being sold for 150,000 rubles (about $1,600) in the working settlement of Sarany. The only utilities are electricity and a stove. The toilet is outside, water must be carried from a well, and there is no gas. The house stands on a plot of 10 sotkas (0.1 hectares or 0.25 acres).

The owner indicates that the distance from the house to the city center is 18 kilometers (11 miles). There is a parking space near the building, and nearby there is some necessary infrastructure — a store, a kindergarten, and a school.

“The house needs work. Haggling is possible, everything is visible in the photos,” the owner briefly states in the property description.

One-room house with apple trees and strawberries in the Ordinsky district

A house with an area of 19.8 square meters (213 sq ft) is for sale in the village of Medyanka. The price is the same — 150,000 rubles (about $1,600), but you can haggle. The sale includes a log cabin for a bathhouse. According to the ad’s author, the house has a plot of black earth measuring 10.7 sotkas (0.107 hectares or 0.26 acres).

The ad’s author claims the house has electricity. There is a well with clean drinking water nearby. On the plot grow two apple trees, currant bushes, serviceberry, young sea buckthorn, and strawberries — all plants are fruit-bearing. The vegetable garden is not overgrown and is cultivated every year. Additionally, on the plot there is a large stone pit with a roof for storing vegetables and outbuildings. Next door there is a meadow for mowing hay, and not far from the house there is access to a river.

The owner writes that the distance to the city center is 24 kilometers (15 miles). The infrastructure includes a store, a kindergarten, and a school.

Two-room house with installment plan in the Lysvensky district

We found another cheap housing option in the settlement of Kormovishche — a two-room house is for sale for 155,000 rubles (about $1,700). It needs repairs. The owner is ready to sell the property with an installment plan.

The area of this log house is 35.8 square meters (385 sq ft), it is located on a plot of 2.1 sotkas (0.021 hectares or 0.05 acres). The house has electricity, and gas is supplied along the boundary of the plot. The house has a stove, and judging by the photo, some furniture remains. The toilet is outside. The infrastructure includes a store, and the distance to the city center is 30 kilometers (19 miles).

House for self-disassembly and self-removal in the center of Chernushka

A two-room wooden house with an area of 50 square meters (538 sq ft) is for sale on Mira Street, the central street in Chernushka. The asking price is 160,000 rubles (about $1,800). The house has a stove, electricity, a bathroom, and gas is supplied. The adjacent 10 sotkas (0.1 hectares or 0.25 acres) of land are not for sale. And you cannot live here.

“Selling the house and fence for self-disassembly and self-removal. There is a lot of corrugated sheeting — more than 300,000 rubles (about $3,300) worth,” the owner writes.

In the ad, the building’s owner indicates that there is a well and a garage near the house. The infrastructure includes a store, a pharmacy, a kindergarten, and a school.

“Not a house, but a lottery ticket” in the Ilyinsky district

The largest house in our selection is for sale in the village of Sadki — its area is 90.1 square meters (970 sq ft)! The wooden building stands on a plot of eight sotkas (0.08 hectares or 0.2 acres). The house itself has eight rooms and needs repairs. The ad’s author indicates that the building was constructed in 1982. The price of such a house is 160,000 rubles (about $1,800).

The house has electricity and a stove. The toilet is outside, and there is no water or gas. And one might think there is nothing special in this ad, but not so — the property owner added a creative description. He emphasized that this is “not a house, but a lottery ticket with the prize ‘Best Ecological Location’,” and then argued why this is a suitable option.

Thus, according to the ad’s author, the house has four rooms on each side, and “there is enough space for a family, an office, an art gallery, or a secret society of lovers of rural recreation and natural products.” Among the advantages, he noted that buses run to the location and the stop is not far away. The “non-residential status of the house” is also listed as a plus, which the owner believes will save the buyer from paperwork problems.

“If you want — do repairs, if you don’t — leave it,” the seller summarizes.

Then he moves on to other characteristics, starting with the phrase: “And now honestly.”

“[The house] needs repairs — yes, but that’s your canvas! You can create the interior of your dreams,” the owner writes in the ad. — “A plot in the center — it’s like a VIP box in the theater of life.”

But the metaphors from the house owner don’t end there: at the end of the ad, he added that the property’s price is funnier than mother-in-law jokes.

Earlier, our colleagues made a review of the cheapest one-room apartments in different Russian cities — the list includes Moscow, St. Petersburg, Chelyabinsk, and the already mentioned Vorkuta.