Novosibirsk developer puts entire finished complex up for sale to offload 100 apartments
The two buildings of the Ecopolis residential complex were put into operation in 2024; according to the project, there should be four in total.
A Novosibirsk developer has put its already completed residential complex «Ecopolis» in the village of Verkh-Tula up for sale for 700 million rubles (approximately $7.7 million at current rates). The company plans to sell a hundred unsold apartments in bulk to pay off a loan and find an investor for the construction of the second phase of the complex. According to a representative of the developer, sales in 2025 were so low and the bank tightened the loan terms so much that holding onto the built housing became unprofitable. NGS learned the terms of the future deal and spoke with experts about what such a precedent means for the market.
The ad for the sale of the apartment package in the residential complex appeared on January 19. This is how one of the buildings on Solnechnaya Street looked in the summer of last year.
More than a hundred unsold apartments
This is what the entrance of the residential complex looks like. According to the developer, they managed to sell just over half of the apartments.
A few days ago, the Telegram channel Filatoff Inc reported that Sberbank had put two completed buildings of the Ecopolis residential complex in the village of Verkh-Tula, Novosibirsk region, up for sale. The post stated that the bank planned to transfer the rights under the loan obligations.
However, as NGS learned, the situation turned out to be different. The press service of Sberbank reported that the bank is not selling the claim rights for this loan.
«We have provided our partner with a platform for the sale of business assets and pledged property for the sale of real estate in this residential complex,» explained the press service of Sberbank.
The ad for the sale of the residential complex on the Portal DA website states that nine-story comfort-class buildings from the developer Barcelona LLC are offered for purchase. The lot includes two residential buildings with above-ground parking and their own boiler room. Each building has 144 apartments with an area from 35 to 84 sq. m, as well as storage rooms and office spaces. The entire lot is expected to be sold for 700 million rubles (an average of 4.8 million rubles per apartment).
According to the service Kontur.Fokus, Barcelona LLC was established in 2020. The director and founder of the company is Inna Busygina. At the end of 2024, the company«s revenue was 32 million rubles, net profit — 92 thousand rubles. In 2025, the organization won several procurement contracts from the city and region for the purchase of apartments for orphaned children worth 4.2 million rubles and 41.8 million rubles.
On listing websites, apartments from the developer range from 3.8 million rubles for a one-room apartment of 37.2 sq. m to 10 million rubles for a three-room apartment of 80.8 square meters. In the neighboring residential complex «Rainbow City», which consists of two built buildings and two stalled projects, a one-room apartment of 27.6 sq. m with renovation costs 2.7 million rubles.
A representative of the company Barcelona, Olga, explained to NGS that due to low sales, the company agreed with Sberbank«s trading platform to sell several apartments at once as one lot.
«A contract for the wholesale sale of apartments has been concluded. We posted an ad, and distorted information appeared on social networks — this is not a claim right,» she explained.
In fact, Barcelona plans to sell the apartments that could not be sold on the market. An investor who buys the real estate in bulk will be able to dispose of it at their own discretion. The developer«s representative added that the buildings were put into operation in 2024, and out of 288 apartments, 102 remained unsold: 50 in one building and 52 in the second. The bulk sale of apartments will not affect those who already live in the complex.
In the project, besides the built buildings, two more are planned to be constructed. According to Olga, the deal will allow the company to pay off the loan and start processing a new one — for the next stage of construction. The project for two more buildings is already ready, and with investments, the developer can start its implementation.
«The economic situation is not easy, there is an oversupply of expensive apartments on the real estate market, and apartments in our price category are still in demand. But sales rates, alas, are not high, and therefore we are forced to raise the price every quarter due to tightening interest rates,» admitted Olga. «Maybe someone will be interested in the offer to buy a package of apartments.»
«The situation is catastrophic»
NGS has already written that the number of unsold apartments in Novosibirsk complexes broke the record maximum of 2016. After the mass preferential mortgage program was scaled back and the limits on credit programs were exhausted, sales collapsed. In response, developers shifted completion dates (the moratorium has now been lifted) to have time to fill escrow accounts and not pay huge interest on loans. During the construction period, the project financing rate is lower, but if the escrow account is not filled and the complex is completed, it rises.
The director of the consulting company RID Analytics, Elena Ermolaeva recalled that similar precedents with the sale of apartments in bulk have already occurred, but usually such decisions do not become public. Sometimes such deals take place between two legal entities of the same holding.
«There are situations when developers sell projects under construction. Over the past year and a half, due to the economic situation, such offers have become more frequent, but they are not advertised,» noted Elena Ermolaeva.
The expert also suggested that the apartments are probably sold at cost or at a discount. At the same time, about a year and a half ago, such a purchase would have been interesting to an investor, especially with a large discount, but now the situation has changed: it is unclear whether the buyer will be able to sell a hundred apartments on the local market of Verkh-Tula in the future.
According to RID Analytics, demand for real estate has significantly decreased, and the market glut is high: the already built apartments are enough for a couple more years of sales.
«The situation for developers is catastrophic. A year ago I said that the foot of the construction industry is beginning to slide into the abyss, now it has already slid and is moving further — down. Undoubtedly, some may go bankrupt on this path,» believes Elena Ermolaeva.
According to her, in Novosibirsk, even some large developers with a long history, in the face of the crisis, are winding down their projects, selling off objects and land banks. Such examples may become more frequent in the future.
The managing partner of the company Macromir in Novosibirsk, Igor Zelensky, recalled that the company Barcelona during the construction of the residential complex violated some obligations: for example, there were problems with the sewer system. Information about this is also in the reviews of the Ecopolis residential complex.
In the expert«s opinion, selling apartments in bulk is the best solution for the developer to close credit obligations. There have also been precedents for bulk sales of apartments on the Russian market, but more often during a market upturn: investors bought entire stairwells at the construction stage for resale. Today this is less common.
«The state has set a barrier for tax-free sale periods. Previously, an individual could sell their home without paying tax, now it is necessary that the apartment be owned for at least three years — for the only home, and five years — for subsequent ones. Because of this, wholesale investors have disappeared,» explained Igor Zelensky.
At the same time, such a barrier for tax payment does not apply to legal entities. Therefore, the purchase of a hundred apartments in Ecopolis may well interest a large investor.
«There is a possibility that the investor will be able to sell the objects profitably later. The Central Bank»s decisions have cooled the market, deferred demand is growing,« noted the expert. »In addition, changes in taxation will raise prices. The rate will decrease, demand will appear on the real estate market like a genie from a bottle, and prices, accordingly, will rise.«
Igor Zelensky assessed the purchase of unsold apartments from the developer as a good investment, including because one can try to bargain and reduce the price. In his opinion, such situations may still affect those developers who entered the crisis with a weak financial cushion.
Analysts have already explained that after the Central Bank«s rate decreases, a filtration will occur: prices for apartments from reliable developers will rise, while from unreliable ones they will fall. At that time, the cost of similar objects will differ by 30–60%, but one should not chase cheapness.
