--- title: "From 9 to 17 years: in which Ukrainian cities renting an apartment \"pays off\" its cost the fastest" description: "In Ukraine, the payback period for renting a one-room apartment ranges from 9 to 17 years depending on the city. The longest is in Zhytomyr and Rivne, the fastest in Zaporizhzhia, according to OLX Real Estate." date: 2026-08-29T05:10:01.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/renting-or-buying-how-many-years-to-pay-off-an-apartment-in-ukrainian-cities tags: [ukraine-real-estate, rent-vs-buy, housing-market, olx, apartment-prices] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # From 9 to 17 years: in which Ukrainian cities renting an apartment "pays off" its cost the fastest ![Woman inspecting an empty apartment with moving boxes — rental yield and payback period of property in Ukrainian cities](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/29/arenda-ili-pokupka-skolko-let-otbit-stoimost-kvartiry-v-gorodah-ukrainy/arenda-ili-pokupka-skolko-let-otbit-stoimost-kvartiry-v-gorodah-ukrainy-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - The payback period for renting a one-room apartment in Ukraine ranges from 9 to 17 years depending on the city - The longest is in Zhytomyr and Rivne (around 17 years), the fastest in Zaporizhzhia (9 years) - In Zaporizhzhia, rent is 7,000 UAH/month and the purchase price is 717,000 UAH, ensuring the minimum payback period - The market is influenced by security, internal migration, and the number of available apartments - The most expensive rent is in Uzhhorod (22,133 UAH/month); prices in Kyiv remain at a high level OLX Real Estate analysts, whose data is cited by RBC-Ukraine, calculated how many years it would take to rent a one-room apartment in various Ukrainian cities for the cumulative rental costs to equal the price of buying it. The figure ranges from 9 to 17 years depending on the region. Residents of Zhytomyr and Rivne will have to "pay off" the cost of housing the longest — around 17 years — while in Zaporizhzhia this period is only 9 years. The variation is explained by the combination of median purchase and rental prices, as well as the impact of security factors and internal migration. ### City-by-city breakdown: from 17 years in Zhytomyr to 9 years in Zaporizhzhia The leaders in maximum rental payback period are Zhytomyr and Rivne. In Zhytomyr, the median rent for a one-room apartment is 11,000 UAH per month, while buying similar housing costs 2.23 million UAH. In Rivne, rent is 12,000 UAH per month, and the purchase price is 2.45 million UAH. In both cases, cumulative rental payments only reach the price of the apartment after roughly 17 years. In second place in terms of duration are Odesa, Cherkasy and Chernivtsi, where the period is about 15 years. Next come Kropyvnytskyi, Lutsk and Sumy (around 14 years), as well as Lviv, Poltava, Ternopil, Uzhhorod and Khmelnytskyi (about 13 years). The minimum period was recorded in Zaporizhzhia — 9 years. ### Why Zaporizhzhia leads in payback speed In Zaporizhzhia, the median rent for a one-room apartment is 7,000 UAH per month, and the purchase price is 717,000 UAH. It is precisely this ratio that makes rental costs comparable to the housing price the fastest. As explained by OLX Real Estate, lower rent on its own does not mean that renting is more advantageous: the decisive factor is the ratio between the purchase price and the monthly rental payment. In cities near the front line, housing purchase prices may remain relatively low, while demand for rentals is sustained by people temporarily residing in these regions. ### Expert comment: security, migration and housing affordability Oksana Ostapchuk, head of the sales development sector at OLX Real Estate, notes that three key factors significantly affect the market: the security situation, internal migration, and the number of available apartments. It is precisely their combined impact that creates the difference in payback periods between regions. In cities where a significant portion of the population has moved to other regions, the rental market supply grows, and purchase prices are adjusted downward, which shortens the period in which rental payments "cover" the cost of housing. ### Context: record rents in Uzhhorod and stable prices in Kyiv Previously, RBC-Ukraine reported that the highest housing rental prices in Ukraine were recorded in Uzhhorod: a one-room apartment there is rented out for 22,133 UAH per month, which is 18% higher than a year earlier. At the same time, housing prices in Kyiv remain at a high level: one-room apartments cost on average around 70,000 dollars, two-room apartments — over 100,000 dollars. According to the publication, the war is not "driving down" the cost of capital real estate, making Kyiv an exception to the overall trend of regional differentiation. ### Methodology and caveats The calculations are based on median values published on the OLX Real Estate platform and reflect typical, rather than extreme, market prices. The actual payback period for a specific apartment may differ depending on the location within the city, the condition of the property, the floor, and the presence of finishing. In addition, the data do not account for additional tenant expenses (utility bills, taxes) or potential gains from reselling the housing, which is not fully reflected in the simple ratio of "rent × number of months = purchase price". ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [Rent or buy: how many years it takes to "pay off" the cost of housing in different cities](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/orenduvati-chi-kupiti-skilki-rokiv-potribno-1787670742.html) - Первичный источник данных OLX Недвижимость. Все цифры по городам (Житомир, Ровно, Запорожье, Одесса, Черкассы, Черновцы, Кропивницкий, Луцк, Сумы, Львов, Полтава, Тернополь, Ужгород, Хмельницкий) и цитата Оксаны Остапчук соответствуют основному тексту. - [The payback period for a rented apartment in the capital has grown to 25 years](https://www.sostav.ru/blogs/286887/94653) - Относится к российскому рынку, не используется в статье. - [The payback period for an apartment in a Kazan new-build when rented out has been named](https://news.mail.ru/economics/68456789/) - Относится к российскому рынку, не используется в статье. - [The payback period for an apartment in Moscow when rented out has grown to 24.7 years](https://life.ru/p/1878264) - Относится к российскому рынку, не используется в статье. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: In which Ukrainian city does renting a one-room apartment pay off the fastest? **A:** In Zaporizhzhia — only 9 years. The median rent there is 7,000 UAH per month, and the purchase price of a one-room apartment is 717,000 UAH. ### Q: Where will you have to rent an apartment the longest to "pay off" its cost? **A:** In Zhytomyr and Rivne — roughly 17 years. In Zhytomyr, rent is 11,000 UAH/month with a purchase price of 2.23 million UAH; in Rivne — 12,000 UAH/month with a price of 2.45 million UAH. ### Q: According to OLX Real Estate, what factors influence the rental payback period? **A:** According to Oksana Ostapchuk, head of the sales development sector at OLX Real Estate, the key factors are the security situation, internal migration, and the number of available apartments on the market. ### Q: How much does it cost to rent a one-room apartment in Uzhhorod? **A:** In Uzhhorod, a one-room apartment is rented out for 22,133 UAH per month, which is 18% higher than a year earlier. This is the highest rental level among the cities analyzed. ### Q: How accurate are the payback period calculations? **A:** The calculations are based on OLX Real Estate median values and do not account for additional expenses (utility bills, taxes) or potential gains from reselling. The actual period for a specific apartment may differ.