The first half of 2026 became a turning point for the suburban real estate market in Ukraine. According to OLX Real Estate research, Ukrainians have radically changed their priorities when looking for housing: safety and autonomy have moved to the forefront, rather than aesthetics or location prestige. Interest in buying private houses increased by more than 50% in many regions immediately after winter, indicating a mass desire for people to move to calmer places.

Geography of demand: where people are moving

Statistics show a clear migration picture. The greatest growth in demand was recorded in the Mykolaiv, Kyiv, Cherkasy, Odesa, and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Comparing June figures with January, the number of responses to ads increased by 24% in the Volyn, Rivne, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions.

Oksana Ostapchuk, Head of the Sales Development Sector at OLX Real Estate, explains the surge in activity in the Mykolaiv region as a combination of factors. Firstly, housing has become more affordable in terms of cost. Secondly, the region has become a magnet for people moving from frontline territories.

"Given the shelling, people are looking for autonomous housing and are likely preparing for winter in advance. The security situation remains the main restraining factor for some buyers," the expert noted.

The price paradox: demand is growing, but prices do not always follow

Analysts have recorded an interesting trend: there is no direct dependence between the growth in demand and the cost of houses. While prices are rising in some regions, they are falling in others, despite high buyer interest.

  • Kyiv region: The median price increased by 6% over six months — from 5.28 million UAH in January to 5.59 million UAH in June.
  • Mykolaiv region: Here, the largest increase in demand was recorded, yet the median cost of a private house increased by only 4%, reaching 900,000 UAH.
  • Vinnytsia region: Despite high spring interest, prices fell from 3.05 million UAH to 2.88 million UAH.

In Kyiv, the situation is different: buyer activity decreased slightly in June, but the median price of a private house reached its maximum. A high price threshold (above 4 million UAH) is also maintained in the Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Odesa regions.

Frontline regions and "cheap" housing

The market remains extremely heterogeneous. While western regions and the capital show price growth, frontline zones demonstrate the opposite trend. In the Kherson region, the market continued to shrink: in June, demand was 31.5% lower than in January and another 37% lower compared to May.

The most affordable private houses in June were offered in the Chernihiv region (median price — 474,000 UAH) and the Sumy region (897,000 UAH). Experts link the low cost of real estate in these regions primarily to the security situation.

The most active months for transactions were March and May. However, despite the summer decrease in activity compared to spring peaks, the general trend of the first half of 2026 is unambiguous: Ukrainians are looking for suburban real estate much more often than at the beginning of the year, trying to find a balance between cost and protection from military threats.