Military risks have become a decisive factor in choosing housing in Ukraine, and by September 2026 this shift is no longer perceived as a temporary reaction to shelling — it has become embedded in buyers' stable expectations. In a comment to RBC-Ukraine, Elena Ryzhova, Commercial Director of InterGAL-Bud, notes that customers now expect a baseline level of protection to be built into the overall project concept at the design stage, rather than offered as a separate paid option during the finishing stage. Underground shelters, which just a few years ago were considered a competitive advantage of a specific residential complex, are today seen as a mandatory standard of housing quality — on par with the regulatory thickness of walls or the presence of an elevator.
Basic Protection as a Standard, Not a Paid Add-On
According to Elena Ryzhova, the multi-story housing market has already moved past the stage when the presence of an underground or above-ground shelter in a residential complex could serve as a marketing argument. Today, the absence of such an element in the concept of a new residential complex effectively disqualifies the project in the eyes of a significant portion of the audience. Meanwhile, additional solutions — armored windows and in-apartment shelter rooms with reinforced slabs — are described by InterGAL-Bud as a purely niche request that does not generate mass demand and does not affect the overall sales structure.
Willingness to Pay a "Premium" for Safety
The Marketing Director of the DIM group of companies emphasizes that, amid daily shelling and uncertainty, buyers cannot ignore additional safety features. In his assessment, a customer is ready for a justified "premium" in the price per square meter if that meter provides a higher level of protection for them and their family. The key factor in the purchase decision, according to the DIM representative, remains safety itself — it has pushed traditionally important criteria such as proximity to the city center or apartment size into the background.
Suburban Real Estate: Autonomous Shelters in 9 Out of 10 Projects
The highest demand for autonomous shelters is recorded in the suburban real estate market. DIM notes that in projects where the developer offers to build private houses to an individual design tailored to the client, in nine out of ten cases the buyer explicitly requests the design of a shelter. This means that for the private sector, an autonomous shelter has ceased to be a "backup option" and has become part of the basic technical specification for designing a house, on par with engineering utilities and room layout.
Impact on Deals in High-Risk Zones
A separate aspect highlighted by DIM's Marketing Director is the direct link between the presence of a reliable shelter and the very possibility of closing a deal. If a complex is being built in an area with higher risks or frequent shelling, the absence of a protected space can derail a potential deal at any stage — from the viewing to the signing of the contract. Thus, safety has transformed from a "soft" preference criterion into a hard requirement without which the buyer simply does not move to the next step.
What Buyers Consider Unnecessary
Despite the overall trend toward strengthening protective features, not all safety options enjoy equal demand. Armored windows and in-apartment shelter rooms, according to InterGAL-Bud's assessment, remain a niche product: they are ordered by individual buyers with elevated requirements, but the market does not record any mass demand for these solutions. This allows developers to avoid factoring such elements into the base price per meter, keeping them as an individual offering upon client request.
