 You can ask Mike Willard for the name of the advertising genius who correctly noted something to the effect that "there are three things that work in advertising: a heartthrob with a baby, a heartthrob with a pet, and what you might call 'sex'." In Kyiv, where escaping the urban world is a universal theme, a fourth element could well be 'a heartthrob with a dacha'. Often seen as a Soviet invention (the dacha, not sex), the idea of the little place out in the countryside has undergone drastic changes several times in the last hundred-plus years, but the basic desire behind it, to escape the city and get back to nature, remains the same.
Not that the Soviet-era dacha was much of a place for a romp. The idea was to give people 3-4 sotkas (1 sotka= 100m2) out in fields as a haven to put up a little building and go out and relax. However, those fields became more important as gardens to feed families and the buildings weren't much more than shacks, especially when the lack of utilities is taken into account. Large swaths of communally owned land sprang up, especially after World War II, with these shacks dotting the terrain.
"That was when everybody knew what a dacha was," says Andriy Ginkul, CEO of Navigator Consulting Union, a Kyiv-based project management consultancy. "Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, the idea of the dacha, and with it the market for it, has ballooned." While the traditional shack in a field still enjoys a high demand, tastes have varied and people with the means to get what they desire have gone far afield in order to create summer residences where they can indulge themselves.
 Kyiv, like other urban centers, has found itself ringed with Soviet-era dachas, but the current trend has been to return to the pre-1918 emphasis on building near bodies of water. Soviet dams created huge lakes to the north of Kyiv and south, near Kaniv, called the Kyiv and Kaniv Seas, and these have drawn the wealthy who have built large homes that bear no resemblance to the lean-tos of previous times. Though residences were built in these places even in the mid-20th century, distance is no longer a hardship when it comes to the location of a dacha. "We see Kyivans building near Pereyaslav- Khmielnitskiy, which is 100km from the capital. Preferred destinations are also found along the Desna River to the north-east of Kyiv, up to
40-50 kilometers away," Ginkul notes.
Open Air Market
Kyiv's residential and commercial markets are widely acknowledged real estate hot spots. The dacha market is no exception, though the numbers bandied about might make the uninitiated stop and wonder.
"The primary factor is the ability to get close to nature, to really get away and out from the city," Ginkul points out. There is some cachet, though for those who need to regularly return to Kyiv, and this also is reflected in pricing. The high end is seen nowhere as well as in the riverside community to the south of Kyiv called Koncha Zaspa, where land ranges from $ 20-40,000 per sotka and houses can run over $1 million. Ginkul states that, "the oldest site for dachas, at Pushcha Vodytsya to the northwest of Kyiv, was laid out over 100 years ago. Land there is currently about $ 10-15,000 per sotka." Even satellite cities not commonly associated by expats as being centers for summer homes are expensive. For example, the blue-collar city of Ukrayinka, about 50km south of Kyiv and just south of Koncha Zaspa, lies along the Dnipro River, and unimproved land in the area ranges from $ 3-4,000 per sotka.
Talk of property bubbles is popular around the world. With the US entering a housing slump and Japan's recent emergence from a 16-year commercial property bubble burst is being noted in the international press. I asked Ginkul about the prices he mentioned. "The situation on the market is clear and transparent. Only market forces are at work here and the thing is that people actually want this for themselves. The pricing in this case is not an issue of [intrinsic] worth or the value of the subject, it's related to demand, pure and simple. The market could take a turn tomorrow, and there is land of the same size elsewhere that has practically zero value, but in this spot at this time, it has a value," he responded.
Dachas for Minigarchs
While the summer residence market does quite well in pandering to the tastes of oligarchs, minigarchs and small-scale businessmen make up a sizeable group, and the working classes also want to get out of town. For them, other options are available. Renting dachas and summer homes is common, and there are areas within Kyiv's city limits that are filled with them. "Along the Dnipro, especially near Metro Poznyaky and starting from Metro Lyvoberezhna and going upriver, there is an area that is mostly dachas. Other places that are less often associated with them that have been incorporated into the city still have some. Nyvky and Shulyavka, for instance, started out as areas for dachas at one time, and though they are parts of Kyiv now, you can still find some places that have been turned into homes, and some that are mid-20th century-style dachas," Ginkul says.
There is still a brisk trade in dealing with Soviet-era dachas despite the dearth of plumbing, the minimum of land and lack of prestige. There are several factors that make a shack put up in Khrushchev's time an attractive proposition. First, it's cheap, and second there are plenty of them. It is quite common for the land itself to still be communally owned, and the buyer is actually getting only the building on it as well as the right to use the plot. The new owner simply becomes a member of the commune. Privatizing the plots usually happens en masse - whole fields become private property instead of having a patchwork of common and private places.
One alternative that is taken up by a narrow group of relief seekers is to buy
a house in a village. While this was more popular in the first years after independence, when a run-down hut in a place far from Kyiv could be had for several hundred dollars, expectations are becoming more sophisticated. Still, for those with a taste for village life or those with roots in a particular locale, a house of this sort is an option. It is a very narrow market, and very price-dependent. Also, someone with a nose for a bargain might look for such places. Sometimes a plot with a hut on it will be cheaper than the unimproved land, because the owner sees it as a second-rate dwelling and not as a building that can be torn down easily.
When Desire Trumps Common Sense
Buying a dacha or summer home is a straightforward transaction, and properly transacted, there is no doubt that the land belongs to you. One aspect of the purchase that particularly affects this market is the ownership of the land itself. As we've already seen, sometimes a community owns the land itself, and it could be leased. Also, enlarging a plot isn't a problem, as long as the documentation reflects it. A good lawyer is helpful, and this is a common transaction that should be rather clear-cut.
Building a dream home is another proposition altogether, especially if utilities have not already been fed into the property. When building, it is imperative to go through the tedious, but still clear-cut, process of having plans drawn up and approved and ensuring that everything is done legally before you start. And that's just the beginning.
Constructing a summer home requires first and foremost a decision about your involvement in the building process. This is something that many nature lovers in Kyiv have found out the hard way. While engaging a builder is easy enough, having one keep your best interests at heart takes three things; complete documents, which we've mentioned; a good recommendation; and detailed control over the finances.
As we've said, having the documentation completed ahead of time is important, but it also saves time and money, especially when connecting utilities. Filing the documents to have the water turned off for a number of hours so that a line can be attached is often free, and forces the worker doing so to do it without demanding a $100 dollar bribe for 'helping'. It also avoids problems with inspectors who take a dim view of your contractor's shortcuts. "You really have to decide if you're going to get the papers, then build, or build and then worry about it."
A simple 'I heard that XXX is good' is not a recommendation for a builder in Kyiv. On the other hand, despite rumors to the contrary, there are good and conscientious construction crews in the city, but make sure that the one recommended has a proven track record of satisfactorily completing the project, or preferably, projects. While people worry about the quality of the work, asking about customer relations is also important. This can range from formal questions regarding prior accomplishments to finding out how many times you have to explain something before his workers get it.
Lastly, keeping a tight reign on expenses, and having it all beforehand, is critical to keeping control over the construction of your new summer home. Seeing receipts is useful; buying the material yourself when you can, or at least being there, is better.
"It's a simple combination. If you have all three points under control, you're pretty much sitting on the horse; if not, you're definitely under it," Ginkul remarks.
"Dacha Sells"
Most people now look on dachas as places to relax and not as sites for growing potatoes, and the summer home market shows no signs of slacking off. Those whose means match their desires build or rent something contemporary, and some either from nostalgia or more likely low income end up with a shack in a field. Either way, the increasing demand shows that, to misquote another advertising guru, "dacha sells".
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