Lviv has surpassed Kyiv for the first time in the entire history of the full-scale war in terms of price per square meter in new construction. According to data from Lun disclosed at the Ukrainian Investment Congress 2026, a square meter of housing in Lviv costs $1,500 — 6% more expensive than in the capital and 7% more expensive than a year ago in Lviv itself.
"$1,500 per square meter is the highest price per square meter in Ukraine for the entire period of the war," said Olha Petrosyuk, commercial director of Lun. Previously, Kyiv and Lviv had moved in lockstep for years, fluctuating within the margin of error.
Why now
The explanation lies not only in the demand from relocators or the security logic of "farther from the front." Lviv set a record last year for construction activity — 65 new residential complex projects, more than even in the pre-war 2021 (55). One would logically expect that the influx of supply would restrain prices. Instead, they are rising faster than in Kyiv, where the market, according to LIGA.net observations, has remained on a plateau since the beginning of the war.
This is the unexpected angle: more construction does not mean cheaper housing if demand grows faster than supply, and land for new construction within the city is becoming exhausted.
Who else entered the game
Uzhhorod maintains third place in the top of most expensive cities, but has not become more expensive at all over the year — a rare example of stability. However, Vinnytsia has moved into fourth place for the first time with a price of $1,180 per square meter, surpassing Odesa ($1,150), which still confidently held its place in the top 5 last year.
"At the same time, Chernivtsi is already catching up in prices to Odesa," added Petrosyuk.
If we look not at absolute prices but at growth rates over the year, Vinnytsia leads (+18%), followed by Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil (+14% each) and Khmelnytsky (+13%). These are mostly cities that were previously considered "second tier" and did not come into the focus of investors.
Who has grown the most during the entire war
By cumulative effect over all three and a half years of war, the record holder is Ivano-Frankivsk (+88%), followed by Rivne (+63%), Uzhhorod and Lviv (+53% each) and Chernivtsi (+50%). These are cities where business and people massively relocated from front-line regions, and it is there that the effect of relocation proved the most sustained.
At the other pole are Zaporizhzhia ($540), Sumy ($580) and Kharkiv ($640), where prices remain the lowest in the country: proximity to the front continues to restrain the market even after three years of war.
If the trend continues, the question is not whether Lviv will maintain first place, but whether some buyers will not start to reorient themselves toward Vinnytsia and Chernivtsi — cities that are still cheaper but are growing faster than all others.
