A review of changes in the Russian legislation in the field of construction and real estate management in the first half of 2021

The review encompasses changes in Russian legislation in the field of construction, real estate, housing and utilities management. The review addresses the legal and regulatory framework of the shared equity construction legislation and guaranteed rights and legitimate interests of citizens participating in the shared equity construction; reusable project documentation, standard project documentation, the availability of technical specifications needed for the architectural and construction design, connections to engineering networks; the calculation of amounts payable by citizens and organizations for the maintenance of residential premises in apartment buildings in Moscow, the city of federal significance; the protection of rights and legitimate interests of owners of residential buildings in respect of the calculated amounts of utility payments, as well as the improvement of relations in respect of the operation and modernization of the state information system of housing and utility services, protection of state information resources; a decision making procedure as part of the legal framework for the remote participation in meetings of members of civil communities, etc.

Innovative approaches in the field of low–rise housing construction and digital transformation of investment and construction activities as the main focus of the All-Russian Housing Congress

This July, All-Russian Housing Congress brought together about five thousand participants, including specialists inhousing construction, real estate business, mortgage lending, information technologies, interregional transactions,education and training in the real estate market. Among the most relevant topics, discussed by the researchersand practitioners, the following ones can be highlighted: at present, the market of standard private housingconstruction is not mature enough, construction is mainly performed by the citizens themselves; the mortgagemarket, focused on this segment, is in its infancy; there is a need to introduce a standard for the integrateddevelopment of territories in respect of low-rise suburban housing construction, as due to its absence banksand investors do not have clear guidelines for assessing the investment attractiveness of projects; innovativeapproaches in the field of low-rise construction, latest methods of digitalization of investment and constructionactivities at all stages and levels of the project life cycle; developing a reliable mortgage lending mechanism forthis market segment; adoption and implementation of up-to-date standards for the integrated development of lowriseconstruction areas. According to the co-authors, the above-listed topics encompass the main directions forthe development of this industry.

Development of a methodology for increasing the economic efficiency of a commercial real estate facility within the framework of a reconceptualization project in the context of current market trends

Each commercial real estate facility, whose functional concept remains unchanged for a long time, can be exposed to the influence of external and internal factors, that may reduce its economic efficiency and purchasing power that need to be restored by landlords who will take urgent measures. Reconceptualization is a method used to improve the economic efficiency of commercial and leisure property. The co-authors propose a methodological framework of selection, assessment and substantiation of project solutions, make a list of works and determine the general strategy of a reconceptualization project to increase the economic efficiency of a commercial real estate facility in the current market environment. It should also be noted that an economic crisis magnifies weaknesses of entertainment retail centres, and any reconceptualization strategy must take account of this phenomenon. Firstly, it is necessary to analyze the reasons for profit reduction, assess the resources and the potential of a facility, its market environment, and the prospects for its further operation. Under these conditions, reconceptualization may be regarded as an anti-crisis development strategy.

The case of Thermodom: features of operation and development of construction holding companies in the residential real estate market of Penza

The article addresses the efficiency of construction holding companies that operate in the housing market of oneRussian region. The main trends in the development of construction holding companies in the Penza region areoutlined within the framework of the Strategy for the social and economic development of the Penza region through2035. The co-authors analyze the principal characteristics of Termodom, a Penza-based construction holdingcompany. In particular, they explore the implementation of its market strategy, the cyclical nature of the housingmarket development, cycles of construction project development and implementation, and real estate sales overthe period exceeding the last five years. Research methods include theoretical analysis and empirical researchsuch as statistical data analysis, as well as data description and grouping. The co-authors have studied workson the operation of construction enterprises, research articles, monographs, electronic resources, and legal acts.Research methods, employed by the co-authors, include description, comparison, and classification. The coauthorsuse practical approaches to the monitoring and analysis of the activities performed by various constructionholding companies with a special focus on the milestones of their strategic development and with regard forthe factors of internal and external environments. This approach has enabled the co-author to project the mainpatterns of future sustainable development of these enterprises and the construction industry as a whole.It is necessary to develop a system of legislative, regulatory and economic standards to efficiently solve the problemof unfinished construction projects, to switch over to innovative technologies and implement other innovations andproper development strategies with a focus on investments, innovations, internal and external market potential. Theproper analysis of factors of external and internal environments is a must for the successful attainment of theseobjectives.

Construction completion forecasting on the basis of statistical modeling and heterogeneous monitoring data

Modern construction represents a complex production process whose effective regulation is based on information about the period of construction works, obtained by way of monitoring. Any delay in the execution of certain works frustrates scheduled project commissioning, which results in increased project management costs, forfeits and lost benefits. Existing monitoring systems need to be improved through the use of probabilistic scheduling geared towards the forecasting of completion dates of certain works and the construction process as a whole. Construction monitoring may be improved by means of taking management quality into account by means of distributing random work durations in the process of statistical modeling of functions. The introduction of six random duration distribution functions, reflecting management quality, is proposed for the improvement of statistical modeling, whereas the use of scheduled durations of works is expedient for identifying optimistic characteristics. The data, extracted from monitoring reports, needs to be used as pessimistic distributions. Monitoring reports contain heterogeneous data, and they may even have no information on particular types of works. Therefore, pessimistic durations based on missing data should be calculated using the time-space analogy method.

Problems of sustainable development. Real estate development after the pandemic (based on the materials of the Gaidar Forum - 2021)

We quote Lenin more and more often and recall Stalin realizing that it is impossible to lead the humanity to happiness “with an iron hand". By speeding up and slowing down, stumbling, and getting up, deluding and enlightening, it must realize: happiness is development, devotion to the good, the love and the joy of understanding Creator's ideas!!! A participant of the Gaidar Forum - 2021 Recent development trends are formed under the influence of multiple factors. They move in different directions and make completely unexpected turns, adjusting standard settings and expectations of the population. Meanwhile, the rap­id development of anthropology, futurology, information modeling against the background of the effective and timely implementation of state support measures, international community's efforts to promote valuation technologies of sus­tainable development, the expansion of “green” financing and the demand to impose social responsibility on large busi­nesses allows to assume that all sectors of the national economy, including real estate and construction, will be ex­posed not only to digital transformation, technological upgrade, institutional and socio-economic reboot, but also to the re-evaluation of efficiency criteria of business models. In this regard, the implementation of the requirements of the Na­tional Project “Housing and Urban Environment” is complicated not only due to the budget constraints, the decline in production, the outflow of migrants due to the pandemic, but also due to the need to significantly reconsider the mod­el of economic development. It is necessary to restructure not only the industrial and infrastructure framework of capital funds, but also to develop fundamentally new approaches to the management of the life cycle of real estate. The grow­ing singularity of economic processes forces us to make flexible decisions and create different types of real estate with regard for emerging cultural and anthropological preferences. At the same time, information and construction process­es have already merged together within the framework of the construction industry that creates new items of real estate and capitalizes the existing ones. Digital design, acting together with new investment mechanisms, generates a promis­ing model for the accelerated implementation of design and construction cycles. The Internet of Things creates not only “smart homes”, but also “smart cities” and “smart agglomerations”. The “New Normality” will trigger systemic changes in real estate management in order to provide it with self-optimizing properties of sustainable development, a new cul­ture of efficiency, the implementation of principles of “Economics of Trust” and interaction with development institutions, as well as the accelerated introduction of environmental-information technologies and preventive mechanisms used to resolve the contradictions arising between construction process participants.

Experience in the classification of innovative construction technologies in digital format

This article deals with the problem of the digital revolution, which in recent decades has led to the rapid pace of innovation not only in the global industrial sector, but also in science, medicine, education and other areas of human activity, providing them with a significant increase in productivity, profitability, labor productivity, and safety for the environment. However, this has hardly affected the construction industry, which has not undergone significant changes over the past 50 years. This article reveals the content of the main reason for the extremely slow pace of innovative processes in construction, due to its global scale and decentralized nature. The construction industry accounts for approximately 6 % of global GDP (and for developing countries it reaches 8 % of GDP) and continues to grow. Special attention is paid to the fact that construction is the largest consumer of resources, which annually uses about 50 % of the total volume of steel produced and more than 3 billion tons of raw materials. Therefore, any innovation that leads, for example, to increased productivity in construction, on a global scale could save $100 billion a year. Also, this paper shows the factors that make construction a difficult business, which is not amenable to the necessary transformations. The article presents the basic principles of building an automated information support system.

Creation of new jobs and creativity of the urban space

Over the last decades industries, that affect human capital development, have stepped into the spotlight. Engineering companies, creative and service enterprises have assumed a crucial role in the urban economy and its potential. As for large urban agglomerations, new forms of production and creative class mobilization represent the key objectives due to the reduction or liquidation of the majority of industrial urban enterprises. Urban planning as a science is responsive to economic changes. The paradigm of functional zoning has been replaced by theories based on land use intensity, business and cultural activities of population. Hence, the idea is to ensure the polyfunctional operation of industrial, high-tech research companies in residential areas and to relocate housing to areas occupied by old industrial enterprises. In this work, the co-authors analyze the phenomenon of the location value in a modern city, regularities that govern the choice of locations for new enterprises; they also suggest approaches to the zoning of urban areas depending on their potential ability to develop new types of industrial production.

The practice of managing real estate as an investment asset

Within the framework of the 10th International Science and Practical Conference “Organization of Construction and Development of Real Estate”, held in Moscow at the premises of the National Research Moscow State University of Civil Engineering (MGSU), a wide range of problems, dealing with the strategic focus of the real estate development at the present stage, was discussed. Not only did the methodological fundamentals of spatial and territorial development affect the goals and practical implementation requirements, but they also changed the management tools. New aspects of managing real estate as an investment asset emerged and started to develop in practice. The process required a number of provisions to be amended and recommendations to be made by the Conference participants. According to the conference speakers, managing real estate as an increasingly popular investment asset was among the problems that were least studied in the research literature. At the same time, the approach, proposed by the co-authors, encompasses management tools applicable to problem-plagued and normally functioning real estate, as well as complex real estate items integrated into separate elements of the urban planning structure. The management of numerous real estate facilities requires different approaches to be implemented by development companies (developers). They were studied by the co­authors who analyzed the case of Krasstroy Group of Construction Companies engaged in the construction and operation of real estate facilities. Understanding the practical experience of the company allowed the co-authors to systematize the principles of effective management, that represented a combination of advanced methods of design of universal modules of commercial premises, new functional opportunities provided by information and communication technologies, and methods of stimulating and coordinating operations performed by different stakeholders in urban districts and the city as a whole1. [1] This research was performed within the framework of the project “The study of the present-day structure and typology of housing and development of recommendations concerning the optimal number of apartments, taking into account demographic and social factors, as well as the entire range of needs of the population (using the case of Krasnoyarsk)” supported by the Krasnoyarsk State Autonomous Institution “Krasnoyarsk Regional Fund for Support of Scientific and Technical Activities” within the framework of the target competition of applied scientific research projects aimed at solving problems of urban development.

Digital and online technology changing the real estate market in Russia

The real estate market has to respond quickly to all global and local changes, such as the development of digital technologies, new legislation, the COVID-19 pandemic, and shrinking demand, and each major market player reacts accordingly. The government announces a new strategy in an effort to have information technologies introduced by its official agencies and the population and establish an electronic government system. Developers launch virtual sales and 3D tours, willing to attract new buyers from distant locations, cooperate with banks and provide assistance in obtaining digital signatures. Banks offer new services by consolidating online property search engines and mortgage issuance. SberBank’s DOMclick service is described in the article in detail. Evenconservative notaries have joined the process: now they can notarize online deals and register electronic purchase and sale contracts.Online deals have several steps: choosing and visiting the property, entering into a preliminary contract and making an advance payment, performing the due diligence, preparing for the deal, having a mortgage issued and the deal registered, and now each step can be made online.Changes have affected both sales contracts and rental agreements. A leading Internet company has chosen to rent properties only from those landlords, who register rental agreements on its platform in the capacity of partners and have digital signatures to sign their electronic contracts.New services have become possible thanks to the development of new digital and online technologies, new tools appear to meet the market needs. Although some risks arise at certain stages, online technologies have been successfully adopted by the real estate market.