Russia's apartments reveal surprising trends in balconies, loggias, and terraces
Balconies, Loggias, and Terraces in Russia: More Than Just Architectural Features
In Russia, balconies and loggias often hold greater significance than other elements of modern apartment design. For some, they offer a way to "step outside" without leaving home; for others, they serve as quiet retreats, workspaces, or laundry-drying areas—though they frequently end up as extra storage, according to Sberbank's press service.
Analysts from DomClick (18+) examined data on Russian apartments to determine how often they include balconies, loggias, and terraces.
Distribution of Balconies, Loggias, and Terraces in Russian Apartments
Loggias are the most common feature in Russia's real estate market, found in 36.8% of apartments. Balconies follow closely, appearing in 34% of cases. Meanwhile, one in five apartments (21.2%) lacks either. Multi-format options are far rarer: only 3.4% have two loggias, 1.8% have two balconies, and 2.1% feature both. Apartments with three balconies or loggias account for just 0.5%.
The rarest type remains terraces—present in only 0.2% of apartments. Unlike balconies and loggias, they are less likely to be glazed, with just 40% enclosed. In contrast, 94% of loggias and 80% of balconies are glazed.
Regional Trends
The highest concentration of loggias is found in the Republic of Mari El (66.4%), Chuvash Republic (61.5%), and Kirov Oblast (56.4%). Balconies dominate in Buryatia (72.9%), the Jewish Autonomous Oblast (69.7%), and Irkutsk Oblast (64.3%), where low-rise Soviet-era panel housing (the so-called "Khrushchyovkas") is prevalent—buildings where loggias are rare.
When it comes to terraces, resort regions lead the way: Crimea (1.3%), Kaliningrad Oblast (0.5%), Krasnodar Krai (0.4%), and St. Petersburg (0.4%). Despite Moscow's abundance of luxury developments, apartments with terraces and penthouses make up just 0.15% of the total.
Distribution by Construction Period and Building Height
Balconies are most common in apartments built between 1956 and 1975, appearing in 56% of units, while loggias account for only 7.5%. Terraces are virtually nonexistent in buildings from this era.
Loggias became widespread in multi-unit residential buildings from the late 1970s onward. Apartments in buildings constructed between 1976 and 1991—the so-called "Brezhnevkas"—feature loggias in 41% of cases. The peak came in buildings from 1992 to 2010, where 59.2% of apartments included loggias.
Balconies and loggias are least common in pre-revolutionary buildings—those constructed before 1917—with nearly 86% lacking these architectural features. At the same time, the share of apartments with terraces in such buildings is slightly above average, at 0.6%. Terraces are most frequent in early Soviet-era housing (1917–1930), appearing in 0.9% of apartments. In modern developments built after 2010, terraces are found in just 0.3% of units.
Overall, terraces are most typical in low-rise, boutique-style residential projects bordering natural areas. The highest proportion of terrace-equipped apartments in multi-unit buildings is in structures no taller than five floors, at 0.3%. However, budget-friendly options also exist in contemporary high-rises: in towers exceeding 26 floors, up to 0.16% of apartments feature terraces.
The presence of balconies also depends on a building's height, with the highest concentration—48.4%—found in structures up to five floors. In buildings ranging from 21 to 25 floors, the share of apartments with balconies drops by half, to 22.1%, while in towers over 26 floors, only 13% of units include a balcony. The greatest number of apartments with loggias are in mid-rise buildings of nine to 20 floors (61.9%), whereas in high-rises above 26 floors, that figure falls to 42.3%.
