For many people last year situation on the Ukrainian property market was a nasty and unexpected surprise. While few actually forecasted the bubble was about to burst, some industry insiders note it was both logical and predictable.

But what are the guarantees that their future plans will be more cautious and grounded in reality than before?

"Every time there is some drop and we are in a mess like today, experts sit down and think: 'What can we do to stop it from happening again?' The problem is that nation has very short memory. Within one year or two, everybody forgets all the sensible and perfect ideas, becomes greedy again and it all happens one more time. It's a five-six year cycle," Lambert said.

But before that happens, the property field will offer real bargains for awhile, admitted Oleksiy Govorun, chief director for marketing and strategic growth at TMM, a Ukrainian developer. Compared to about 1 year ago, dollar-denominated costs have decreased by 20 to 40 percent on the primary and secondary residential real estate market.

The primary property market, in which Govorun is a specialist, is now at 900 USD to 1300 USD per square meter for economy class apartments, 1 500-2 500 USD for middle class and 3 500-9 000 for premium class. DTZ's Lambert reported that commercial property prices have also about halved in the last year, and so did prime office space rents.

You can only buy if you have the money, and money is now in very short provision. You have to have at least half of the real estate value in cash before applying for the few mortgages that are still available in Ukriane.

He said there are several conditions you have to know before taking a loan: wish and ability to work for many years, an employer strong in its field and job security.

In any case, if you do have the money now, industry insiders note it's best to spend it soon because the provision of properties will shrink in the next two or three years. "Nobody started new building in Ukraine this year," added Govorun.

Some developers who have enough financial muscle and see beyond the crisis are this year go on with their plans to bring new projects to the market...

"These days we see limited building activity going on in all segments of the market," mentioned Martin Hormuth, cheif manager of ISTIL Real Estate. "It is very obvious that this must lead to a small supply of new quality space in the short run.