FIRST WITH THE NEWS: The first place any smart buyer goes, before buying property, is online. To discover Russia’s top ten foreign property destinations during 2015, Tranio expert Yulia Kozhevnikova went to the search engine source to find out where they are dreaming of a second home.
Interestingly, destinations and preferences actually vary between the Russian capital and nation’s regions, according to the Europe-based property portal that focuses on the Russian market.
The first thing to note from the research is that Russians’ favourite destinations are all warmer than their homeland. Spain has won the hearts of both the capital and the regions, followed by the United States of America, which has not lost any of its appeal despite poor relations between the countries’ leadership.
Related news from Dot Property Group: Why most Russians have gone.
The U.S., along with Turkey, are the only non-European countries to make it in, and both rankings include the nine same countries with the exception of France and Thailand. France came sixth in the Muscovite top ten but is not favourite among the regions where it was bumped by Thailand, which made it to fourth place.
Interestingly, Thailand did not figure in the top ten destinations for Moscow residents, but was ranked an impressive fourth by residents from the rest of the country. Dot Property Group noted that this information clearly this indicates that Thailand real estate professionals seeking Russian buyers need to look away from Moscow.
There were 60 percent more requests are made in the Russian capital for property in the world’s most expensive real estate markets, like the UK and Switzerland, compared to the regions, according to Google Adwords statistics.
Property in Bulgaria and Turkey attracted 35 percent more requests from the regions compared to Moscow, where the income level is twice the national average, according to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service.
Geography is also a factor when it comes to the biggest country in the world. Far-eastern residents from the Vladivostok region (Primorsky Krai) are three times more interested in Thai property than Muscovites, while residents of Saint Petersburg on the Baltic sea are twice as likely to search for information on homes and flats in Finland, which is just a couple of hours away.
There are also cultural differences in the Russian Federation, stemming from ethnic and religious diversity. For instance, in Tatarstan, a federal state where many practice Islam, requests for property in Istanbul are 70 percent higher than in Moscow.
Spain is the most popular destination for second home buyers in all price brackets from Moscow and the Russian regions. Its warm climate, relatively cheap real estate (compared to other Western European countries) and developed holiday infrastructure are the main attraction points. Catalonia, Valencia and the Canary Islands are the most popular destinations among people from Moscow.
More expensive property markets also make more money from Russian clients than other nationalities, according to a forthcoming report on Russian and CIS buyer habits in 2015 by Tranio. For example, U.K. property is almost twice as expensive as world market average, but Russian-speakers spend 350 percent more than the local average budget on property there.
Russians choose most expensive property abroad despite crisis
George Kachmazov, Managing Partner at Tranio, said: “The United Kingdom in general, and London in particular, are probably the most expensive locations where Moscow residents buy property. However, most of these transactions happen off market and are, therefore, difficult to trace. Still, media coverage shows that Russian citizens have spent hundreds of millions of pounds in the last five to ten years exactly in the UK, buying both the most expensive iconic properties and ‘ordinary’ flats.”
According to Tranio forecasts, Spain, the U.S. and Germany will be the leading locations for both Muscovites and buyers from other regions in 2016, as precisely these markets can protect Russian capital from economic risk at home while generating income on investment.
Main photo: stockerteam / Depositphotos4
