"Despite crisis, wealthy Russians are buying up coastal Montenegro," writes the The New York Times. Cash clad Russians have arrived at the international property scene with a bang and they are looking to buy prized real estate through out the world. Who is buying ?
Hardly surprising, then, that property agencies are scrambling to market to them. There is a lot of interest in just who these newly minted wealthy Russians are and what exactly they are looking for. In reality, however, it is hard to pigeonhole the Russian market. Wealthy Russians are mostly interested in luxury properties in London, Cote d'Azure, Paris, Tuscany or New York. Russian middle-class nationals are looking for affordable apartments or houses up to 100,000 euros in Central, Eastern Europe and Middle East. Even senior citizens, who don't have much in the way of spare cash, can afford a property abroad after selling their [...] houses or their rooms in communal flats.
What they are buying?
Russians owning real estate abroad have become more and more common in the past five years.
Where they are looking?
Most Russians are searching for properties close to home, in Europe, though a small percentage look in places as far as Egypt and Thailand. This number may increase now that several eastern European countries have recently seen a drop in their credit ratings. Top 10 countries most popular for russians investors:
1. Bulgaria: 13.53 percent
2. Germany: 8.02 percent
3. Finland: 7.87 percent
4. Spain: 7.85 percent
5. USA: 6.19 percent
6. France: 4.28 percent
7. Czech Republic: 4.61 percent
8. Italy: 4.33 percent
9. Egypt: 3.17 percent
10. Turkey: 3.50 percent
Montenegro and Greece are in the top 15. Also, interest in Thailand has shown a strong increase while Cyprus has seen seasonal decline.
To be sure, Russians are part of a relatively new and bigger trend. Increasing global wealth will continue to make new millionaires and billionaires. Nowhere is this more true than in places such as Russia, China and India. The diversity of international property buyers is likely to continue to evolve as national borders fall to the wayside under the irresistible charm of the rich.
