The two-day show attracted 6,293 visitors to stands representing investment class properties in 28 countries and left most participants exhausted and out of brochures. The visitors were keen to buy, and developers with properties ranging from mountain top villas overlooking the Mediterranean on the island of Cyprus to a futuristic beach front skyscraper in Thailand were busy fielding enquiries from well heeled Russians apparently oblivious to the global banking crisis.
A leading Australian developer, exhibiting for the second time at the show, left delighted with the number and quality of potential clients he had discussions with, reporting more than 60 serious enquiries.
The Bulgarian Salon, with 45 Bulgarian developers was the biggest national presence but exhibitors were out in force from Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Panama, Turkey and Egypt amongst others, in search of Russian investors. The visitors, largely representing an increasingly wealthy Russian upper middle class were obviously serious in their intent to find worldwide bargains.
Middle class Russians, since the bank crises that enveloped the country from the collapse of the Soviet Union to the 1998 default, have been cautious to commit the bulk of their funds to both banks and stocks. Property has always been a key element of Russian investment and savings and the majority of completions both local and international have been done for cash.
This makes Russian investors a key target for international property developers according to the organisers of the Moscow International Investment Shows, the Ai Group.
