Thailand, Georgia and the United Arab Emirates have become popular countries among Russians for buying a home. Thailand, Georgia and the United Arab Emirates are among the top three. In general, the demand for buying housing abroad decreased by 3.4% compared to 2023 and by 23.8% compared to 2022
Thailand became the most popular country among Russian buyers of real estate abroad in January — July 2024, accounting for almost 14% of demand. Such data was provided to RBC-Real Estate by analysts of the international brokerage company Tranio, with reference to requests that the company received from Russians to purchase real estate abroad since the beginning of 2024.
Tranio is an international real estate broker. The company is engaged in the sale and investment in foreign real estate, mediation in obtaining a residence permit, as well as analysis of demand in foreign markets. The company’s representatives work in 70 countries around the world.
Last year, the UAE was the leader in demand for foreign real estate among our compatriots, and Thailand was the second. But since the beginning of this year, the country has risen to the first place. According to Tranio, in seven months, the number of applications for the purchase of real estate in Thailand from Russians increased by 65% compared to the same period last year and by 231% compared to 2022, and one of the main goals of the purchase is investment.
“This trend reflects larger-scale changes in the market. After 2022, the Southeast Asian region as a whole received a significant amount of Russian capital, and Thailand has now actually become a key hub for Russian investments in the international market, surpassing even the traditionally popular Middle East,” explained Mikhail Bulanov, co-founder and managing partner of Tranio. In addition, the growth in demand for real estate in Thailand coincides with the release of the kingdom’s tourist flow to pre-pandemic indicators with the prospect of growth in 2024, the expert added.
Georgia(Photo: Tomáš Malík / Unsplash)
Georgia took the second place in the number of applications for the purchase of real estate abroad among Russians. Last year, this country was in sixth place, but at the beginning of the year it entered the top three due to a decrease in demand for real estate in Turkey. In January — July 2024, Georgia accounted for 12.3% of all applications for the selection of foreign real estate from Russians. Experts explain the interest in this country by the low entry threshold (from $ 35 thousand), as well as the relocation of some Russians there.
The UAE closes the top three with a share of 7.8%. At the same time, the number of applications for real estate in this country from Russians decreased by 23% in annual terms. Experts explain this trend by the rise in real estate prices in the UAE to peak values, as well as by the fact that some of the investors who entered projects in record 2022 plan to implement exit strategies in 2024.
Greece(Photo: Heidi Kaden / Unsplash)
Greece took the fourth place at the end of seven months, slightly behind the UAE. It accounted for 7.1% of applications, and the demand itself decreased by 13%. The decline in demand for real estate in Greece comes after a series of announcements and postponements of tightening the conditions of the “golden visa”. “First, the Greek government raised the minimum investment threshold from €250 to €500 thousand in August 2023 in 28 municipalities of Athens and some areas. This year, the investment threshold is being raised across the country to €800 thousand,” Mikhail Bulanov explained.
France, Turkey and Spain were also among the most popular countries for buying real estate among Russians in January — July 2024 — each of these countries accounted for 5.8% of demand. Cyprus, Indonesia and the Czech Republic also entered the top ten.
Top 10 countries popular with Russian property buyers in January — July 2024
| A country | The share of applications, % of the total | Demand dynamics in January — July 2024 to January — July 2023 | The average budget for applications, thousand euros |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | 13,6% | +65% | 150 |
| Georgia | 12,3% | -8% | 114 |
| UAE | 7,8% | -23% | 259 |
| Greece | 7,1% | -13% | 280 |
| France | 5,8% | -17% | 400 |
| Turkey | 5,8% | -32% | 274 |
| Spain | 5,8% | -24% | 400 |
| Cyprus | 4,3% | -11% | 350 |
| Indonesia | 4,1% | +1% | 184 |
| Czech | 3,8% | +73% | 250 |
Data: Tranio
Demand has decreased relative to the peak
According to Tranio, in absolute terms, the total number of applications for the purchase of foreign real estate in January — July 2024 decreased by 3.4% relative to 2023 and by 23.8% relative to the peak of 2022. However, in the long term, a positive trend is still visible: total demand has increased by 32% since 2021, and by almost 50% since 2020.
As for the goals of buying real estate, they have changed in favor of investment. If in 2023, almost 30% of Russians considered buying real estate abroad to obtain a residence permit or citizenship, then in 2024 this share decreased by 18.9%. “Investors from Russia are increasingly paying attention to new locations and investment instruments. This approach makes adjustments to the dynamics of demand in popular real estate markets. We see a slight cooling of interest in those areas that were considered absolute favorites in 2022-2023,” said Tranio co—founder and managing partner. Among the developing areas, the expert named Oman and Saudi Arabia.
The goals of Russians when buying foreign real estate, January — July 2024 (Photo: Tranio)
Analysts from the Foreign real estate department of NF Group have identified the leading countries in Russian demand for foreign real estate based on their requests. According to their data, in the first half of the year, the UAE took the first place among countries in terms of demand for foreign real estate from Russians. Hungary came in second place. Cyprus and Thailand shared the third place. France took the fourth place. Spain and Turkey rounded out the top five. For comparison, in the first half of 2023, Turkey took the first place, the UAE took the second place, and Cyprus took the third. Spain and Grenada also entered the top 5.
In addition, the preferences of Russians in choosing foreign real estate have significantly changed over the year, according to NF Group. According to the company, if in the first half of 2023 52% of transactions were made for their own residence, then in the first half of 2024 this figure decreased to 28%. “On the contrary, the share of transactions made for investments has increased from 38% to 72%, which indicates a growing interest in commercial real estate,” explained Anna Larina, Director of the Department of Foreign Real Estate at NF Group.
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