The authorities of Turkey and Georgia reported a record number of real estate transactions concluded by Russians in these countries during the 12 or 9 months of 2022, respectively. High activity of buyers from Russia was noted by official sources from Thailand and Spain based on data on the registration of property rights in 2022.
Official sources of the UAE and many EU countries, popular among Russian investors, did not disclose statistics on foreign transactions. According to Tranio, in 2022, Greece, Cyprus, Montenegro, France and Italy entered the top 10 countries for buying real estate abroad along with the above-mentioned countries.
In the UAE real estate market, the lion’s share of investments falls on Dubai: the emirate has the most areas where foreigners can purchase apartments, houses and land plots in full ownership (freehold), and not only for long-term lease (leasehold). Many experts of the Dubai real estate market have noted a sharp increase in investor demand from Russia, but the Emirate’s Land Department (DLD) has not yet provided official data on the citizenship of the main buyers.
According to DLD, the total number of real estate transactions in Dubai in 2022 reached 97,252. Tranio estimates that Russians purchased at least 15,000 properties out of this amount last year. If the transactions of CIS citizens are also included in the assessment, then the total amount may be about 20 thousand objects. The median budget of buyers, according to Tranio statistics, amounted to 300 thousand euros.
Last year, Russians actively invested in Georgian real estate: according to a media report with reference to the data of the online portal of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, in 8 months (from 01.01.22 to 09.09.22), citizens of the Russian Federation purchased 15,164 real estate objects in this country, including 13,152 apartments. Given the sharp increase in Russian demand for foreign real estate last October, the total annual total is likely to significantly exceed 20,000 properties. In monetary terms, however, the volume of Russian investments in Georgian real estate is less than in the UAE and Turkey: according to Tranio, the median budget of Russian-speaking buyers in this country amounted to 80 thousand euros last year.
In Europe, Russian investors choose Cyprus, Spain and Greece, and in Asia — Thailand
According to Tranio, a significant proportion of applications from Russian—speaking clients are for the purchase of real estate in European countries – primarily in Spain (8.0%), Greece (7.5%) and Cyprus (5.5%), as well as Montenegro (4.3%), France (3.7%) and Italy (3.2%). By the end of January 2023, only a few of these countries had published official data on real estate transactions involving foreigners.
According to the Spanish Cadastral Office, Russians accounted for 1.81% of all real estate transactions in 2022, or 1,685 in absolute terms. The activity of Russian investors in Spain has only slightly decreased compared to the indicators of 2021, when they accounted for 1.9% of transactions. The preservation of Russian demand in this market is facilitated by the fact that the Spanish authorities have not suspended the issuance of a “golden visa” for real estate investments for Russian citizens, as some other countries have done. According to Tranio, the median budget of Russian-speaking clients for the purchase of real estate in Spain in 2022 increased to 220 thousand euros, a year earlier it amounted to 200 thousand euros.
In Greece, on the contrary, the issuance of “golden visas” for Russians was suspended last year. According to the Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum (Ministry of Migration and Asylum), by the end of the 1st half of 2022, 431 Russians had an active investment visa in Greece — this is 28% less than in December 2021. It is unclear exactly how this has affected the volume of real estate investments, as the Bank of Greece has not yet provided relevant statistics. According to Tranio, the median budget of Russian-speaking buyers in Greece last year amounted to 250 thousand euros.
In previous years, Greece was one of the most popular destinations for Russians to buy vacation real estate. After the suspension of the Golden visa program, resort houses by the sea in Greece has become less in demand, but there is still demand for real estate in Athens — this market in 2022 became one of the leaders in the European Union in terms of rental price growth.
Tranio’s clients, who are interested in stable rental income, are now willing to invest in service apartments in Athens. When moving to Greece, you can get a digital nomad visa for a Russian passport, and investors can apply for a “golden visa” for a second passport (for example, Turkey or Grenada).
However, in 2022, our customers from Russians planning to move to Europe for permanent residence were more likely to consider Cyprus. In this EU country, you can get a residence permit for real estate investments from 300 thousand euros, and tax benefits attract many businessmen and IT specialists to Cyprus
According to Tranio statistics, the median budget of Russian-speaking clients for the purchase of real estate in Cyprus in 2022 coincided with the requirements in the permanent residence program for investments and amounted to 300 thousand euros. According to the Cyprus Land and Registration Department (Department of Land and Surveys), 3,383 foreigners (non-EU citizens) purchased real estate in the country last year. The authorities do not disclose information about the origin of the participants in the transactions. According to Tranio experts, based on their own data and statistics from developer partners, about half of the transactions of foreigners in the Cyprus primary real estate market in 2022 were accounted for by Russians.
Russians joined the group of the most active investors in the Thai real estate market last year. According to the State Housing Bank of Thailand (Government Housing Bank of Thailand), in 2022, Russian citizens purchased 813 apartments in Thailand, ending up in second place — after Chinese citizens — in the ranking of the most active foreign investors. According to Tranio, in November and December 2022, the demand of Russians for Thai real estate was noticeably higher than the average for the year, so the total for 12 months may exceed the statistically probable threshold of 600 transactions. In 2022, the median budget of Russian-speaking clients for the purchase of real estate in Thailand amounted to 150 thousand euros.
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