According to Salon.ru:

Here are some photos of a recently completed private home near St. Petersburg.

The modern Russian architect Igor Gremitski followed an example of one of

the palaces of Catherine the Great (Russian Barocco style) for his client

Real estate owners, developers and brokers/agents from all over the world who are interested in selling their properties to buyers from Russia - directly or through Russian real estate agents - usually have lots of questions about marketing to Russians.

The most frequently asked questions are as follows:

- Will I be able to find Russian buyers for real estate properties in my country?

- How are Russian buyers different from other Europeans?

- How do I reach Russian buyers?

- What is my first step in marketing to Russians? 

- How do I attract Russian buyers to my property online?

- Can I find a real estate agent in Russia who will be marketing to Russians for me?

- How can you help me with marketing to Russians?

Please find my answers to typical questions that apply to any property in any country at http://www.english-and-russian.com/marketing-to-russians.html 

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals 

Russian independent real estate analytic center irn.ru published the year-end report "Russians buy international real estate, 2009 in review". The report draws a major conclusion that the trend will grow.

The analysis is based on the transactions that Russian buyers of international real estate completed in various countries with the help of Russian real estate agencies that offer foreign properties to buyers in Russia.

We have to keep in mind though that there is no way to summarize those transactions worldwide that were completed by Russian buyers with the direct help of real estate agencies in the countries where the properties are located, or just entirely on their own like buying properties sold "by owner" or being advised by relatives or friends in foreign countries. This means that such transactions were not included in the report of course.

Anyway this report is interesting as it evaluates the market of Russian buyers of international real estate properties in general.

Here are the major points of the report "Russians buy international real estate, 2009 in review" for your information in English in a nutshell:

Russians were buying foreign real estate properties approximately in the same quantities in 2009 as in 2008 (while at the same time statistics show that the inside real estate market volume in Russia suffered a decrease of about 35% in 2009 in comparison with 2008)

Market volume of international real estate was estimated at 10.8 billion in 2009 vs. 11.9 billion in 2008

Average estimated price of an international home purchased by Russians abroad was $210,000

Russians bought approximately 50,000 foreign homes in various countries

45% of Russian buyers came from Moscow

Approximately one in ten Russian real estate buyers bought properties internationally

In some countries Russians were the most active real estate buyers in 2009: in Cyprus 55% of all properties sold were bought by Russians, in Montenegro - 52%, in Egypt - 45%, in Israel and Croatia - 40% in each. Experts say this trend has been very strong for the last several years

More info on Russian real estate buyers preferences in term of countries, etc. you can find at http://www.english-and-russian.com/Selling_to_Russians-russians-buy-international-real-estate.html

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals 

According to REAL ESTATE CHANNEL:

"(MOSCOW, RUSSIA) -- Despite the downturn, the demand for European property among the Russians is steadily increasing, the Russian media reports.

"According to official data, currently the Russian people are the most active foreign  buyers of property in Europe, especially in its Eastern part. Most of them usually seek property near the famous ski resorts of Bulgaria, Montenegro, Turkey and other countries which have a well-developed tourism industry.

"Currently the Russians make up almost half the buyers of real estate in Europe despite the fact that compared to last year, the number of transactions completed by them decreased by 5%.

"In contrast, the demand for foreign property among the citizens of the European Union and the US since the beginning of the recession has significantly dropped.

"According to the Kvadroom Group, currently prices on real estate in Russia is so high (with the average cost of one square meter of housing in Moscow more than $USD 5,000) that more and more Russians prefer to invest their money in buying property abroad.

"If in the past many of them preferred to buy homes and apartments in Eastern Europe, today more and more Russian citizens are interested in Western European real estate and even in the UK."

 To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

According to REAL ESTATE CHANNEL:

"(MOSCOW, RUSSIA) -- Demand for housing in the United States from Russians and citizens of CIS countries in 2009 increased by 250%, according to research conducted by the Moscow-based real estate agency Gordon Rock.

"Most of the Russians traditionally look for Florida property (45% of Russian requests).

"Russians and citizens from oil-rich CIS states became the most active foreign buyers of the Floridian property, overtaking the traditional leaders - citizens from the UK and Middle East,"- says the study. California occupied the second place (30% of requests), while New York was the third 15%.

"As explained by the experts of Gordon Rock, the increased interest of Russians to the U.S. real estate, and in particular to Floridian, is closely related with the sharp decline in housing prices observed here in recent months.

"So far the cost of apartments near the ocean in Miami starts at $110,000 USD, and in Orlando from $70,000 USD. Palm Coast, which in recent years priced at $400 thousand, can now be bought for $160,000 USD.

"The report further states that Russian's interest in U.S. real estate started to rise in spring of 2009, driven by the desire to buy distressed properties are deep discounted prices.

"According to the report, 55% of Russian property buyers pursued Economy-class housing (homes priced up to $300,000), 35% of buyers wanted Business-class housing ($300,000 to $700,000 homes) and 10% for Elite-class housing ($700,000+ homes).

"The three primary reasons why Russians are purchasing property in the U.S. are for buying a vacation home, followed by investment for income, and for family reasons (business, children education, and family reunification).

"According to Gordon Rock, 45% of potential Russian property buyers are coming from 2 primary cities - Moscow and St. Petersburg."

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

I keep getting inquiries from Russian brokers whose clients from Russia are interested to purchase properties in the USA, mostly in Florida and California so far.

Everybody wants to sell of course, but a problem arises when Russian brokers ask to share a commission with them, usually 50/50.

As I'm helping with communication, I know that this issue is important and often prevents the future cooperation at this point as many US agents say that they can't share their commission with an unlicensed person. Period. Some say on the other hand that they can pay if this person is licensed in another US state, some say - licensed in another country. But Russia has no licensing system by law....

So, where's the solution?

I took the labor to read through Florida Statutes Chapter 475 Part 1 Real Estate Brokers, Sales Associates and Schools. It says in # 475.25(1)(h):

"... however, a licensed broker of this state may pay a referral fee or share a
real estate brokerage commission with a broker licensed or *registered under
the laws of a foreign state* so long as the foreign broker does not violate
any law of this state."

*registered under the laws of a foreign state* implies that it can be any type of business registration in any foreign country?

Feel free to contact me privately if you are interested in foreign buyers for your properties and know how legally pay commission or referral fee to foreign brokers sending you these buyers. I'll put you in touch.

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

The Russian business newspaper kommersant.ru is the first and maybe the only so far Russian daily paper with a UK edition now. It reports that London has become a second home for so many Russians. What is happening on the market of Russian buyers now?

"The image of a wealthy Russian client has changed a lot from the point of view of London real estate agencies.

"At the beginning of the Russian boom realtors kind of laughed behind the back of Russian buyers. In 2004 - 2006 Russians were buying properties in London at any price asked, sometimes a million or two pounds more than the market price. Realtors always made up some 15 to 20% higher pricing especially for them. It was not only because of the lack of market and language knowledge. Inferiority complex of the first wave of Russian noveau riches made them prove their financial strength by purchasing the most expensive properties in the most prestige areas or historical castles.

"Their behaviour and property demand differed a lot from other foreign buyers and Brits. As a rule, Russians refused to purchase properties that were highly sought after, but in need of some repairs. They wanted it all shiny no matter what.

"This specific trend had been explained by their inability and unwillingness to hire local staff for restoration or repairs. Also they were pushed away by the low ceilings of most modern British homes, that's why mansions were preferred.

"Now there are changes - Russian buyers negotiate the price, order to conduct their own market research and use mortgages if possible.

"Russian expansion to London real estate market was impressive. In the year 2006 Russians bought 240 priced over GBP 1,000,000 homes in London. There are 9 Russians among the 50 wealthiest people in Great Britain. The beginning of Russian boom in London has been created by Abramovich and Berezovsky back in 2003.

"Roman Abramovich bought a house in Eton Square for GBP 28,000,000, penthouse in Kensington for GBP 36,000,000 and vacation home in Western Sussex for GBP 23,000,000. Boris Berezovsky bought a home in Chelsea for GBP 10,000,000 and in Wentworth Estate in Surrey for GBP 20,000,000. Oleg Deripaska, the youngest Russian billionaire, followed with the purchase of a Belgravia home for GBP 25,000,000; Leonid Blavatnik, the oil mogul - a home in Kensington, GBP 41,000,000; Vladimir Chernukhin, finance industry - the former Midland Bank HQ building, GBP 72,000,000.

"The last purchase of this calibre was in July 2008 - a 90-room home Witanhurst in Highgate for GBP 50,000,000. This is the largest private home in London except for the Buckingham Palace. Although the agency that closed the deal keeps it confidential, the Daily Mail newspaper revealed the purchaser's name - it's the Moscow Mayor's wife Elena Baturina.

"Now, Grace Margolis of the real estate agency Savills with a long experience of working with Russian clients in London, comments on the recent situation.

"Q. Do you have any statistics of real estate purchasing by Russian clients?

"A. It's hard to do as we have to maintain confidentiality and have no right to disclose prices and names of purchasers. To tell you the truth, the media get such information somehow anyway. Another reason is that Russian buyers often purchase real estate in the name of an offshore company and it's impossible to know whom the company belongs. Most of the time the money to close a deal is wired not from Moscow.

"Q. There is a rumour that Russians are leaving London real estate market, is that true?

"A. No, I wouldn't say so. It's a fact though that the super-expensive homes are really not in such high demand any more. We can understand that as Bloomberg reported recently that the 25 richest Russians lost more than $230 billion during the financial crisis... Nevertheless, our agency has many Russian clients to work with right now. But what they want is different.

"It's not the luxury that oligarchs bought in the past, but medium priced homes in the range of GBP 1 to 3 million. In most cases it's not a home to live in, but to invest in and rent away. They also require commercial properties such as multiunit residential and office buildings. We have many buyers for these types of properties from Russia, Kazakhstan, Poland and Baltic countries.

"If they want to move money out of their countries, they prefer real estate investing instead of dealing with banks that can go bankrupt. And one more thing to mention in this respect - no Russian owners sell their London properties in spite of their financial losses during the crisis."

Hope this knowledge of Russian buyers' changed preferences will help you with targeting your marketing.

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

 From prian.ru:

"The INFOREAL Overseas Property Exhibition has been held on May, 16-17 in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. The "Prian.ru - International Property" portal reporters have visited the event and gathered testimonials from the participants, while the trail was still hot.

"According to Rita Semak, a representative of the Diligente Properties company (Portugal), the exhibition has attracted Russian overseas property buyers to a market which is comparatively new to them - to Portuguese real estate market.

"Mr. Blaine Ellingson, a broker from the Beach Front Mann Realty (Florida, USA) has said that the event "has surpassed his wildest expectations".

"Mr. Alexey Smirnov, CEO, Adriatic Stroinvest d.o.o (Serbia and Montenegro), has expressed the opinion that the INFOREAL will help Russian property buyers acquire more information regarding the property markets of these two countries.
 
"The Overseas Property Exhibition has been organized as a part of the INFOREAL International Real Estate Forum, which has been held in Saint-Petersburg on May, 14-17. The event has been jointly organized by the Group of Companies "Bulletin of Real Estate" and the "Prian.ru - International Property" portal."
 

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

I posted on AR just about an hour ago and now received a message from Google - the post has been picked up!

That's the power of AR and Google!

If you want to know online news about yourself and also who and where published anything on any topics you are interested in, sign up for Google Web Alert http://www.google.com/alerts - it's free and useful.

With the proper choice of keywords you can also receive alerts where and when somebody copied your own material online...

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

About two months ago I started the new Russian website http://floridainvestor.ucoz.ru to help real estate buyers from Russia invest in Florida. I submitted it to 4 major Russian search engines a month ago.

The major Russian search engine Yandex.ru placed it as #3 on the first page for the target search keywords "Investing in Florida real estate" (in Russian of course)! It's fantastic for a new site!

Same did a smaller engine Mail.ru, it's #3 there

Google.ru placed it as #7, still on the first page...

Rambler.ru hasn't listed it yet...

As usual with all my sites, I applied just basic optimization rules, this time in Russian, and it appears to work in Russian Internet exactly the same way as in English!

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals