Preference is given to France, Bulgaria, Finland and Cyprus. Many have switched to London and exotic Dubai. But Spain, which was so popular before, is losing ground. Getting a mortgage loan there is now not easy, in addition, restrictions have been introduced on obtaining a residence permit. Small one- or two-room apartments in large cities with an average cost of €80-150 thousand are in high demand among "ours".
To the shores of Foggy Albion
London apartments are very popular among Russians. Although over the past 5-7 years, apartment prices in London have grown at a tremendous pace. Today, a small studio here costs €200 thousand, a one-bedroom apartment (in our understanding, a two-room) - €400 thousand, and with two bedrooms - already €600 thousand. In prestigious areas of London, prices are even higher, and they continue to rise.
"But this does not frighten your compatriots who want to settle in London," say at the real estate company Knight Frank. "The fact is that in England there are favorable mortgage lending conditions that foreigners can also take advantage of. An apartment in London is a profitable purchase, because over the years it will not lose value, but only gain."
To the homeland of Voltaire and Balzac
Paris and the Côte d'Azur have become a real Mecca for nouveaux riches from the former Union. Although in the capital of France, apartments are bought not only by Russian-speaking millionaires.
"In the south, good apartments can be bought for $150 thousand," says Ella Bratilova, broker of the foreign real estate department of Penny Lane Realty. "Of course, it is not cheap. But, firstly, on the Côte d'Azur there is everything for recreation, from swimming pools to golf courses. Secondly, French housing never falls in price, which cannot be said, for example, about Spain."
For the sake of fairness, it should be noted that Paris has fallen in price over the past five years. Previously, prices here reached $30 thousand per square meter, and today the maximum cost does not exceed €15 thousand. However, Parisian prices cannot be called low. In terms of housing cost, Paris today is ahead of Moscow. On Avenue Marceau, apartments cost €8-10 thousand per "square". In the central, eighth, district of Paris, housing will cost €12-13 thousand per square meter (a new building 100 meters from the luxurious Bristol Hotel with interior decoration and natural stone cladding in the bathrooms). For the cheapest Parisian housing, they will ask no less than €3 thousand per square meter. For about a hundred thousand euros, you can buy a studio apartment with an area of 60 square meters in the Montmartre area.
Turkish paradise on earth
Over the past 10-15 years, Turkey has become a place of constant tourist pilgrimage for our compatriots. Indeed, it is hard to imagine a better place for a family holiday with children. And today, villas and apartments are offered here not only for rent, but also for sale. The obvious plus of buying this property is that all housing for sale is new. Moreover, foreigners do not need a visa yet.
In resort areas on the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts, small complexes with swimming pools and parking lots are being built everywhere, consisting of 10-12 villas, each of which has two or three bedrooms, open terraces with views of the sea and mountains, and even special rooms for animals. Prices start from €55-60 thousand. In large cities - Istanbul and Ankara - foreigners rarely buy housing, and these are mainly businessmen. An apartment with two bedrooms there costs on average €150 thousand.
Country of Suomi awaits us
Buying property in Finland is surprisingly affordable for the former Soviet republics. This was understood by Petersburgers, who are increasingly ordering country projects and building their houses in environmentally clean and safe Finnish forests - around the lakes of the Karelian Isthmus.
In Finland, if the land is not suitable for agriculture, they will gladly sell it to you regardless of whether you are Russian, Polish, or German. To obtain permission to buy real estate from the administration of the specific district where you liked a house, you only need the "approval" of the Finnish Environment Center. Once it is obtained, you sign a purchase agreement and wait three months for the agreement to come into force. The whole procedure costs no more than $100.
Housing prices in Finland, as a rule, do not exceed €2.2-2.3 thousand per square meter. A one-story house with an area of 100 square meters with an attic on 40 ares of land can cost from €80-83 thousand. In the Finnish outback, you can buy a neat little house for €12-13 thousand. In Helsinki, of course, apartments are more expensive - a two-room apartment will cost about €100 thousand.
To the Slavic brothers
In the last two or three years, quite a few houses and apartments in Montenegro and Bulgaria have appeared on the domestic real estate market. In Bulgaria, prices are now much lower than in other European countries, and citizens are actively buying housing there, anticipating profits after the country joins the EU. The average cost of Bulgarian real estate stays in the region of €300-500 per "square". And, for example, in neighboring Czech Republic - €1,000-1,300 per sq m, in Hungary - €1,000-1,100, in Slovakia and Poland - €700-800.
Both Montenegro and Bulgaria attract our compatriots because it is warm there, there is the sea, and people are close in spirit. Plus low prices and lenient tax legislation. The most popular areas of Montenegro among foreigners are the cities of Kotor, Budva and their surroundings. There, a spacious apartment can cost €50-80 thousand. In Bulgaria, preference is given to houses and apartments located in Varna, Burgas, Kavarna, Balchik and the Black Sea resorts of Albena, Golden Sands, St. Constantine and St. Helena.
The price depends on the city, the age of the house, and the quality of finishes. The most expensive housing is in Sofia and large resort centers on the Black Sea coast: a two-bedroom apartment with a total area of up to 100 sq m will cost about €35-45 thousand, and in the capital even more. Modern Western-standard apartments and luxury villas located in Albena, Sunny Beach, and Golden Sands cost from €700-800 per 1 sq m.