Picturesque Finnish corners have been waiting for foreign investors
The amounts of transactions also sharply decreased. According to Greenfield Property International, on average (including the most expensive and cheapest deals), the budget of a Russian investor in 2008 was 400-500 thousand euros, in 2009 – 150-200 thousand euros.
Experts note that due to the crisis, the motivation for buying real estate abroad has changed. Previously, wealthy Russians invested free money in square meters of their homeland and used them for their own vacations. At the same time, real estate prices were rising, and there was an opportunity to increase the capitalization of their property without doing anything. Currently, prices are not rising, so Russian investors view real estate purchases as a 'backup airfield' for investing free funds with an eye on profit.
According to Vladislav Maltsev, director of Nordic Development Oy, cases of purchases for business organization have become more frequent. However, sometimes Russians do not calculate the risks of such deals and 'buy themselves a job,' the expert notes. For example, when buying a small store in the Finnish countryside, an investor should be prepared for very low turnover, since people come to rural areas mainly in summer, and in winter such a store will have to be closed. At the same time, they will have to pay quite high taxes.
Some Russian investors believe they can work abroad as at home, but end up wasting money. For example, a Moscow company a couple of years ago bought several dozen hectares of land in Finland. They chose a lakeside location, wanted to develop the area and establish a large cottage community. When they came with the project to the municipality, it turned out that according to the plan, only five small houses could be built there. The Muscovites tried to 'negotiate' with local officials in accordance with Russian traditions, but it didn't work, and all investments in the project were 'burned'.
'Some of our Russian clients bought a small ketchup factory in Bulgaria, but never made money on it, as it is a seasonal and quite risky business,' said Lyubomir Hristov, general director of Alma Realty in St. Petersburg. Another example: a St. Petersburg construction company recently bought a large plot of land on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, but did not take into account that during the high season, construction work is prohibited in the resort area to avoid disturbing vacationers. Therefore, the start of construction had to be delayed by six months, and the company incurs considerable additional costs.
At the same time, the expert believes that it is a very favorable time to buy residential real estate in Bulgaria, as prices have significantly fallen. 'Last year, transactions were concluded at an average price of 40-50 thousand euros, and in 2009 – at the level of 15-20 thousand euros,' Hristov noted. There was even a case of selling a small studio apartment 3 km from the sea for 9 thousand euros.
The expert believes that real estate in Bulgaria can serve as a good source of income. Local developers are engaged in renting out apartments. The owners' income, according to Hristov, can be from 15 to 20% per year, since the country has a minimum property tax of 0.05%. A similar situation is observed in Cyprus. 'Now clients try to buy real estate and rent it out for most of the year,' notes Evgenia Nitshaitis, a representative of a Cypriot company.
Overall, buying real estate abroad is the lot of wealthy Russians with free money. Therefore, even before the crisis, transactions were not numerous. For example, according to experts, last year in Finland there were 600 real estate purchases by Russian citizens; this year 400 transactions have already been concluded. And Russians account for 10% of all real estate transactions.
Experts say that demand for real estate abroad will recover as soon as the crisis ends and Russians have free money. After all, 'square meters' outside Russia are not only investments but also a guarantee that no one will take this property away.
Sergey KOVALCHENKO.
IA Rosbalt