Donald Trump Puts an Eye on Russian Real Estate

The American billionaire Donald Trump may start making money on Russian real estate: in August 2007 the businessman registered the trade mark Trump in Russia in the category of services of living, commercial, and hotel estate. At the same time Mr. Trump’s lead lawyer Bernard Diamond says that in the nearest perspective Trump Organization is not going to operate in the Russian market. In case if such decision is taken, the trade mark will appear to have been already registered in Russia. Interestingly, in mid 90`s Donald Trump already held negotiations with the Moscow government over restoration of the hotels Moscow and Russia in the RF capital; however, that time it resulted in nothing due to unknown reasons.

Real Estate Web Portal Kicks Off in Russia

According to Repka, Alma Media's decision to enter the Russian market was based on the group's two key criteria that prompt setting up a Web-based portal in a foreign country - steady growth of GDP and development of Internet. Russia has both and Moscow with its 40-percent Internet penetration rate at the moment is the chief target. Moreover, buoyant construction and investment activity in Russia's real estate market, accompanied by growing property prices, offer promising perspectives. The Finnish company estimates the current size of Russia's online real estate market at 8 million Euros and believes that by 2010 it will grow fourfold.

Looming on the Western Horizon

The crisis in the West will hit the Russian mortgage market the hardest. There are several reasons for that. First, Russian banks had serious intentions of securitizing the mortgage credits they issued in order to continue to increase their volume. A business will come to a standstill without that and its competitors will eat it up. Securitization is much harder now and its cost, approaching 15 percent annually, is critical for the market. In Russia, if mortgage credits are taken out at 15-percent, it will only be unwillingly.

Oligarchs loom over Ukraine polls

At the recent convention of Ukraine's Regions party, the man at the centre of attention was not Viktor Yanukovich, prime minister and party leader, but Rinat Akhmetov, the country's richest man. Sitting in the front row, two seats from Mr Yanukovich, he attracted the biggest crowds of journalists, politicians and cameramen.

Deutsche Buys Plots Outside Moscow

Deutsche Bank and two other companies bought a logistics park and other commercial real estate near Moscow to tap an increase in demand for warehouses in Russia, the companies said in a joint statement Tuesday. Deutsche Bank, AIG Global Real Estate and Redwood Group bought the land with space of more than 1 million square meters from Capital Partners, according to a statement last week. It comprises more than 200,000 square meters of existing space and 800,000 square meters in potential development, the statement said.

Real Estate Web Portal Kicks Off in Russia

Having conquered several key markets in Eastern Europe, City24, an international network of real estate portals, has launched operations in Russia. The project was unveiled in Moscow Tuesday by Ismo Repka, director of Alma Media Interactive, a subsidiary of City24's parent company, Finland's Alma Media group.

Warehouse Demand Boosts Raven Russia

Raven Russia, the British owner of Moscow and St. Petersburg warehouses, last week reported a sixfold increase in first-half profit. Net income increased to ?26.4 million ($53 million), or 6.21 pence per share, from ?4.1 million, or 1.67 pence, a year earlier as economic expansion bolstered demand for commercial storage space, the company said Wednesday in a statement. Net rental income rose to ?5.2 million from ?1.6 million. "Tenant demand remains strong, and investor demand is continuing to drive yields down further," chairman Richard Jewson said in the statement. "The business environment in which we operate continues to improve."

PIK buys majority stake in Storm Properties for undisclosed sum

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Russia's PIK Group said it has acquired a majority stake in Storm Properties, a real estate company operating in the commercial sector.
PIK has acquired 50 pct stake and one share in Storm, and part of the acquisition price paid by the company will be reinvested by Storm for future project development.

Sistema-Hals buys 74.9 pct in Russian real estate portfolio

Sistema-Hals JSC said it has acquired a 74.9 pct stake in Russian real estate portfolio Gorki-8 Ltd for over 100 mln usd. The Russian real estate company said that as part of the deal, it will acquire over 35,000 square metres of real estate and nine hectares of land on the Rublevo-Uspensky Highway.

Vladimir Gruzdev to the Moon

The Russian rumour mill has generated a likely candidate for who will be the nation's first space tourist. It widely believed he's a member of the State Duma and a supermarket tycoon, Vladimir Gruzdev. Forbes magazine estimates his wealth at $820 million, largely based on his interest in Seventh Continent as well as the MKapital real-estate company. He is also a member of the Russian parliament's lower house, representing the pro-presidential United Russia Party.

IS ANOTHER DEPRESSION LOOMING?

The analysts have long ago raised concern about the real estate prices becoming all-time high in the majority of countries. However, the chattel mortgage system postponed a crash. While the banks loaned money to the people who needed dwelling, the apartments and houses continued to be sold. And as a result the housing crisis turned out to be the debt crisis. This summer happened something that had to happen sooner or later. On a mass scale the Americans ceased to pay off the mortgage debts. Unlike Russia where the market was in 1998 wrecked by the officials, in the USA the citizens themselves did so. The outcome was the same – the banking crisis burst out. Shares have fallen and the exchanges began to fluctuate feverishly.

Russian investors in the Canadian market

Last year, the real estate development firm controlled by Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin gave investment bank Credit Suisse Group a handful of criteria it was looking for to buy a housing company. Yesterday, it announced it had a deal with the purchase of Port Hope, Ont.-based Viceroy Homes Ltd. Mr. Potanin - the world's 38th-richest individual with a personal fortune estimated at more than $13.5-billion (U.S.) according to Forbes Magazine - had a plan: To offer apartment-weary Muscovites detached homes in the suburbs. All his $30-billion holding company Interros needed was the right builder: A high-end provider of prefabricated homes, preferably one with a strong management team, good technology and the ability to handle a decent amount of volume.

Russia Attracting Investors

Russia was the leader among East European countries in attracting foreign direct investment into real estate in the first half of 2007, according to the latest research by real estate consultancy Knight Frank. A number of western investment funds and banks, including Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Immoeast, Quinn Group, JER Partners and Rutley Russia, have recently announced plans to invest millions of dollars into commercial and residential real estate in Moscow, St. Petersburg and the other big Russian cities.