Moscow International Property Show

The Russian real estate market has set an all-time investment record of over USD 4.2 billion (AED 15.4 billion) in 2007, due to the increase in international players entering the market and the growing activity of local investments. In a bid to leverage the rapidly growing market, Strategic Marketing & Exhibitions, organizers of the International Property Show in Dubai, and Trade Mate, a leading exhibitions management company in Moscow, launched the Russian edition of the biggest transactional exhibition in the Middle East. The Moscow International Property Show, which is slated to run from October 24 - 26, 2008 at the Exhibition Center Crocus Expo, Moscow, is set to witness the participation of industry professionals and leading developers from Russia, its neighboring countries and the Middle East.

Real estate prices surge in Moscow

Moscow’s real estate prices appear to be on the rise once again - with some estimates as high as 10% over the first two months of 2008. And some reports put the average cost per square metre of housing in the Russian capital at almost $4,800.

Economy, business, and high-end real estate are all exposed to the trend as more people look to buy into property, according to Ekaterina Thain, residential department director of Knight Frank.

Belarus' Real Estate Market

All land in Belarus is publicly owned -- even Belarussians who buy homes or commercial buildings usually receive only a 50-year lease on the land. And all transactions involving state property valued at more than the equivalent of $150,000 must be approved personally by President Alexander Lukashenko.

Sale prices are expressed in dollars but paid in Belarussian rubles; rents usually are expressed in euros.

Neither foreigners nor foreign legal entities are allowed to buy property, although it can be done indirectly through Belarussian companies. "Everyone has their own strategic plan to participate in projects in different sectors here," said Mikhail Gradovich, managing director of Colliers International Belarus.

ST. PETERSBURG REAL ESTATE

Russian entrepreneur Andrei Rogachev, founder of the Pyaterochka and Carousel supermarket chains, plans to invest $4 billion in property developments in St. Petersburg and other cities, Kommersant reported last week.

Rogachev plans to invest $1 billion of his own money into a new holding, Terra On, and raise $3 billion from other investors, the newspaper reported, citing an unidentified person familiar with Rogachev’s plans.

Moscow is the most expensive city in the world for the second year in row

Moscow prices do exceed those of New York by a large margin on most goods. Almost any shopping item you can imagine is cheaper in New York than in Moscow: Clothes, cars, jewelry, furniture, supermarkets and restaurants are considerably cheaper. Even expensive restaurants and gourmet-food stores are much more affordable in New York. For example, Dean and Deluca's prices are half those of Globus Gourmet. Moreover, the affordable mid-market brands, like Gap or Banana Republic, are not even represented in Moscow.

New Residential Area Planned

The Dubai-based Limitless company, the development arm of Dubai World, and the Russian investment firm RDI Group are to develop a new real estate project near Moscow, the companies announced Tuesday.

The new residential area, with an estimated population of 12,000, will be located on 113 hectares of land in the northwest of Moscow.

Russian Boom town blues

The residential property boom that has engulfed Moscow over the past few years is, by almost any measure, impressive. Buoyed by Russia’s rapidly expanding economy, domestic property buyers spent an estimated $20bn in the capital last year, according to government statistics.

Home prices in prime city locations are soaring and estate agency Knight Frank’s Moscow office predicts that appreciation rates could rise a further 18 to 25 per cent through 2008.

St Petersburg deal hands Dentons Russia fillip

Dentons agreed the tie-up with 18-lawyer Duvernoix last week in a move that will give the UK firm its second base in Russia. The St Petersburg firm specialises in corporate, tax, litigation and real estate advice and is led by managing partner Egor Noskov.