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.
