The Uk is Still Okay for Rich Russians but the US is Fast Fading
While rich Russians are slowly but surely buying up prime real estate in the United Kingdom, the United States property sector is falling byon the wayside. According to the cream of the crop in real estate in Florida, Russian buyers were once the ones driving the elite ultra-pricey property market in Miami, but these deep-pocketed individuals Russians have since disappeared. The same applies to other states. A few years ago the Russian fertilizer mogul and billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev’s daughter Ekaterina snatched up a NYC penthouse for a cool US$88 million. In 2011 Facebook backer and billionaire Yuri Milner paid 100% more than its market value for a mansion in Silicon Valley. These sort of deals are unheard of these days.
Not So Many Wild Russian Buys in the Wild West Anymore
Despite the trend of years of chart-topping purchases of US properties, many of the world’s wealthiest Russians are no longer investing in the US property market. Since spring 2014, these super- wealthy Russians have been taking their business away from the land of the free.
Why the Slump?
The oil industry and the Russian currency are receiving a royal beating and the Russian elite are finding it hard to move money out of the country. The stance that the US took onabout the Ukraine debacle is not helping the situation either. International sanctions slammed the Russian elite because of this.
What the Future Holds
Many of the property moguls believe that their super-wealthy Russian friends will be back as soon as they find a way to safely extract their billions from Russia – sanctions or not. Some say that the severe deterioration of the ruble has made them even keener on buying property in the US. Unfortunately the numbers speak volumes and since the economic crisis, record property purchases in the US by Russians have ceased. According to Reuters, the Chinese started buying up Manhattan and are taking over from the Russians in 2012 already. Despite also being influenced by what happened in Ukraine, the UK is closer and more accessible than the US, not to mention Dubai and Cyprus; – both countries with a very relaxed perspective on the political issues Russia is faced with. Is the UK the next country to fall from grace with the ultra-wealthy Russians? Only time will tell, as while the poor rich Russians scramble from country to country to keep their fortunes intact.