Russian overseas property portal 1-Property.ru has published figures on the most popular buyer destinations among its Russian visitors.

In the July and August, the portal recorded 359,173 searches. Interestingly, 60% (215,504) of the searches were for apartments and condos which perhaps reflects a preference among mass market Russian buyers to purchase in larger developments where their friends already own property.

More predictably the top overseas buyer destination was Bulgaria with the country topping the top 30 country chart and Sunny Beach and Sozopol coming first and third respectively in the top 50 regional table.

The second most popular destination is Spain with the country coming second in the country table and the Costa Blanca in the same position in the top 50 regional list.

Increased interest in Turkey, Italy and Egypt

Although we have no like-for-like figures as it is the first time aiGroup have published their data, Turkey, Italy and Egypt appear to be more popular than we analysed the market in 2008 using Yandex figures.

Although the increases may be a statistical error, the conclusion certainly chimes with our experiences recruiting speakers and delegates for our forthcoming Russian Summit event in Moscow.

Misleading numbers?

The figures from aiGroup provide interesting reading but the lower end of the market is so large it is undoubtably skewing the figures.

During our programme research for Russian Summit it became clear that there are actually three core segments to the Russian buyer market:

(Lower) Middle class buyers – Under €100k with Bulgaria and Montenegro accounting for the lion’s share of volume

Investment segment – A growing section of the upper middle class (business owners) who are looking for secure investments in “safe” locations.

High-net worth individuals- Multi-millionaires buying second homes for lifestyle in top cities and affluent holiday home destinations around the world.

The top line figures are interesting but the Russian buyer market is so big, they don’t necessarily reflect the size of the opportunities available on a micro level.

For more information on the Russian buyer market, please visit www.russiansummit.com.