Property buyers and investors from Russia are searching for homes in Thailand in ever increasing numbers, according to the latest research from Russia’s fastest growing international property portal.
During February 2014, Idinaidi.ru saw a 26 percent increase in searches for property in Thailand. This was at the height of the recent political turmoil, so is arguably a strong indicator of the ongoing attractiveness of property investments in the kingdom.
The growth in searches for Thailand property last month came behind those for property in the United Arab Emirates (88 percent up month-on-month), Morocco (66 percent) and Montenegro (28 percent).
Further data from Idinaidi revealed that while budgets for traditional destinations often stretch into the tens of millions, more modest pockets can still secure property in emerging destinations. The average price for property searches for Thailand on the website was EUR150,000 – equivalent to THB6.75 million.
Russia’s national currency, the ruble, has fallen by about 10 percent since the start of the year, reaching a 5-year low against the U.S. dollar and the Euro last week according to the Central Bank of Russia (CBR). With policymakers and most analysts agreeing this trend will continue into 2014, not only the stock markets but also potential international property buyers are set to be affected.
Historically, Russian international property buyers have purchased second homes in popular Western locations, such as prime central London, New York, Paris and Southern Spain. Now, due to the weakness of the ruble, buyers are looking elsewhere to emerging markets where their money will go further.
Carlo Walther, Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Moscow-based Idinaidi, said: “The declining strength of the ruble is mainly affecting the Russian international property buying mass market. Buyers are becoming less conservative and as our search levels reveal, we see more Russians interested in cheaper destinations.”
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.sg
Recent stories you may have missed:
Johor’s RM1 million limit for foreign buyers
Shoebox buys by HDB dwellers on the rise
Private property rents may slip further
15 ‘rude’ British street names that cut property prices
If you have a property story you want us to publish email: andrew@propertyguru.com.sg