by FSBO 
If you have Bulgaria houses for sale, then your best chances of getting a great price for them are to sell Bulgarian property to Russians – who have, for the last decade or so, been the biggest buyers of Bulgarian properties. Since rich Russians burst into the overseas property market scene at the turn of the 21st century, they have bought expensive properties all over the world.
But there’s a huge concern that the Russian interest in overseas property has diminished by quite a bit because of the tensions against Ukraine, the fall in the oil prices and the consequent devaluation of the Rouble.
On the contrary, the slowing down of the Russian economy has made Russian investors more interested than ever in buying properties overseas, including in Bulgaria. The reason for that is that there are very few avenues left for Russians to invest their wealth in their own country.
The Russian stock market has fallen by 75% over the last couple of years, which makes it one of the worst-performing stock markets in the world. No Russian would want to be seen holding Russian stocks anymore.
Similarly, investing in real estate in Russia is a loss-making proposition. Real estate prices in major cities in Russia have declined substantially over the last few years – especially in Moscow and St. Petersburg. There are more sellers than buyers in the Russian real estate market.
The failing Russian economy, coupled with a badly performing stock market and real estate market has led wealthy Russians to look for safe havens abroad, in order to retain the value of their substantial savings. So, the Russian interest in the overseas property market is very much intact, and indeed, there is a rush to buy new properties before any further devaluation of the Rouble.
Here are the top 10 countries where Russians buy overseas property. Bulgaria features at the top of the list.
- Bulgaria (14.5%)
- Germany (8%)
- Finland (7.9%)
- Spain (7.8%)
- USA (5.2%)
- France (4.8%)
- Czech Republic (4.6%)
- Italy (4.3%)
- Egypt (3.2%)
- Turkey (3%)
In Bulgaria, Russians are very keen on properties in beach resorts such as Sunny Beach, because of the great weather, relaxed lifestyle and the vast Russian community here. In fact, according to estimates, over 45,000 apartments in Sunny Beach have been sold to Russians over the last decade. Overall, Russians have bought 500,000 properties in Bulgaria, including 100,000 apartments on the Black Sea Coast.
Bulgaria serves well as a low cost destination for Russians. While the wealthiest Russians are more likely to buy expensive properties in London, Paris, Cote d’-Azur, Tuscany and New York, the Russian middle class looks to buy affordable houses and condos that cost 100,00 EUR or less in Eastern and Central Europe. For this reason, properties in Bulgaria will always be in huge demand.
Russians have different reasons for buying overseas property. According to a survey, 20 percent bought overseas property in beach resorts such as Sunny Beach, Bulgaria for the purpose of holidaying with their families. 20 percent are just looking for a place to retire, as they don’t feel confident about staying on in Russia, where the economic situation is so unstable.
27.5 percent just want to buy real estate for the purpose of investment – they are sophisticated investors looking for bargain properties abroad and with the goal of selling for profit a few years later. Just 5.4 percent of the participants in the survey said they wanted to buy overseas property as a status symbol.
Finally, an interesting thing about Russian buyers is that they mostly buy houses or apartments. Very few Russian investors buy commercial property. Sell Bulgarian Property in Russia.
