Investing in real estate is a new global post-COVID trend. Many countries are experiencing a construction boom - prices for building materials, equipment, new property are rising. Against this background, property on the secondary market is becoming more expensive too. In this situation, investors carefully study real estate not only in their home countries but also abroad. As time has shown, the Minsk World multifunctional complex is quite competitive in this regard.
MPIRES was running in Moscow on 25-26 June. Moscow's Premier International Real Estate Show is the largest exhibition of foreign real estate in Moscow. This year more than 30 countries participated in it. The exhibition gave an opportunity to discuss buying and renting real estate abroad with professionals. The consultants explained why investing abroad is a good idea, how national laws protect the interests of investors and what benefits they can expect in the coming years.
Dana Holdings' stand was one of the central ones at the exhibition. The developer presented both commercial and residential real estate, including the Minsk World multifunctional complex, that is currently on sale in the Belarusian capital.
No wonder! The Minsk World quarters are a reflection of our world, with all its diversity and beauty. The new quarters are clustered on a huge area around the iconic, defining facilities of the complex: the International Financial Center and the amazing Mara Mall shopping and entertainment center. There will also be a new urban park with an area of 10 hectares. It is no coincidence that Minsk World is one of the largest complexes in Europe. Investors, especially from Russia, show a great interest in it.
Valery Vinogradov, president of Aventin Group and vice president of the Russian Guild of Realtors, talked about reasons why Russian investors have recently changed their focus from ‘resort' countries to the countries located closer to Russia. His company has offices in St. Petersburg, Moscow and Sochi.
“We have a wealth of experience of collaborations not only in Belarus, but also in all countries of the world, because the Russian Association of Realtors is part of the international professional community, and we communicate with fellow professionals from different countries. But today, due to the pandemic, the demand for overseas property among Russian investors has dropped, because it has simply become difficult to travel. As a result, real estate in distant countries has lost its appeal, and the focus of attention shifted to nearby states and the property that is attractive not only as a place to live, but also as an investment. And in this sense, real estate in Belarus is the best option. In addition, investing in real estate is always a risk, but due to the fact that our peoples are on friendly terms and our countries have good relations, the risks are close to zero,” Valery Vinogradov said.
According to him, today residential real estate is the most popular type of overseas investment for Russians. They are mostly interested in studios and one-bedroom apartments. Commercial property is the second most popular type of investment and is mostly of interest to business people who want to start a business in the Republic of Belarus. It is clear that there are many advantages for Russian investors here.
One of the organizers of the MPIRES exhibition, Executive Director of VPI Expo Georgios Urumov said that special, allied relations between our countries contribute to close cooperation between businesses.
“Free travel between Russia and Belarus is an important part of investors' considerations. We see that Russians are ready to bring their investments to your country. First of all, these are private investors who are looking for an opportunity to diversify their investment portfolio and venture into something new. These are investors who need to keep their capital safe and grow it knowing this growth will be stable albeit small. They also want to be able to visit this facility as often as they want,” Georgios Urumov noted.
He stressed that real estate developers' activities in foreign markets is of great importance.
“This is not the first time Dana Holdings takes part in our exhibitions. Its eye-catching and informative stands always attract many visitors. They demonstrate a new image of Minsk – modern multifunctional complexes that are under construction in the Belarusian capitals. This is an important aspect of work with potential investors. The aim of such exhibitions is to provide an opportunity for investors and realtors to meet face-to-face, which is why such events are always effective. We are happy to welcome Dana Holdings at this exhibition and would like to invite it to take part in our exhibition projects in the future,” Georgios Urumov said.
It is better to learn about the effectiveness of such work from those who represent the Belarusian real estate sector in the Russian market. For example, Yevgenia Melnikova, the director of the investment transactions department of the Point Estate company, is satisfied with cooperation with Belarusian partners.
“The Point Estate agency is a big player in the Russian market. We were happy to sign an agreement with Dana Holdings at an exhibition in Moscow to represent and promote in Russian the multifunctional complexes built by this real estate developer in Minsk. During the time of our cooperation, we have seen avid interest in real estate in Belarus. This year, the demand among Russian clients rose by 10-15% year-on-year. This is not surprising, because our countries are not just neighbors, but the closest allies, and it takes just a few hours to get from Moscow to Minsk. The Minsk World complex is all about modern architecture and well-developed infrastructure. Such real estate is highly valued in any country. This attractive and promising offer in Minsk appeals to many Russian customers,” Yevgenia Melnikova noted.
According to her, representatives of the younger generation – people aged 25-35 – are the most active investors, but more experienced ones also show interest in real estate in Belarus.
Yevgeniya Melnikova said: “Residential real estate is in focus now. Later on if it is possible, customers consider buying commercial premises in the same house or complex in order to get profits either from their own business or from letting the premises. It is very profitable to invest in real estate in Belarus. If we compare prices in Moscow and Minsk, the Belarusian ones are much more profitable. You can get two or even four apartments in Minsk with the amount of money you'd spend on buying an apartment in Moscow. So, from the point of view of demand Belarusian real estate is popular on the Russian market.”
The founder and director general of the Avangard Nedvizhimost agency Arman Barekyan also actively works with real estate in Minsk and thanked Belarusian partners for the atmosphere of mutual trust. In his words, it undoubtedly has a positive effect on prospects of future work.
The businessman said: “The agreement our agency signed with Dana Holdings in April could be initially called my very personal story. Because I've lived in Minsk for more than ten years starting with the university period and have a very reverential attitude to the Republic of Belarus and its people. This is why we had no doubts when we decided to work on the Belarusian market. As the first few months of work in Belarus demonstrated, there are great prospects here, no doubt about that. Clients are attracted by real estate in Minsk. First of all, the complexes Dana Holdings builds boast beauty and modern looks as well as an excellent value for money. Apart from that, the investment appeal of this real estate is high – recouping the investments fast is important. And revenues from this real estate are higher than bank deposits. People take an active interest in the Minsk World project, many have already bought apartments, while self-employed businessmen buy commercial real estate.”
The MPIRES expo is only two days of work. But very interesting work with multiple meetings, negotiations, discussions, and decisions. It is the time when two days determine the pace of work for years to come. And the multifunctional complex Minsk World as well as other kinds of Minsk real estate that the company Dana Holdings presented in Moscow became an even more appealing object for long-term and profitable investments for Russian investors over the course of the MPIRES expo.
