Russian buyers

High-end real estate prices in London broke new records in September, fueled by Russian investors animated by the situation at home, according to British realtors.

The average price for a real estate object in the center of the city is now above 3.97 million pounds sterling, according to a report by Knight Frank. This is 4.5 percent higher than the last price peak reached in March 2008. The average price increase for the last 12 months for homes and apartments was 11.4 percent.

Foreign buyers are the source of the surge, accounting for 55 percent of purchases in the luxury category. Especially noticeable is the increase in the number of buyers from Russia, Knight Frank's Liam Bailey said. "Due to a degree of uncertainty, connected with the elections, people are looking for the chance to invest money abroad," Bailey said.

For the last 12 months, Russians have made up 6.3 percent of the luxury real estate buyers in the center of London, while buyers from the United Arab Emirates and United States have fallen behind, accounting for 4.7 percent and 3.9 percent of purchases, respectively, according to Knight Frank.

Source: The Moscow Times