This year, the Dubai luxury real estate market has faced a rapidly growing demand from immigrants from Russia and other countries of the former USSR. According to a number of companies specializing in the sale of local residential properties, the number of Russian-speaking buyers has doubled compared to last year.
Among the potential buyers was even the billionaire Roman Abramovich, who is the former owner of the Chelsea football club and a long-time associate of Vladimir Putin. He is currently looking for a mansion on Palm Jumeirah, an iconic artificial island. The tycoon's private jet, which costs up to USD 350 million, stood in the emirate for about four months after the US Department of Justice authorized his arrest.
The sharp influx of buyers from Russia and CIS countries is justified by sanctions from the West, as a result of which many wealthy Russians lost their multimillion-dollar property located in European cities. According to the Dubai Land Department, as a result of this trend, sales increased by almost half year-on-year.
The Government of the Emirates is doing everything possible to ensure that the local real estate market returns to the pre-pandemic level as soon as possible. While other countries struggling with COVID-19 imposed strict restrictions, the UAE acted gently and effectively, implementing a program of mass vaccination of the population and simultaneously introducing new visa systems for residents and remote workers.
The second successful step of the Emirati government was the adoption of a neutral side in the issue of the military conflict in Ukraine. Now that Russians have been denied access to many European countries, they are looking for alternative places to invest in real estate. And the UAE has become one of the best alternatives.
