Russia and The United States: Real Estate Buyers Past and Present

Priority Properties Inc. Realty has been in the real estate business in the State of Florida since 1995. From the first day Priority Properties Inc. Realty opened its doors, Broker/Owner Walter Abolsky, marveled at the differences between his Russian homeland and The United States where he received his citizenship in 1994. In his past, he can remember a struggling Russian economy and a politically unstable government during Gorbachov’s time in office. Upon his arrival to the U.S, he was amazed with the financial stability of the U.S. economy in regards to the real estate market. During the first years of his real estate career, it was very rare to find Russian clients that were interested in U.S. real estate opportunities. Russian clients were not interested in U.S. real estate because the U.S. dollar was extremely expensive when compared to the Russian Ruble. As the years went by, the Ruble gained strength in the economy and Russians started to show an increased interest in U.S. real estate. What started out as a 95:5 ratio in American clients versus European clients, transitioned into a higher number of European clients and a dwindling number of American clients. Fast-forward to today, and Priority Properties Inc. Realty now deals with a 40%-45% European clientele base. Throughout the course of business, Priority Properties Inc, Realty has dealt with its fair share of business people, movie stars, and a great deal of Russian hockey stars having played or currently playing for the NHL. Some of our famous clients have included Darius Kasparaitis, Sergey Nemchinov, Vladimir Nikiforov, and many others who chose to keep their names private. Recently, another celebrity became a future resident of the St. Regis Resort Bal Harbour. Hockey's top star, Aleksey Morozov, Captain of the IIHF World Champion Russian Hockey Team, purchased a 4.7 million dollar condo in the beautiful project. Him and his wife completely fell in love with the future that is St. Regis. Aleksey became a resident of the Majestic Towers in Bal Harbour in 2002, but decided to upgrade his surroundings upon experiencing the beauty that will be the St. Regis Residences. Aleksey and his family live in Moscow most of the year, which is one of the most expensive cities in the world today. In comparison to luxury condos in Moscow, Aleksey is confident that his new purchase in Bal Harbour is one of the best decisions he has ever made. His long time friend and real estate broker, Walter Abolsky, owner of Priority Properties Inc. Realty, expects Aleksey's teammates to follow their captain in purchasing a vacation home in Bal Harbour. 

 Due to Walter Abolsky’s Russian background and many personal connections after years in the business, he continues to see a rise in Russian’s desire to purchase U.S. properties. For some time now, real estate agencies based in Russia have been contacting our offices requesting information on Miami real estate for their clients. The Wall Street Journal published an article detailing the many well-known Russian names including business people, politicians, and celebrities, and the outrageous prices they are paying for real estate in big cities such as New York and Miami. The debate is over. Russians and Eastern Europeans have a growing presence in U.S. real estate with the outlook increasing everyday.