Sell and run away... Palaces and villas are being massively sold on Rublyovka

Irina Mishina

Telegram channels report that 4,000 lots worth almost 2 trillion rubles have been put up for sale in elite villages on Rublevsky Highway alone. This is more than half of Moscow's budget. The cheapest offers start from 150 million rubles. It is reported that many property owners have already left Russia and are getting rid of their property.

“You can wave any flag you like, but if you are trying to monetize your investment in real estate, then you know that this asset will become illiquid very soon. It is suspected that this elite knows something. After all, the sale of property is a purely market indicator, ” says blogger Vitaly Drobyshev .

Political scientist Sergei Markov , in turn, says that the Russian elite is in shock after the death of Daria Dugina and "shakes for their own safety." He further writes that "the United States and Great Britain, through their Ukrainian proxies, are waging a limited terrorist war against Russia."

“Elite real estate is now put up for sale not only on Rublyovka. The real estate market is overflowing with proposals in all segments - from nine-story buildings on Shchelkovskoye Highway to mansions on Novaya Riga and Rublyovka. In the language of realtors, now the "canopy of proposals" is when the number of proposals that are not implemented prevails. People lower prices, but the property still remains unsold. If a transaction takes place, the money is often withdrawn abroad. That is, what is happening? Previously, a person sold, for example, a palace on Rublyovka for 100 million and invested these 100 million in business. In cargo transportation, in construction, in the restaurant business, it doesn’t matter where. He created jobs, money worked for the Russian state. And now the majority is withdrawing funds abroad, and they bring income to Western banks and the Western economy, ” Yulia Bituse, general director of the Mayak real estate agency, told NI.

According to Banki.ru , in June 2022, the Russians withdrew a record volume of foreign currency from the country in at least four years. The amount of funds placed by Russians on accounts and deposits in foreign banks reached 266.1 billion rubles, or, at an average exchange rate of 57.2 rubles per dollar, almost 4.7 billion dollars.

The reason for the sale of real estate on any terms, even at a loss for the owner, at first glance, seems like a strange fact. However, realtor Julia Bituse , who draws up such transactions, thinks otherwise: "Basically, those who are now in a hurry to transfer money from the sale of real estate into foreign currency are waiting for unpopular changes after the elections of governors and heads of administrative centers of the constituent entities of Russia in September this year, as well as new bans. But everyone, of course, has their own reasons, often personal."