Gated communities popular in Russia
Gated communities are gaining popularity in Moscow, especially in the wealthy western suburbs of Rublyovka and Novorizhskoe.
President Dmitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin call Rublyovka home. The upscale shopping center Barvikha Luxury Village is also located in the suburb.
Russian real estate developer Janna Bullock said there are about 350 gated communities with homes on the market in Russia, with half in the Novorizhskoe region, according to the International Herald Tribune.
Bullock’s latest project is the Ecoestate Pavlovskaya Sloboda, a six-house luxury compound in Novorizhskoe’s Istra district, 16 miles northwest of Moscow. The homes sit around a pond on a 7.4-acre site, and are between 4,424 and 5,333 square feet.
The development was designed by architect Giancarlo Alhadeff and English designer Nina Campbell. Prices for the homes range from $4.6 to $6.2 million. The homes feature furnishings and decorations that can also be purchased.
To introduce the development, Bullock hosted the Russian Design Show, an ongoing series of arts events, social gatherings and workshops in the gated community throughout June.
Over the past five years, Moscow home prices have been doubling and sometimes tripling in value, reaching $3 to $6 million, according to a real estate agent at Moscow’s Evans Realty.
Tourism increases in Nicaragua
Nicaragua is seeing increases in tourism and property sales to foreign buyers.
Foreign interest in Nicaragua has increased in the past few years. In 2007, $335 million was spent by foreign investors, up from $268 million in 2006, according to research firm Calvet & Associates.
Nicaragua has some of the least-expensive property rates in Latin and South America, and many buyers are looking at the city San Juan del Sur to purchase land, even though it’s difficult to reach. Visitors can take a private shuttle from the city of Managua to San Juan del Sur, a ride along a partially paved road that takes about three hours. The highway is under renovation, and power failures in the city are common occurrences.
Property in San Juan del Sur is priced in U.S. dollars, giving Europeans and Canadians more buying power with today’s weak dollar. Global Property Insight reported that the average home sells for about $66.35 per square foot in the city, the International Herald Tribune reported.
Increased tourist dollars are improving Nicaragua’s economy, but the country is one of the poorest in the region, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Iran property prices soar
Real estate prices in Iran are soaring, with prices rising more than 100 percent in 2007. Prices have been steadily climbing over the past three years, up 65 percent in 2006 and 50 percent in 2005.
The price increases can be attributed to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s economic policy that created “quick-impact loans,” giving large sums of money to companies and individuals who could create jobs in Iran, where the unemployment rate is just above 10 percent, according to the International Herald Tribune.
Ahmadinejad recently cut back interest rates, which are now below inflation, spurring real estate sales in Tehran, Iran’s capital city.
Brokers and analysts believe prices will only continue to increase in the coming months in Iran because there are few investment opportunities there besides real estate.