Hi Everyone,

Thailand has been and still is one of the favorite countries for Russian buyers of international real estate.

From Bangkok Post: Russians crowned leading buyers of Phuket condos (Phuket is the largest resort islands of Thailand in Indian ocean)

"China's zero-Covid policy has seen Russians overtake the Chinese as the top foreign buyers of condos in Phuket, with the total in the first quarter 2022 exceeding the whole of 2021.

"The biggest buyers in the Phuket condo market were previously the Chinese, but they almost entirely disappeared due to border controls in China and restrictions on international money transfers.

"According to the Real Estate Information Center, Russians were the top nationality making condo transfers in Phuket in the first quarter of 2022, this number outpaced both last year's Chinese and Russian acquisition.

"The Phuket condo market was very popular amongst foreigners as their investment was for both personal holidays and renting them out. However, Covid-19 affected the number of tourists in Phuket for more than two years. The condo market in Phuket became very sluggish as the tourism slowdown severely impacted it, and also affected the local economy.

"Nearly 90% of the units sold last year were to Russian buyers, with a few Europeans and some Chinese buyers, who come to Phuket annually. The remaining 10% were sold to Thais who purchased condos as their holyday homes."

From Russian Forbes: Thailand for Rubles. (I've translated the major take-aways from the long article into English for you):

- In all Asian real estate markets Thailand is the most loved the Russian buyers, thus the demand has been growing lately. In April Thailand allowed tourists vaccinated by the Russian Sputnik vaccine to come to the country.

- In January-April 2022 Thailand was in the top 5 in demand countries by the Russian buyers of international properties, and the number of internet inquiries was almost twice in comparison with the last year.

- In Thailand a foreigner can buy properties as freehold or leasehold (land may be only leasehold up to 90 years though).

- In Thailand foreigners often buy properties for getting a rental income, an average number is 8% annually.

- In Thailand there are properties for sale for any budget, but the investor's visa bonus comes with purchasing a premium property for about $300 000. For this price one can buy a middle-class villa. There are resort studios for about $100 000 available though.

- In Thailand it's relatively easy to sign an agreement remotely and to transfer money from Russia. Some Thai developers with offices in Russia even accept Russian rubles.

Next time I'll try to collect the general info for you: how the Russian buyers' of international properties behavior has changed after covid and sanctions.

To your best business success,

Sincerely,