Hi Everyone,

I receive lots of questions from developers, realtors and property owners from all over the world with the same meaning – What is the best way to advertise international property for sale in Russia? Of course, the only sure thing is that advertising in Russia must be in Russian, but the choice of media can vary depending on the type of properties and marketing budget.

Anyway here's a great opportunity for you to know what Russian buyers prefer in terms of choosing the media they use and trust while gathering information on international real estate they want to buy.

Homes Overseas, one of the leading Russian magazines on international real estate, recently conducted the research: What media tools do Russian buyers of international real estate prefer?

Here's a short English summary of the resulting report for you:

1. All existing sources of information on international real estate in Russia

• General media

TV

Radio

Outdoor advertising

Print advertising

Internet

• Specialized media

Print advertising

Internet portals

Real estate exhibitions

Real estate seminars

• Word of mouth

2. Sources of information on international real estate in Russia arranged by public trustworthiness (from the most trusted by public on the top to the least trusted down)

• Word of mouth
• Real estate seminars
• Real estate exhibitions
• Print magazines and newspapers
• Radio
• TV
• Outdoor advertising
• Internet

3. Audience coverage by various sources of information on international real estate in Russia (from the largest down to the smallest)

• TV
• Radio
• Internet (general sites)
• Outdoor advertising
• Print advertising
• Internet (specialized sites)
• Real estate exhibitions
• Real estate seminars
• Word of mouth

4. What do real estate agents, owners and developers actually use to advertise international properties in Russia?

• TV is NEVER used – too expensive
• Radio is HARDLY USED – too expensive
• Outdoor advertising is HARDLY USED - too expensive
• The major tools to promote sales of international real estate in Russia are real estate exhibitions, Internet and print advertising
• One more working tool is word of mouth

5. Internet

People are used to search for info on the Internet

Internet info trustworthiness is low

Top results in Internet searches are not always the highest quality sites

Easy to check the effectiveness of advertising

Easy to have a direct contact with the audience (through contact forms)

6. Print advertising

People are used to trust print sources

Coverage is lower than on the Internet

More targeted audience than on the Internet, even more so for ads in magazines and newspapers that are distributed by paid subscription

No direct contact with prospects

Not exclusive source of information on international real estate

7. Real estate exhibitions

Limited audience coverage

Live contact with prospects

On the spot possibility to make a presentation to a prospect

8. There is a unique audience for any source of information on international real estate in Russia although quite often their coverage overlaps

9. Various types of behaviour of Russian buyers of international real estate

*Vacuum cleaners* - collect info from all possible sources of information

*Face to face* - prefer personal communication at real estate exhibitions and seminars

*No trust to anybody* - prefer to conduct their own research and make conclusion using print media and Internet

*Internet guys* - use Internet exclusively

*Visuals* - prefer reading in print

*Unsettled* - use any type of random, unverified and odd sources

10. The most widely shown behaviour of a Russian buyer of international real estate:

An idea to buy is being born during a country visit, or talking to friends, or reading print media, or listening to radio, or looking at outdoor advertising

Initial search for info on the Internet

More precise and determined search for info on the Internet, in print, at real estate exhibitions and seminars

Targeted search for suitable properties on the Internet

Contacting sellers

11. How a contact with a seller of international real estate is being made?

Most often by phone, less often by email, even less often by contact forms on websites. For example, the Internet portal of Homes Overseas magazine has 70% of its visitors' traffic from 10 a. m. till 8 p. m. and 10% fill out online forms.

This info has been provided by Sergey Rymov, the editor-in-chief of Homes Overseas. Hope it can help in your efforts of marketing international properties to Russian buyers.

To your best business success,

Sincerely,