For a long time now, Russia has been subject to somewhat conflicting assessments by real estate investors. While some foresaw great opportunities for the country and its real estate market and began to sound the market out early on, others were rather more sceptical and chose a reticent approach. Meanwhile, the country has come to play an ever greater role as an investment market for both domestic and foreign investors.

Above all, this goes for Russia’s commercial real estate market. Here, investment volume, which already hit a record high in 2006 (at around $3.2 billion, or €2.2 billion), went even further in 2007. By the end of last year, we estimate that the figure rose to around $4.5 billion (€3.1 billion) — a 41 percent increase on the previous year. Strong growth characterises the office market as well as the retail and logistics property markets.

SETTING THE STAGE

The Russian real estate market offers a number of attractive i