Half of Those Buying Property in Moscow are from Elsewhere, Further Impoverishing Regions, Expert Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Nov. 24 – Half of all those purchasing property in Moscow and Moscow oblast now are live elsewhere or at least are registered as doing so, although some may have already moved to the capital illegally, according to Juliya Bituze, a property analyst in the Russian capital.

            Hers is an estimate as there are no official statistics about this, but it is based, she says, on information from banks who handle mortgages on these properties (newizv.ru/news/2023-11-25/6-rubley-iz-10-moskovskaya-nedvizhimost-po-prezhnemu-sobiraet-dengi-so-vsey-strany-424109).

            What this means is that the private sector is pulling money out of the regions and transferring it to the capital and its surrounding region in ways that parallel a similar trend in government operations where Moscow takes far more in taxes and other revenues from the regions than it returns in services.

            Those with money in the regions are purchasing property in the capital either because they hope to move there or because they believe the hotter market at the center may provide them with more returns on their investment. But their decisions will further depress property markets and the broader economy in the regions.