Moscow became Europe's third largest property investment market after London and Paris in 2010, Cushman&Wakefield real estate consulting firm said in its survey on Thursday.
The survey included four cities in Europe in addition to Moscow, eight in Asia and seven in North America.
The findings revealed that Moscow was still a major favorable city for investment, with real estate transactions in the Russian capital accounting for 94% of Russia's overall volume, the company said, adding that investment in Moscow's real estate amounted to $3.5 billion last year.
Russian investors are a major driving force on Russia's real estate market at this stage as they have a better feel for the market and are prepared to take high risks in exchange for high returns. Foreign transactions on the Russian real estate market last year accounted for 14% of activity before the global financial crisis hit Russia in late 2008, the survey said.
The survey said, however, it was too early to speak about a rebound on the regional real estate market.
Large-scale national projects, like the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia's Black Sea resort city of Sochi and the 2018 World Soccer Cup in Russia theoretically may cause an upsurge in Russia's regional centers but it will take several years for the Russian economy to recover and for investors to return to the Russian regions, the survey said.
MOSCOW, January 27 (RIA Novosti)
