Commercial Real Estate Investment Plummets in Russia

According to JLL, commercial real estate investment volumes in Russia reached $2.8bn in 2018, down 39% YoY from $4.7bn. Within the total, Q4 2018 investments were $966m, half the levels of Q4 2017.
"2018 volumes almost approached the cyclical bottom of 2015, when the economy was in recession. The main reason for this decline is the caution of investors triggered by the sanctions against Russia, volatility in emerging markets and the oil price drop. The postponement of some large transactions into 2019 intensified the 2018 investment volume decline. Nevertheless, unlike in 2015, the debt market in Russia is healthy, senior debt financing is available at relatively low-interest rates causing an ironic shortage of real estate products available for purchase", said Natalia Tischendorf, Head of Capital Markets, JLL, Russia & CIS.