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3/03/08 Russian Realtors Discover St. Petersburg
 On Tuesday, February 27th, the Economic
Development department hosted 20 Realtors from Russia, who are affiliated
with Century 21 Real Estate LLC, the world’s largest
residential real estate sales organization. The group came to the U.S. to attend the Century 21 International
Convention in Orlando, and was
invited to St. Petersburg by local agency Realtor
Ludmila Shulman.
Ms. Shulman had traveled to Russia to assist in the start-up of the Russian affiliate division and speaks fluent
Russian. The visitors included the president of Century 21 Russia, Nuri
Katz, and a group of new, independently owned and operated brokerage
franchisees.
Real
estate is a young industry in Russia, as in the past, most property was
owned by the government and the real estate market has been transitioning
to private ownership and a market system. Until recently, real estate
brokers in Russia have been small independent operators. On June 21, 2007,
Nuri Katz officially announced, and reported in The Moscow Times, the coming of the internationally known brand Century
21 into the Russian market.
The main
purpose for the group’s visit was to learn about the real estate
market, with the dynamic example of St. Petersburg, as well as all aspects
of management of a real estate brokerage.
The
group started the day with a reception at the Florida Craftsmen’s Gallery, then
boarded a bus for a tour prepared by
Economic Development staff that focused on the downtown area, including the
waterfront, arts and cultural amenities, and of course, the obvious real
estate opportunities, both residential and commercial.
The
group was fortunate to have the company of Professor Emeritus William Parsons of Eckerd
College.
Dr. Parsons has a background in modern European
history with a special interest in Russian political and cultural history
and speaks fluent Russian. He was able to provide highlights about Peter
Demens, a Russian named Pyotr Dementyev, who left Russia in 1881, came to Florida, and changed his name to Demens in America. He took control of the
Orange Belt Railroad, which he extended from Sanford, Florida to the west
coast of Florida in 1888, into a town he came to name St. Petersburg, in
honor of his former capital city of Imperial Russia.
Our Russian realtor
visitors were impressed with the beauty and vibrancy of St. Petersburg, Florida, and thought our real estate market represented a great value. According to our
visitors, a typical “flat” in Moscow is 600 sq. ft. and priced
at $300,000, with two bedroom flats starting at $600,000 and estimated
mortgage interest rates tend toward 10% per year. Moscow is one of the most
expensive cities in the world and single family homes, as we know them are
rare, making the St. Petersburg market a bargain by comparison to our
visitors from abroad.
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