When I first landed in the Former Soviet Union in 1992, the average wage was probably about $20 a month and investment was a new concept. Early “business men” were thought of as thugs, and the notion of capitalism was still very foreign. In fact, as a Peace Corps Business Advisor, I was there to help capitalism find it’s footing.
Fast forward to 2008. I am back in the US with my “Ultimate Souvenir” from 8 years in Ukraine (a.ka. Dmitry). It seems that the residents of the Baltic States and the Former Soviet Union caught on quickly.
Dmitry has spent the majority of his time this week showing investment property to buyers from Lithuania. They are visiting for a whirlwind tour. His native Russian language skills make it easy for him to communicate with the buyers even though they speak English well.
The clients told him that a recent article in the Russian press stated that Metro Detroit is a great place to invest in real estate right now! The combination of the strength of the Euro against the dollar, and our affordable home prices make Metro Detroit make us a good bet.
So these investors, with Dmitry’s guidance, have been tracking down potential rental homes in communities like Royal Oak, Rochester and Troy. Their goal is to acquire a couple of homes and hold onto them for the future. Apparently they’ve got other friends back in Lithuania who are also interested in exploring our Metro Detroit real estate market.
Tonight Dmitry is sitting in the other room, putting the finishing touches on an offer. Wish us luck.
And a special word of thanks to our friends at Google for helping these clients find us. Apparently this blog ranked well for something like “Russian speaking Realtor Metro Detroit” or “Oakland County Real Estate Russian language” or some other combination of words that I can’t begin to guess . . .
Written by Maureen Francis
SKBK Sotheby's International Realty, 248.430.4450
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
real estate Toronto 03.10.08 at 5:40 am
I am working for Toronto Royal LePage, but I have good knowledge of Eastern Europe. These countries are (over)filled with foreign investments today - Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia, Estonia, Lithuania - everybody who wants to start good business in Europe is starting there. But there is also second side - especially Russian oligarchs are now “scanning” whole world and looking for place, where they can invest their (huge) money. It may be, in few years russian could be top investors ine the world, together with petrol kings and Chinese funds…
Homes For Sale In Blue Ridge Georgia 03.10.08 at 8:09 am
I think investors are going to be the ones who benefit most from the buyers market of foreclosed homes. I can see why anyone would find this a great market to purchase houses in.
Karen Moorhead 05.20.08 at 6:02 am
Excellent Maureen. My husband is working with folks in Romania and the business climate there is just booming. I hope they decide to invest in MI and it is a great time to invest. We are seeing the market change already.
Talk to you soon!