Hi Everyone,

Homes Collection, the popular Russian magazine for international properties buyers, conducted a research on Russian buyers' preferences while choosing an international realtor.

Russian market of international real estate buyers is highly competitive which means that sellers and agents are fighting for a buyer being forced to offer more and better services. But what is actually important for a buyer when he or she decides whom to choose to help with his or her international real estate purchase?

The magazine conducted a buyer's survey with the following questions:

• What are the most important criteria while choosing a realtor?
• Are potential buyers ready to share their contact information with a realtor to receive information from him/her in the future?
• Are potential buyers annoyed by getting mailings and emails from a realtor?
• Do potential buyers remember real estate companies' names that were publicized in media, commercials, on the internet?

The magazine asked their survey respondents, potential Russian buyers of international real estate, to name a few reasons that might stop them from choosing a particular realtor. The results are as follows:

#1 – poor impression during the initial consultation

#2 – a realtor does not know Russian and does not have a Russian translator

#3 – a realtor takes a long time to reply

#4 – a realtor provides information that does not really fit the buyer's request

#5 – a realtor does not know much about the area where the desired properties are located

#6 – no office in the area where the desired properties are located

#7 – no office in Russia

#8 – no additional services (visas, legal help, financing)

So, we can see that the most important features of a realtor in the eyes of a potential Russian buyer of international real estate are professionalism and ability to communicate in Russian. Russian buyers also value information highly. Russian buyers prefer a realtor who has an office in the area they are interested in over a realtor with only an office in Russia. Additional services are not that important, it seems.

The research shows that only 77% of the respondents are ready to provide their contact information to a realtor.

It happens too often that real estate companies use the contact information of potential buyers to send them some unsolicited general information, that’s why there were these questions.

The answers are as follows:

46% of the respondents are okay with getting unsolicited information from a realtor

36% are annoyed with it

18% are not sure

So, real estate companies would be on the safe side asking for a potential buyer's permission to send them information in the future.

It was important to find out whether potential international real estate buyers in Russia remember real estate companies' names from the media, internet, etc. and how it affects their choice of a realtor.

The results are as follows:

36% of the respondents remember the names from advertising

42% do not remember

22% do not remember, but will recognize it if they see the name again

Those who said that they remembered real estate companies' names or would recognize them if seen again were asked an additional question: Will you choose a company with a familiar name or it does not matter to you?

The results:

56% will use a company with a familiar name

32% do not care about a name

12% are not sure

Hope knowing these preferences of potential Russian buyers of international real estate while choosing a realtor might be helpful in your marketing as now you have a preferred realtor's profile to check with.

To your best business success,

Sincerely,