Oman, South Africa and Beyond: High-Yield Markets Russian Investors Are Overlooking

About RUB 2.6 million can be earned by reselling a villa in Saudi Arabia. Renting out a property in Oman will bring its owner from $54,000 a year. Victor Sadygov (Nika Estate) reviews promising markets that Russian investors tend to overlook.

Two audiences with completely opposite needs have now emerged in the Russian real estate market. For the first, the road to Europe has effectively closed. They consider buying property only in Russia's regions and the countries of the former CIS, both to live in and as an alternative holiday destination to replace the European countries where they used to vacation.

That is why Moscow investors are buying properties in Sochi, Kazan, Samara, St. Petersburg and other cities popular with domestic tourists. Many are entering the markets of Russia's closest neighbors, but each of these markets has its own specifics. In Georgia, for example, the high-end segment is difficult to work with: because of the region's particular characteristics, the returns on such properties do not justify the high costs.

The second audience of Russians is actively looking for investment property in regions that are still unfamiliar to them, in order to protect their capital from economic upheavals. For this category of buyers, the markets of Turkey, Bali, Thailand, Oman, South Africa and others are attractive.

This large-scale presence across different countries creates a synergy that leads to cross-border deals. In other words, the buyers and tenants of properties owned by Russian investors abroad are no longer only people from Russia. More and more clients come, for example, from Istanbul, Sochi or Kazan to buy property in Dubai or Oman, while clients from Dubai buy in Istanbul.

Myths and Facts About the Dubai Market

Let us begin by dispelling some myths about Dubai. Lately, for example, there have been rumors that demand is draining away from this popular emirate and that the market is overheated and losing its appeal.
This is partly true, but only with regard to Russians. Citizens of India, the United Kingdom and Europe remain the most active investors in Dubai's real estate market. Russians have slipped to fourth or fifth place.
In certain segments of the Dubai market, sales have actually picked up, helped by a change in developers' policies: against the backdrop of rising prices, they are offering installment plans.
Despite this, part of the demand is shifting to the secondary market. According to our data, the split in Dubai is now as follows: 49% of transactions take place on the primary market and 51% on the secondary market, where prices are lower.
When reselling property in Dubai, an investor can offer the buyer a more attractive price than the developer while still earning 15% per annum on the property.
Importantly, the emirate is currently experiencing a shortage of commercial space. In the future, this could become a new growth driver for the market and a good opportunity for investors to profit.

The Growing Potential of Saudi Arabia

It is important to understand that the most promising markets are those that are only just beginning to develop. Today, the Saudi Arabian real estate market can confidently be counted among them. Until recently completely closed, the country is beginning to open up, partly because a new generation has come to power.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a broad-minded man raised in Western traditions, has launched an entirely new policy that was immediately reflected in the real estate market. Just at the beginning of the year, a law was passed allowing properties to be sold to foreigners, something that was previously unthinkable.
The Elie Saab project by developer Dar Global, comprising 183 villas, was soft-launched in November 2024. The villas sold out almost completely in just three weeks.
Within two months, a villa purchased for AED 3.5 million (about RUB 88 million) rose in value by 12% on the secondary market. Moreover, the developer's installment plan allowed the investor to pay only 30% of the price at the initial stage. The investment could already be recouped today. But by the end of the year, the owner could resell the villa for 30% more than the original price.
Other figures also point to the country's potential. Saudi Arabia is the wealthiest country on the Arabian Peninsula, is among the world's top 10 oil producers and has a huge domestic market.
The country has a population of 38 million. It is home to Mecca and Medina, the holiest sites of the Muslim world. That is why Muslim pilgrims from many countries want to acquire property there.
There are about 1.8 billion followers of Islam worldwide. The elite accounts for 1%, or about 17 million people. This means the target audience for the region's market numbers roughly 10 million people, hundreds of times larger than the market of Dubai or Moscow.
Saudi Arabia's domestic real estate market already offers a wide variety of properties. And as new projects come to market, a vast number of people will want to trade their old homes for new ones.
Thanks to the new permission to sell real estate to foreigners, the market will develop at an accelerated pace in the near future. And Russians will make up only a small share of the global community of interested buyers.

High Returns on Real Estate in Oman

Few Russians are aware of the potential of Oman's real estate market. First, the climate here is more pleasant than in Dubai. Second, a new gas field has been discovered in the country. As a result, people from all over the world are moving here, including Russians working in the oil and gas industry.
Russian companies are opening representative offices in Oman, since there is not even a fee for registering a company here. Life in the country is becoming increasingly comfortable for foreigners.
Foreigners buy property in Oman both for their own use and as an investment. Prices here are very low. For example, a townhouse can be purchased for just $375,000.
Importantly, the country grants a golden visa for the purchase of a property of any value. Moreover, while in other countries a tax (2-4%) must be paid immediately when buying off-plan, in Oman payment of the tax (3%) is deferred until construction is completed. Legal entities pay corporate tax only after 25 years, and individuals do not pay it at all.
Let us look at a specific case: an investment in a project near the capital, Muscat, with the Ritz-Carlton, Nikki Beach and Shangri-La as neighbors.
According to Oman's Ministry of Tourism, the sultanate's hotels have an average annual occupancy rate of 83%. In the worst-case scenario, occupancy will be 70%, meaning the property will be rented out for 252 days a year.
The average room rate at hotels near this project is AED 1,000 ($272) per night. That comes to AED 252,000 ($69,000) a year. However, in Oman a management fee is charged, most often 7-8%. Even in the worst-case scenario, if this fee rises to 20%, the client will still earn AED 175,000-200,000 ($54,000) a year from renting out the townhouse.
Investing in properties under construction in Oman is also profitable. By the time construction is completed, unit prices rise by about 50%. Every three to six months, the value of properties under construction increases by 5%. This means that by July 2025, townhouses will already cost 15% more than they do today.