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Russians Searching for NYC Homes Jumped Last Year

The number of Mexican buyers, meanwhile, looking for a Big Apple home fell

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The Manhattan skyline.

Harri Jarvelainen / Getty Images
The Manhattan skyline.
Harri Jarvelainen / Getty Images

Searches by Russian buyers for homes in New York have increased over the past year, while the number of prospective Mexican purchasers fell, according to inquiries on one digital real estate hub.

Research compiled by real estate start-up TripleMint on behalf of Mansion Global found that the biggest internet search increase on its site among interested buyers outside the U.S. between 2015 and 2016 came from Russians looking to buy or rent in New York.

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Russia jumped from 20th place among interested buyers outside the U.S. in 2015 to second in 2016, with the biggest spike in traffic from the country witnessed in September and October.

Wealthy Russians had become less prominent in Manhattan’s luxury real estate market since international sanctions were imposed against Russia in 2014, sending the ruble into a tailspin. All this has significantly impacted the purchasing power of many Russians.

However, in recent months, the U.S. has seemingly become a more welcoming place for Russians, with President Donald Trump taking a less combative stance on Russia than his predecessors.

The second biggest change was seen among Mexican buyers, who fell from ninth place in 2015 to 18th in 2016. TripleMint did not give a reason for why this may have happened.

As for the top spot, that was taken by the U.K. in both years, although there was a big rise in 2016 when compared with 2015, especially in the four days following the Brexit vote on June 23.

"Roughly 30% of the 2016 traffic from the U.K. came in those four days," David Walker, the chief executive of TripleMint, told Mansion Global.

Several New York brokers told Mansion Global in the wake of the Brexit vote that they had been in contact with British clients who were considering a move to America after the surprising referendum result.

Canada, France and India were also among the top five countries searching for homes in New York last year, each only moving up or down a place when compared with 2015.

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TripleMint was unable to provide Mansion Global with exact numbers for international searches overall, but said it was hundreds of thousands each year.

TripleMint