Off on a high-profile trip to Europe, Gov. Charlie Crist made a pass through Russia on Monday to ask our oil-rich, ex-Communist friends to buy Florida real estate.
Representatives from the Florida Association of Realtors have hitched along on the continental tour, fresh from making a similar pitch to potential home buyers in the United Kingdom.
"The governor has brought much needed visibility throughout Europe to Florida's commercial and residential real estate market," said John Sebree, vice president of public policy for the Florida Realtors. "Investment capital is flush and our market is clearly being seen as one of value to its Russian investors."
Slinging stucco wasn't Crist's sole purpose in the ex-Soviet Union. During a meeting with Maxim Kalinin, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia's St. Petersburg, he encouraged the country to buy more Florida products. Florida exported $70,000 worth of oranges to Russia last year, a pittance compared with the millions of dollars of the fruit shipped to the rest of Europe.
Crist is one of the first state leaders to visit St. Petersburg, Russia, since President Bush and Prime Minister Vladmir Putin announced the U.S.-Russia Business Dialogue earlier this year.
A recent story in the Wall Street Journal noted a surge in Russian real estate deals in the United States. One of the largest is fertilizer tycoon Dmitry Rybolovlev's proposed $100-million purchase of Donald Trump's Palm Beach estate.
In interviews with Europeans, Florida Realtors are publicizing how easy it is to buy Florida property, mentioning the weakened dollar and the huge inventories of unsold homes.
[Last modified: Jul 24, 2008 08:54 PM]
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