Cyprus rose from sixth to fourth place in the ranking of destinations for Russian overseas property buyers in the first nine months of 2026, according to Cyprus Property News.
Cyprus and Greece moved up the rankings of the most popular overseas property destinations for Russian buyers in the first nine months of 2026, Cyprus Property News reports, citing figures published by RIA Nedvizhimost from Tranio managing partner Mikhail Bulanov. Cyprus went from sixth to fourth place, with its share of enquiries growing from 5.4% to 8.1%. Greece took fifth place, up from 5.4% to 7.3%. Thailand remained the leading destination, although its share of enquiries fell from 22.9% to 17.8%. Turkey stayed second (up from 8.4% to 10.2%) and the UAE third (up from 8.3% to 9.8%). Georgia entered the top ten, tying with Montenegro in sixth place, followed by France, Spain and Italy. Bali dropped out of the ranking amid concerns over building permits and land status, according to the report. Bulanov attributed the gains for Cyprus and Greece to the appeal of combining a property purchase with a residence-by-investment route. Cyprus offers a permanent residence route linked to qualifying property investment of at least €300,000, subject to the programme's conditions, while Greece's Golden Visa is a residence permit for qualifying investors and does not itself grant citizenship. The median budget for overseas property purchases rose 9.5% year on year to €298,000. The report links this to a larger share of enquiries for Turkey, the UAE and Cyprus, where typical budgets are €300,000–€350,000; in 2025 cheaper Thai condominiums, typically €120,000–€150,000, had weighed on the median. For Cyprus, the report also cites expectations around possible Schengen accession and discussion of tighter terms for the permanent residence programme as factors influencing prices. Cyprus Property News stresses that these are market expectations, not guarantees of future policy or returns.