An online conference on results of a comprehensive study of the market of real estate services in the Russian Federation took place on December 10

The need for legal regulation of real estate activities has become one of the most pressing topics both among experts and the government. The sphere of real estate services is marked by high sensitivity to the ongoing economic events in neighboring industries and financial climate of the country as a whole, which makes it extremely dynamic and debatable.

Based on socio-economic analysis, as well as comparative legal study, experts from the Center for Evidence-Based Expertise have formed their own independent opinion on potential effective regulatory tools aimed to develop and support real estate services market in Russia. They concluded that a voluntary model of regulation could increase the volume of real estate services market by Rb 40 bn.

The study covered the entire Russian Federation in the fall of 2024 and involved more than 700 realtors and over 1200 current and potential clients of real estate services. According to analysts' estimates, the volume of real estate services market, which has been in place in Russia for more than 30 years, amounted to Rb 410 bn in 2024. The surveys show that not only clients, but also real estate agents are vulnerable: they can suffer both from clients' unfair actions and from frauds. The study revealed the root of the problems, i.e. lack of legal mechanisms enshrined in the law to formalize the relationship between the real estate agent and the client. To solve the problem, experts suggest that a special real estate contract based on intermediary (brokerage) model should be enshrined in the legislation. This model is accepted in many foreign legal systems and implies a balanced regulation that takes into account interests of the client and the real estate agent.