Sochi: the world's largest construction site closes

The Sochi Winter Olympcis Closing Ceremony Photo: S Yume

Indeed, the area was, according to the New York Times, the world's largest construction site in the run-up to the sporting tournament, erecting four ski resorts, over 40,000 hotel rooms and several sports Arenas. All of the building activity helped prepare the town for thousands of visitors every day. Now, though, with higher building activity than in London and Vancouver, who will fill these vast structures?

Talks of shopping malls and Casinos have circulated in the media, but are not confirmed. When it comes to international tourists, the future seems equally uncertain, with many more likely to choose other countries nearer their home turf without visa restrictions.

“What we need to do is focus on getting the home market up and running,” Brian Gleeson general manager of the Radisson Blue Beach Resort and Spa, told the newspaper. “That’s 145 million people, and we need to get very creative about giving those people a reason to choose Sochi.”

For Russia's leading property portal Idinaidi, Sochi has been a hot topic over recent months with searches for property in the area rising 177 per cent in the last month alone.

"Sochi has some fabulous new developments, as well as more traditional Russian properties, so the city has something to suit every taste and budget,"  comments Idinaidi's COO, Carlo Walther.

"We've seen in London that house prices in the 14 areas closest to the Olympic Park have risen by an average of 10% since the Games were held. This is one of the reasons that there is so much interest in Sochi currently, a well as during the past several months - not only for the rental opportunities arising during the Games, but also for the capital gains to be made in the years following."
 
With over 8,500 apartments, 400 houses and 200 plots of land listed - apartments being by far the most popular form of accommodation with Russians - Idinaidi is excited to see the impact that the Olympic Games are having on Sochi's property market.

Some argue, though, that the Olympic legacy may simply be a glut of real estate.

Martin Muller, a professor of geography at the University of Zurich, tells The New York Times that for some builders involved, the long-term cost was not a concer: "You inflate the price tag of the project, give part of the money back to the official who awarded you the project, then subcontract out as much of the work as possible, and hide the money you took out. That’s a much easier way to earn a profit than drafting a long-term business plan, and taking the risk associated with trying to bring in guests and having to invest in maintenance.”