Are we about to see the return of russian investors?

Russian investors were once the dominant force in global real estate, investing in overseas property markets like it was going out of fashion.

Then, it really did go out of fashion, with Chinese buyers emerging as the most stylish players on the property catwalk. Russian purchases, meanwhile, plunged, as a result of the country's weakening rouble, pushed down, in turn, by the country's political and military conflicts.

As 2015 drew to a close, though, foreign property purchases by Russians rose for the first time since the spring 2014, according to the Central Bank of Russia

Purchases increased 1.7 per cent, although spending remains far below the levels of before the financial crisis. Are we about to see the return of Russian investors?

There is a seasonal precedent for the uplift: traditionally, Russians buy more property overseas during the final quarter of every year, except in 2014, but there is no guarantee foreign real estate markets will see it this year.

"This can hardly be called 'real growth', it is rather about the market stabilising," says George Kachmazov, managing partner at Tranio, international property broker. "I think this is due to the growing interest of Russians in buying income-generating property abroad. The majority of commercial real estate transactions happen outside the Central Bank's reach and their statistics, as most clients finance their purchases with funds held on foreign accounts."

The same quarter's weak rouble figures, meanwhile, suggest that future growth may still be unlikely.