Crisis, scoundrels can't quash need for real estate Russell Working New brick houses, built in the Russian style, perch on a hill overlooking Zolotoi Rog harbor. By Russell Working Reading the papers over the past year, you might conclude that the notion of private property rental and ownership in Vladivostok had veered down some bizarre byway. Seven tenants have holed up in a former governor's mansion downtown and refuse to move out despite court orders.
Scoundrels trick drunks into signing away apartments.
And on top of all that, a ruble crisis has flattened the market. In fact, some of them are bravely finding reasons for optimism. According to past international experience in China, after a crisis, as soon as there is movement in industry, there is a sharp increase in the real estate business. Right now, we've basically hit bottom of the crisis. Sales of private apartments traditionally jump in September and October after a summer lull.