Apartment sales at the Candy brothers' prestigious One Hyde Park complex are set to push through the £1 billion barrier, it was claimed  as it emerged a record  £136.4 million had been paid by a Ukrainian billionaire for an apartment. A further £125 million of deals "are about to exchange or complete", potentially raising the value of sales beyond the £1 billion taken on in bank loans to fund the construction of the Knightsbridge flats, according to London's Evening Standard newspaper.

February 2011 has been marked by high activity of potential tenants for Moscow residential property. Supply of apartments  increased by 45% compared to January and the index is 60% higher than 2010. Supply remained almost stable at the level of January, however, it is 30% lower than in February 2010.

According to the regular monthly analysis of the Moscow and suburban retail rental market by Intermark Savills estate agency, while the Moscow rental market is gradually recovering from the crisis, demand for the most expensive properties (from $10,000) grew by 5% as compared to the previous results and reached 11% at the end of January 2011.

In a statement released on Monday, Penny Lane Realty said that it expected rental rates for luxury homes in Moscow to go up by 15 percent in 2011. As the economy expands and government attracts more foreign technology companies, housing rates will soar.