Panic and destabilization: The "Valley Scheme" brought down the real estate market in Moscow

The number of transactions on the secondary market of Moscow in November 2025 decreased by a third against the background of the "Valley effect". This was stated by the vice-president of the Russian Guild of Realtors (RGR) Andrey Bannikov.

"In the last two months, panic has reigned in the real estate market, especially secondary housing. There was a destabilization of the market, a destabilization of the psyche of buyers," he told TASS.

According to Bannikov, there were a lot of calls from potential buyers, but the number of transactions decreased by a third from the October level, as well as compared to the volume of transactions in November 2024.

"We attribute this to the fact that there has been some destabilization and misunderstanding of buyers, what can be taken on the market and what can not," said the representative of the RGR.

At the same time, Bannikov noted the plus of this situation — this case drew attention to the old problem of the market related to determining who a bona fide buyer is. He recalled that the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, on behalf of its chairman Igor Krasnov, is preparing a review of the practice of reviewing real estate transactions, taking into account the verdict on Polina Lurie's lawsuit against Larisa Dolina.

"We hope that this work will result in a decision of the plenum of the Supreme Court, and it will really say in sufficient detail what kind of buyer's behavior is reasonable and prudent so that the courts can recognize this buyer in good faith. This is very important for us, both for realtors and for the real estate market as a whole," he concluded.

As reported by EADaily, the so-called "Valley effect" or "Valley scheme" has become widespread in Russia after the singer was returned to the ownership of an apartment in Khamovniki by a court decision, which she sold under pressure from fraudsters. At the same time, the buyer of the apartment, Polina Lurie, was left without an apartment and without money.

Lurie has repeatedly challenged the decision of the courts, eventually reached the collegium of the Supreme Court of Russia, which decided to secure ownership of the apartment Valley for the buyer. At the same time, Dolina still lives in the sold apartment, the statement on the forced eviction of the singer of the RF Armed Forces sent for a new review. The Moscow City Court will consider a lawsuit to evict the singer on December 25.

*An individual performing the functions of a foreign agent