Seventy percent more Russians are interested in buying real estate abroad than they were two years ago, according to a new study.

Demand for real estate has surged between 2016 and 2018 within Russia, spurred by what experts say are tight Western sanctions, unpopular retirement age hikes, rumors of banking transactions moving away from the dollar and low interest rates and affordable mortgages.

While concentrated among 2.5 percent of the population, demand for real estate abroad among Russians has grown by 70 percent since 2016, according to a nationwide poll by Moscow’s Financial University published Wednesday.