Helping foreign clients buy a piece of NY real estate

[NEW YORK] It takes a certain kind of person to regard luxury real estate in New York as cheap, maybe even embarrassingly cheap when compared with other global capitals.

If such people hail from the former Soviet Union, and want to add a Manhattan address to a portfolio that might include homes in London or Dubai or St Tropez, they might seek out a real estate agent who appreciates their unusual perspective. They might seek out Gennady Perepada.

"Believe me, it's absolutely normal people," Mr Perepada said of his clientele, in Russian-accented English. "Absolutely nice and classy."

But what is n…