NEW YORK CITY-This year saw a continued influx of Russian money into the New York City real estate market as high-net-worth individuals and investors snapped up real estate here. And it’s a trend that’s likely to continue, according to Edward Mermelstein, real estate attorney and founder of Edward Mermelstein & Associates.

“New York and the US winds up being a large recipient of a lot of the funds coming out of the country,” Mermelstein tells GlobeSt.com. “There was an expectation that this year there would be approximately $65 billion that was leaving Russia and it exceeded that number by about $15 to $20 billion, if not more.”

Like the US, Russia has a presidential election on the horizon for 2012. The political situation there, and the repositioning of the country’s high-net-worth individuals has made the US, and Manhattan, an attractive alternative. “When you’re not sure what direction the government is heading you want to diversify and keep a percentage of your net worth outside of the country and that’s typical of new money that’s been made over the last 15 or 20 years,” Mermelstein points out.