During the last week, a couple of interesting articles have appeared (here and here) discussing the growing interest of Chinese investors in the Spanish real estate market, and specifically in the hotel sector.
The "sun and beach" concept does not fit too well with Chinese culture. This is because having a tan in China is associated with people from the countryside, and the sea also commands a lot of respect, with most people swimming with giant inflatable rings to avoid scares. However, I am aware that approaches are being made to buy hotels on the Mediterranean coast to promote Chinese tourism in an "all-in-one" mode, quite similar to what we Europeans do when travelling to places like Punta Cana. Tourism by Chinese and for Chinese.
In addition to this, which is interesting in itself, apartments could be a good investment for large foreign capital. Prices are falling and everything seems to indicate that they will hit the floor sometime between 2014 and 2016. It does not seem far-fetched to consider the purchase of heavily depreciated second homes, whose purchase today is very difficult given the lack of credit in the EU.
Could it be a good business to act as a middleman with China so that investors can access our real estate market? It would be possible as long as an attractive product, suited to their interests, was offered. Large developments like "Marina D'Or" oriented to be Chinese holiday micro-cities, or in general bundles of services that mean tourists never have to leave their environment.
What do you think?
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