Chinese real estate listings portal Juwai.com expands European property coverage

Chinese real estate listings portal Juwai.com has extended its reach into Europe following the signing of a new agreement, which will potentially add thousands of new European property listings to the site.

Under the agreement, more than 200,000 real estate agents in 24 countries will be able to market their properties on Juwai.com, which promotes itself as the largest international property search and information platform for Mandarin-speaking Chinese consumers.

Chinese buyers make up the fastest-growing real estate buyer group in countries in Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East and the Pacific. They spent US$28.7 billion on residential property around the world in 2011, a figure that is projected to climb to US$114 billion by 2015.

In addition to an affinity for Australian wineries, hotels, residential sites and houses and apartments, Chinese buyers also account for 54% of the total value of purchases in the prime central London area, with average prices of £5 million ($7.4 million).

They also bought more than 30 prestigious Bordeaux vineyards in just two years, and are the biggest foreign buyers in the central Paris, Ile-de-France area, with 16% of the market.

Juwai.com search figures show that European properties were viewed over 882,000 times by Chinese investors in January 2013.

Last year, Australian real estate group LJ Hooker started advertising its residential and commercial listings on Chinese real estate listings portal Juwai.com following the signing of a partnership agreement between the two organisations.

Around 84% of Juwai.com’s traffic is comprised of high-net-worth Chinese from within China and living in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia and other countries.

Eric Calosci, chief executive of Previsite, says the partnership with Juwai.com will significantly increase an agent’s chance of selling their property more quickly and at a higher price.

“They will be able to tap a huge market with no learning curve,” he says.

Juwai.com co-founder Simon Henry says the pool of high-net-worth individuals in China will expand at a 20% compound annual growth rate over the next three years.

“One-third of Chinese millionaires have assets overseas.  They have a voracious appetite for overseas property investments.

“Moreover, Chinese consumers continue to flock to Juwai.com from all corners of the world, with more than 32% of all website visitors living outside of China.”

The site has also been adopted by global Chinese communities living in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, Singapore and Malaysia, providing Juwai.com customers with comprehensive exposure within China and across south-east Asia.