The most common mistaken email I receive is “We are looking for Chinese property investors and would like to partner with you” so I will address this issue again.
Unfortunately, there are none that I know of. From the other perspective, say you had a clientele of very wealthy buyers, why would you send them to me especially on a success basis? Top level Chinese agents focus on their clients needs so they follow them to Portugal to get a golden visa or Cyprus to get an EU passport or New York for a place for their children. From their perspective, the odds are almost nil that they will happen to have a buyer in one specific area for a particular type of asset. That’s why it’s a bit like chasing your tail looking for agents to market for you. Also, the buyers are usually very wealthy and agents don’t want to let them go. Therefore, they follow them to the ends of the earth and maintain the relationship for future sales. They hold them tight. And it makes a lot of sense as they likely only have one or two really top level clients each.
Chinese real estate agents can easily sell a property in a Chinese developers overseas project in their office in China. Sell in China, money gets paid in China and they don’t have risk of losing the client or the sale being dropped due to inexperience in dealing with Chinese (which is a likely and serious concern for them)
So what’s left? Chinese agents that don’t have buyers basically. They are time wasters in a big way. I would take one of two approaches if I were you. Either don’t spend too much time on China or learn how to get your properties in front of buyers yourself. If time or will is insufficient, definitely better to take option 1. However, Chinese buyers really are becoming more prominent now and will be more so in the future. And once a particular development is known in China, it can sell out quickly so learning now to market might not be a bad option for your company. That’s my honest experience and I hope it helps.
PS: If you do look for agents, keep in mind that the odds are exactly the same for them as would be for you. So if you have a buyer for Jingan, Huangpu, Gubei or JinQuiao areas areas in Shanghai. And if they are looking for high end, expat quality homes, send them my way. I’m guessing no one has been beating down your door for these properties and that’s exactly the same for them. They might have a buyer interested in buying abroad but the world is a huge place. It’s not that they don’t want to help, its more that they can’t.
The only way to get the clients for specific properties is to market those properties and get leads for exactly what you are selling. Luckily, as I mentioned before, Chinese tend to buy with friends and family so one buyer can be quite valuable and the catalyst for the whole project.
