Lessons from SIMA

Why Spain will be one of the key markets

for Romanian Real Estate sector

Back from Madrid… What an experience was this one! A lovely city and an interesting market were my rewards for choosing to be there. SIMA exhibition can become much better in the future, we have to admit this, but still it had good potential for anyone who has a reason to be present in Spain.

The presence of Romania was satisfactory, not only because few companies had stand, but also because the municipality of Bucharest was present there, together with some of the major players of the Real Estate market. The stand of MORE, my company, had many visitors, out of which several ones had surprised me with their knowledge, their level of Real Estate expertise and their approach to this business. Also, my speech was an important moment, especially after it, when so many people from the audience approached me with really clever questions. My speeches are always “not politically correct” and I was glad that this worked in Spain too.
You don’t meet often a foreigner, who has not only visited Bistrita (for example) and other small Romanian cities, but also he has invested there and he has a reason why he did this move, he has a strategy. I met more than 20 investors with same ideas and I was really fascinated discussing with them for their choice, their plans, their overview of the market.

I can talk to you a lot about Spain, but I will prefer to sum up the advantages and the challenges that the Spanish market:

• Spanish people know about Real Estate. They learned throughout the years of their aggressive expansion (Real Estate is still 7% of the GDP of Spain, a huge number, if we consider that it is just 2,5% of the Greek GDP). They have the level and the culture to approach the business in a more delicate way than the typical (for some people): “I want something in the center of Bucharest with super low price and I need few months to think about it”. So, they have a strategy in their investments, which always helps the serious Real Estate consultant in adjusting to their needs.
• The Spanish Real Estate market is DEAD. When we see major companies offering apartments with -30% discount, it means that the crisis is huge and it will not finish soon. This fact presses the investors into moving out, diversifying to other countries.
• Romania is one of the top 5 choices for the Spanish people who want to invest in another country. The planes from Spain arrive in Romania full of Spanish investors, counting thousands of people in the last 2 years. I remind you that Spain is one of the biggest countries of Europe and it has enough collected wealth so as to finance almost any organized movement by its businessmen.
• There are hundreds of thousands (for some others almost 2 million) of Romanians who live in Spain and they are potential clients in the future. Lots of them, already some thousands, have in plan to buy a property back home in the upcoming years. Their first priority is Bucharest and their home city. They want apartments (75 – 85%) and lands follow. They have some money but they also need a loan. They are VERY serious and determined and they don’t have time to lose. Also, they know about good projects, they are more or less “trained” in Real Estate in Spanish market, which is advanced comparing to Romanian one. On the other hand, they are scared by the endless number of crooks who they know that exist in Romanian Real Estate market. All these factors are almost ideal for a serious company, so as to invest in this market.

In the next months I prepare many surprises for the Spanish market. I believe a lot in the potential of the Spanish investors, I like even more to work with the Romanians who live there (I also claim that I can understand their psychology very good, but this is another long discussion) and soon you will hear from me more…