Hope between the clouds?

Bucharest was cloudy today in the morning… the traffic was not dramatic (thanks to some excellent policemen who really did good work) and the plane half empty as it usually happens since the end of 2008 and especially since the beginning of the year. I was just preparing for my usual sleep on board (sorry, guys, if I had been snoring, I apologize), when I saw someone I know, flying to Athens, just like me.
He is one of the top investors in this country, but I could definitely call him more intelligent, as he sold in 2008 at a good price, without waiting even higher figures (like thousands of others…) Today, he is really comfortable, over viewing the market with his bank account full of cash. The question was simple: Is he going to leave Romanian now?
– “When you find properties in London with excellent yields, why to be here?”
– “Most of the owners were really crazy and still didn’t realize what is going on around them”
– “I don’t know where the bottom is”
– “In most of the cases, the owners are the distressed ones, not the properties themselves”
– “There is not enough good product in the market today, the variety is limited”

“So, are you staying? Or did you already pack and prepare to leave us by ourselves, here in Romania?”
“I am staying, definitely. And if there is any good deal, please let me know”.

You know… many major institutional players appeared in Romania during the last four years. But just a very small number of them had exited with significant profits. I don’t think this was a co-incidence. Their success was based on experience and capabilities. When a distinguished member of this “elite of successful investors” votes YES FOR ROMANIA, I think he has a message for all of us.
No one says that things are easy here. There are difficult and they will be even more. But the real values*, when once found, will attract the interest of investors, this is for sure

* attention to all “sweet intelligent crooks”: Real value = Real value. Value should not be translated as = an overpriced stupid property that my father gave me and I want to sell with enough money so as to make all my dreams come true).