Granted, mostly developers exhibit, but intermingled in the enormous space the exhibition centre occupies, are government representative offices, service suppliers, as well as some resale agents.
From what we have seen in the past, I can safely say what we see there usually hits the retail market about 1 to 2 years later. Last year, amongst other things, I found some fantastic off-plan products in Mexico from one developer, and whilst the European way of doing business is a little different, we have been able to promote their developments through our Mexico section to supply those that are looking for a property somewhere different from the masses. Whilst Mexico as a tourist and investment destination is still young at present, it will undoubtedly grow as people realize the high quality standards available there, as well as the rental returns that are possible.
In the trade newsletters that are sent in the run up to the show, we can get a good idea of what we can expect to see and from which countries, this year it would seem that over 40,000 units will be being promoted in total, with the Latin-America market accounting for more than half of that, an 8% increase on what was displayed last year.
After last year’s show I signed up a resale agent in Uruguay with a handful of listings to see what the interest level was like, and broaden what we can offer on Propertyshowrooms.com and, whilst a little slow initially, interest in Uruguay is growing at a phenomenal rate.
Eastern Europe was heavily featured last year, which I am sure will be repeated with many Spanish developers now setting up shop in the former Communist states. With the introduction of the Euro across the former Soviet states, businesses are making the transition very well and quality product is being produced.
It will be a very long 3 days of walking, talking and coffees, trying to communicate in a multitude of languages, whilst still dealing with things back at the office. But I expect to return with a number of promising new and exciting things to expand again what we can provide here at propertyshowrooms.com.
If there is anything specific or unusual you would like to see on our site, leave a comment on the blog or forum, and I will see if we can find it!
By Peter Mindenhall
