Shanghai luxury show impresses with SA property offerings

Hosted by the China Luxury Industry Association, the Summit attracts the world's leading brands, corporate decision makers and investors, including top luxury brands such as Prada, Gucci, Burberry, Montblanc and Pernod Ricard, among others.

"We attended the Summit through our involvement with the Southern Africa Luxury Association (SALA) and showcased handpicked, iconic properties, which included prime coastal real estate, wine estates and other desirable lifestyle estates and properties in prime locations in various regions," says Dr Andrew Golding, CE of the PGP group.

"The calibre of visitors was high, representing discerning individual and corporate high net worth investors, as well as the media. The majority of these had not visited South Africa and it was gratifying to see their positive response to our presentation of prestigious properties. In addition to favourable comments regarding the architectural style and location of the Western Cape's Atlantic seaboard properties on show, visitors commented on sought after lifestyle estates such as Pezula in Knysna and Steenberg in Cape Town, and luxury homes in the upmarket suburb of Bishopscourt in Cape Town's southern suburbs. The images and brochures of Eden Island in Seychelles and developments and resorts in Mauritius also received high attention.

"Having heard of a recent increase in the Chinese acquiring high-end holiday homes in Thailand, we were interested in comparing these with a South African offering. The broad based consensus was that the quality of build and general lifestyle offered by our coastal properties, coupled with our cultural diversity, was attractive and compelling. Key criteria included a contemporary design style, secure property and quick access to airports.

"In addition, several new business relationships were forged at the summit and, while we find that showcases such as this generally serve to create a greater, initial awareness of potential overseas investment in property in South Africa, we anticipate that some of these visitors will visit our country in the future.

"The potential for such investment in South African real estate among affluent Chinese is positive, with South Africa's Tourism Minister, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, recently reporting that tourism growth* from China to South Africa increased by 63.5 percent from January to September 2012, as China became the our fourth largest overseas tourist market," he concludes.

*Source: www.southafrica.net