11.29.07
The Second Tier
I have been telling anyone in Beijing who will listen to get out to the “second tier” of cities in China–the several dozen provincial capitals and regional trade centers scattered across China’s interior. Here’s an article from GlobeSt.com touting the benefits of the second tier for real estate investment:
Share ThisNames such as Qingdao, Shenzen [sic] and Wuhan may not roll from the tongue as easily as Shanghai or Beijing, but these lesser-known cities are becoming increasingly popular with foreign investors squeezed out of deals in tier-one cities of China…
The benefits of placing bets in these second-tier cities are many, stated Nicholas Brooke, chairman of Professional Property Services, in a session focused on less-familiar locales. He cited the lighter bureaucracy, the movement of many of these cities to diversify into the service sector and the lower cost base compared to tier-one locales…
For the offshore player focused on China inroads, Ren said, the outlook for second-tier cities “is bullish and the trend should last for another 15 years.”