You’re out visiting apartments every day. What’s happening with the rental market right now?
I don’t think the financial crisis has had that big of an impact on the rental market in Shanghai. Some people say expat budgets have been reduced and that international companies have cut back the number of big expat contracts, but there are still a lot of people looking for apartments. From my point of view, the difficulty lies in the difference between the expectations of tenants and landlords.
How so?
Most people think that prices have dropped due to the economic situation and that they can get a better deal at a better price, but local landlords aren’t on the same page. Especially for the mid-range market, a lot of landlords prefer to wait for their dream client who is willing to pay the price they’re asking. From what I’ve seen, good apartments are still at the same price as they were two years ago. There are thousands of rentals available, but only a few which will be considered “the good ones” and there are lots of people looking at these (and some who are willing to pay a higher rental in order to get them).
So has the real estate market begun to recover?
For the sales part, yes it is starting to recover. For rentals, I don’t think “recover” is the proper word; I’d rather say it is getting better.

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