Colin Bogar | The Future of China's Real Estate Sector

In this episode, we are talking to Colin Bogar, CEO and Head of Product Development, Property Passbook, in the second week of our two week deep dive into China’s fascinating housing market. Colin spent 3 years at Colliers in Shanghai and we talk about his time there during the financial crisis of ’08 and ’09 and ask his opinion on why China’s housing market slowed starting in 2011. We ask him about how the market has changed in the last 5 years, key trends he’s seeing, and where he believes the market is going. We also dive into his own company that he started several years ago, Property Passbook, and whether the pandemic has impacted his business and how. Enjoy!

Show Notes

Topics Discussed and Key Points:

●      Commercial and residential real estate trends in China from 2008 to 2011

●      How real estate investors tend to operate in the China market

●      Where the real estate industry is going in the next ten years

●      Why China’s economic future may mirror that of Japan’s

●      China in the new normal

●      Property Passbook’s mission

●      Running a global business based in Shanghai

●      How COVID-19 has changed real estate planning in China

 

Episode Summary:

Today on The Negotiation, we speak with Colin Bogar, CEO and Head of Product Development at Property Passbook. His 12-year journey in China also saw him as Chairman on the Board of Advisors for The Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, an Associate Professor at Shanghai Jiaotong University, the Managing Director of MGI Pacific, and Head of Research at Colliers International.

Colin discusses his observations on both the commercial and residential real estate markets in China over his decade-long career. With regards to urbanization today, he touches on how bigger cities tend to have a much greater influx of new residents looking for opportunity as opposed to the country. Anecdotally, the first-tier cities of Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen have seen the most growth during Colin’s time. Second Tier cities and below are not expected to see growth anywhere near the same pace as populations and wages stagnate.

Listen in as Colin goes on to share how COVID-19 affected the real estate market both financially and around health and sanitation, projected reductions in investments toward office spaces in a post-COVID world, the aim of his startup Property Passbook, the advantages of doing business as an expat in the melting pot that is Shanghai, and whether or not megacities are soon going to be a thing of the past.

 

Key Quotes:

“Real estate developers in China today are less concerned with green as much as they are with health.”

 

“People in Western countries tend to want to be green and do the right things to fight global warming, but sometimes their solutions are not the most practical.”

 

“By doing business in Shanghai, you have a pulse on the direction in which the world is going.”

 

“COVID-19 and tensions with the U.S. aside, it’s hard not to be extremely optimistic about China’s economic future.”

 

“Soon, travel to China is going to bounce back in a bigger way than most people would imagine.”

What is The Negotiation?

Despite being the world’s most potent economic area, Asia can be one of the most challenging regions to navigate and manage well for foreign brands. However, plenty of positive stories exist and more are emerging every day as brands start to see success in engaging and deploying appropriate market growth strategies – with the help of specialists.

The Negotiation is an interview show that showcases those hard-to-find success stories and chats with the incredible leaders behind them, teasing out the nuances and digging into the details that can make market growth in APAC a winning proposition.