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Agent of the Month: Pierre & Vacances

Back in the late 1960s, Gérard Brémond created Europe’s first environmentally-friendly resort in France, and so began the 50-year-old history of Pierre & Vacances - Center Parcs (PVCP). Its business model is based on a combination of tourism real estate development, sales and management, and its goal is to become the top European brand in the sector.

Currently, the company manages 45,000 apartments and villas around the world, and has more than 23,000 owners. Two years ago, PVCP Group established PVCP China Real Estate Brokerage Company (also known as Puwei Property), a fully-owned subsidiary, to focus on buyers and investors in China and throughout Asia. Guillaume Hubert de Fraisse (pictured) is now the CEO of Puwei Property, and his purpose is to develop the group throughout the region.

Reaching Chinese buyers.

In 2016, the company established Puwei Property in Shanghai. Last year the company opened offices in Beijing and Guangzhou. In just over two years, it has been recognised by Chinese property investors, and has won many important and influential awards.

Current buying trends.

Puwei Property provides real estate projects at different prices and in and different locations to meet the needs of Asian investors. The choices are very diverse.  New investment destinations also broaden choices for Chinese investors, and diversify the allocation of their global assets. Overseas education, lifestyle and retirement are major motivators for Chinese investors, and that’s why PVCP Group's European tourism real estate projects have attracted attention in Asia.

Why France?

France has always been the one of world's largest tourist destinations. With the expertise and the success of his business model, the Group PVCP builds properties in exceptional places like Deauville, the French Riviera and, recently, Meribel.

“This makes it a compelling location for tourism properties - including holiday properties and serviced apartments that can have longer-term and more stable income guarantees compared with traditional real estate.“

The French government is very supportive of tourism real estate, and introduced preferential policies. One example is the purchase of new tourism real estate projects with leases are VAT-free. French VAT is 20% of the value of the property, so buying with a 20% discount is an advantage that traditional real estate simply does not offer.

Most-asked questions.

Many Chinese investors ask what is tourism real estate? What are the differences and advantages between tourism real estate and regular real estate? Tourism real estate is important in a mature real estate market. When real estate investors have a primary residence, they will look for other real estate needs, whether investment, vacation, or retirement. They are the key words of tourism real estate investments.  Many ask if our projects are freehold? In France, both self-occupied and tourist real estate enjoy permanent property rights and can be inherited by children.

Advice for working with Asian buyers.

We have found that Asian investors are very cautious about investing in overseas properties and often consult in detail about key information such as return on investment, local purchase tax policies, and maintenance costs.

”We always insist on giving customers true and objective data and answers during promotion and post-sales, instead of using fictional figures to attract investors' attention.”

Because we believe in the value of our brand, winning the trust of investors through our products and services is at the core of our business. Our aim is to develop in the long-term in China, with long-term integrity to accompany our customers through their overseas asset allocation process.

Working with Juwai.

Juwai was the first platform we chose when we started to explore the Chinese market. Before that, we mainly expanded the Chinese market through different channels. Juwai has helped us to directly connect with Chinese buyers and develop direct sales.

“As the leading platform for overseas real estate investment, Juwai has provided us with a large number of high-quality users, who are highly concerned about overseas real estate investment.”

This, in turn, has enhanced the popularity of our brand within the industry and has enabled more investors to have an in-depth knowledge of our brands, products and services.

Keys to success.

The French tourism real estate project offered by Puwei Property, as a one-stop overseas real estate investment service from sales to management to resale, is currently very rare in the international real estate market. Our group has provided high-quality overseas real estate investment projects to Asian investors, and also comprehensive after-sales service, including: long-term lease-back contract with zero property fee and zero management fee. The rent income is stable and guaranteed without the risk of vacancies. Our owners can also enjoy the group's annual holiday discounts for more than 300 resorts in Europe.  Also, owners can choose to have a holiday exchange plan within over 200 resorts of PVCP Group. More importantly, we help Asian investors establish contacts with international banks to apply for mortgages with very low interest rates. The next step for the company is to open several properties in China using the same business models as in Europe.

The Juwai platform provides a variety of presentation and promotion channels for our brands and projects, allowing Asian investors to understand the investment philosophy and advantages of the PVCP Group to establish a bridge between brands and customers.

“In the future I hope we can work with Juwai and build on existing foundations to provide more interaction between our brands and consumers.”

This could include co-branding events, some face-to-face meetings with investors, so that more core users can understand France and understand tourism real estate and Puwei Property.