Vancouver real estate sales and marketing company TheKey.com is taking a leaf out of Donald Trump's book in its latest initiative to market Canadian property in Hong Kong and the mainland. The idea is to launch projects simultaneously on two continents, giving buyers on both sides of the Pacific first crack at the prime opportunities.
It might not sound like such a big deal, but surprisingly - according to Cam Good, president of TheKey.com - it hasn't been done in Asia before. He explains that the concept puts an end to local buyers cherry-picking a developer's offering, so that only what's left is offered to overseas investors.
Good has been brewing the idea since November 2006, after the Trump International Hotel & Tower Waikiki Beach Walk, launched simultaneously in two countries, and set a record for the amount of residential property sold in one development on a single day.
Buyers in Hawaii and Tokyo snapped up more than US$700 million worth of the 38-storey residential tower in what was reported as the biggest one-day sale in real estate history.
The recent stream of Hong Kong and mainland investment in Canada convinced Good to act. He chose one building for the pilot - developer Onni's prestigious Central condominium project in Vancouver - and set a date in June for invitation-only launch events in both countries.
TheKey.com was so convinced it would work in Hong Kong the company opened an office here. 'We have a virtual presentation centre that allows buyers access to the same homes as locals in Vancouver. This gives us the capability to update inventory in real time and makes the whole thing work easily,' Good says.
