Alain Pinel Realtors Launches WeChat Micro-site for Chinese Real Estate Buyers

APR is the first U.S. real estate firm to launch a micro-site on China's WeChat.

SARATOGA, CALIF. (NOVEMBER 15, 2017) - Alain Pinel Realtors (APR), the Bay Area's largest residential real estate firm, announced today a partnership with Chinese luxury real estate marketing agency, Caimeiju, making the brokerage the first U.S. real estate firm to launch a micro-site on China's WeChat.

With more than 963 million monthly active Chinese users, WeChat is well positioned to assist Chinese buyers interested in buying real estate around the globe. Known as China's "app for everything," WeChat offers everything from free video calls and instant group chats to news updates, shopping, bill payments and easy sharing of large multimedia files.

According to The National Association of Realtors, Chinese buyers purchased $31.7 billion worth of U.S. property between March of 2016 and 2017.

In 2014 APR began promoting its brand and luxury real estate listings in China on Caimeiju.com/apr. Since then APR has embraced the China market, including sending multiple delegations to showcase Bay Area real estate at luxury property events in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

APR's decision to launch a WeChat micro-site with Caimeiju is in response to the increased social and online behavior of Chinese citizens.

"Chinese buyers tend to do a lot more research than other consumers. Brand recognition is vital," said Michi Olson, vice president of Global Business Development and Relocation at APR. "Many of our agents already use WeChat to communicate with their Chinese clients on a personal level and can now do so easily at a brokerage level."

Olson says she plans to make WeChat a feature of her meetings and discussions at LPS Shanghai 2017 in December, when she and her APR delegation will be in China.

The new WeChat micro-site provides a central digital location on WeChat for sharing APR's company information, Bay Area market data, translated exclusive property listings from Caimeiju, and even a Chinese language Bay Area MLS search.

"Because of stricter capital outflow restrictions, buyers who can invest in overseas luxury properties tend to be more more sophisticated about their options; they focus on quality over quantity," said Jeff Toth, founder of Caimeiju. "APR has been an innovator in this space and innovating on WeChat is an extension to make sharing information in China even easier."

Caimeiju was founded in 2009 to provide luxury marketing solutions to high-end brokers, Realtors and developers selling to China's elite.

About Alain Pinel Realtors®

Alain Pinel Realtors (APR) is the largest privately owned residential real estate company in Northern California and is consistently ranked among the top 10 largest residential real estate firms in the United States based on closed-sales volume. The firm has 1,400 agents in more than 30 offices throughout Northern California. APR was founded in 1990 by Chairman and CEO Paul L. Hulme, and is based in Saratoga, Calif. Visit us at apr.com and china.apr.com.