OREANDA-NEWS. April 11, 2011. The organisers of the only real estate exhibition in Kazakhstan, KazRealty, attracted seven countries to participate in the event: Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Spain, Bulgaria, and, for the first time, Thailand.

The event was held in Almaty at the Atakent Exhibition Centre, alongside the construction events KazBuild Spring and WinTecExpo Kazakhstan. 4500 visitors were registered.

Of the newcomers to the exhibition, it is worth noting the company Apple Town JV (Kazakhstan-South Korea), which presented the Kazakhstan Almaty Woolim Apple Town Project residential complex. Residential and commercial real estate in Astana was presented by Rixos Residence JV (-Turkey).

“Just before you came, there was a man who bought apartments in our new building on the Left Bank in Astana – residences located close to the Khan Shatyr retail and entertainment centre. We offered several options - apartments from 82 to 169m2 - and the client chose the most suitable plan for him,” said Ruslan Sultanov, Sales and Marketing Manager for RIXOS Khan Shatyr Residences & Business Centre. “We are participating in Iteca’s exhibitions for the second time, and I should note the continued high performance and, of course, professional level of organisation of the event.”

“We are here for the first time in Kazakhstan, and believe that, judging from the exhibition, the interest in real estate in Bulgaria is quite high. While it is too early to talk about the event’s impact, during the three days we met and got acquainted with interesting people. I hope they all become our customers,” said Dimitar Georgiev, Manager of Dinevi Resort (Bulgaria).

KazRealty combines a successful exhibition and extensive business programme. In the list of special events within the exhibition, among of the most important annual events are the roundtables featuring the participation of realtors, government agencies and the press. This year was no exception. The first and second days of the exhibition included seminars and roundtables, including: the presentation of real estate in Bulgaria by Dream Home; the presentation of the multifunctional residential complex Apple Town; two roundtables by AN Absolyut on “The primary real estate market: Today and tomorrow” and “Mortgage lending after the crisis”; a roundtable by Almaty City Administration on “The prospects for the further development of Almaty”; a roundtable by Samruk Kazyna Real Estate Fund on “The prospects and mechanisms for the development of rented housing, and projected trends in the rented housing market”. The United Association of Realtors of Kazakhstan held two roundtables – “Kazakhstan’s real estate market: Status, prospects and trends" and “Trends and prospects of development of the commercial real estate market after the crisis”. The discussion brought together representatives of government agencies, commercial banks, real estate experts and realtors. Realtors who work with elite new buildings said that developers are divided into several groups: some have begun to design and build economy class residential complexes, including orders from government programmes; others are urgently replanning their elite new buildings to smaller areas and setting a price ceiling of USD 150-200,000; and still others, strange as it may seem, are building even more expensive elite housing. They adhere to the principle: you don’t buy a home, you buy a lifestyle.