No doubt, the real estate market in China is growing, as Guy Hollis of Jones Lang LaSalle revealed in Investment in China: the Issues and Opportunities. In fact, he reported real estate investment generally grew from $38 billion in 1995 to $150 billion in 2004.

But, as Henry Cheng of Chongbang Development stated, pitfalls arise as you zero in on specific regions, such as Shanghai, which he characterized as a "young and immature market, and fatal mistakes" are easy to come by. Outside investors who fail to focus on a specific region and a specific property type and who believe they can escape with less than a five-year commitment are headed for a fall, he promised.

Richard Price of ING Clarion, agreed. "The challenge is perseverance," he said, frankly admitting that "we haven't been able to get the returns that others have in stabilized high-quality office or retail."

Xingjian TU of Invest Beijing, put it most succinctly: "Foreign investors don't know China or Beijing."

In all, Asia is recovering strongly from its financial crises of the late 1990s, and individual real estate firms are growing along with it. But the possibility that the recovery may have peaked is a real one, according to Nigel J. Cornick, CEO of multifamily development firm Raimon Land of Bangkok. Raimon Land, along with most other Asian real estate firms, was fished from the brink of bankruptcy by a government bailout in the late '90s and is still growing its portfolio. In an exclusive interview, Cornick told GlobeSt.com that the firm built virtually no new units in 2002. That grew to 220 units in '03 and 350 units in '04. By the end of 2005, Raimon Land will be looking at nearly 450 units.

While not its core business, the firm does have projects up or planned in resort areas. Cornick revealed that the recent Tsunami actually had little impact on the infrastructure of those resort communities, but he did indicate that a longer impact is sure to come from the hit tourism took as a result, especially in a recovery that may have peaked last year.

"The years 2003 and 2004 were the peak," he stated, adding that the property sector has experienced some overheating. Where the economy--and the real estate sector--goes as a result clearly remains to be seen.