Chinese Buyers Flood US Market, Prefer Luxury Sector

The threat of a real estate bubble in China has prompted many to look for safer investment havens outside their country. And the U.S. seems to be the preferred choice, going by an increase in the number of Chinese citizens snapping luxury homes in the U.S.

According to the National Association of Realtors, international buyers from Canada, China, Mexico, India, and the United Kingdom account for 55 percent of all international transaction, with the neighboring Canada and distant China being the fastest growing.

Buyers from mainland China and Hong Kong prefer luxury homes in cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and Manhattan. Expensive hotels and commercial buildings in Manhattan are also considered good investment avenues by the Chinese.

For buyers from China, luxury seems to be the buzzword. In Silicon Valley, where the demand for luxury homes is at its peak, the Chinese account for the largest number of buyers.

“The Chinese buyers are telling me that this is a safe place to put their money and a good place for their kids, given the quality of the schools,” Robert Gerlach of Alain Pinel’s Palo Alto office told CNBC. 

"For China, the world is an emerging opportunity," Andrew Taylor, founder of Juwai.com, a real estate site based in Hong Kong that was launched in 2011 to match Chinese buyers with U.S. real estate, told USA Today. "We're talking about a huge chunk of people with cash and the desire" to invest in overseas real estate.

In an attempt to familiarize Chinese buyers with the U.S. real estate market, YUE magazine is conducting a real estate summit on Oct. 2 and Oct. 3 at Le Parker Meridien. The two-day summit will bring together top real estate investors from China and New York’s real estate power players to discuss New York market trends and to explore investment opportunities.

“Overseas property investments is a top priority for a vast majority of China’s rich and New York is one of the top places to invest in among all the U.S. cities,” said Chiu-Ti Jansen, Publisher of YUE magazine. “This real estate summit creates a platform for targeted Chinese buyers to meet with New York real estate elites and to get an in-depth understanding of the residential and commercial real estate markets in New York. This is a must-attend event for both Chinese investors and New York real estate players.”