Soho China CEO Zhang Xin refuses to join the bandwagon of Chinese investors buying real estate abroad.
Zhang, chief executive officer of Chinese real estate developer Soho China Limited, has an advice for people who are looking at overseas real estate: "I'd be holding cash now because if you look around, outside of China, assets are just so expensive because of all the rounds and rounds of QE," she said on Monday during the opening of her company's new office building in Shanghai.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the United States and the European Union have taken steps in quantitative easing to help their respective economies. This includes programs for bond-buying that many experts say resulted in market overflow of cheap capital and inflated prices of assets. Zhang is a well-respected tycoon in China who made the headlines when she bought shares in New York's General Motors Building in 2013.
In the same report by The Wall Street Journal, Zhang was asked if she would be making the same investment today and she answered, "I wouldn't be making that investment today, full stop. It's so much more expensive today than in 2010."
Her reaction was sought in light of the recent trend where Chinese families and companies are spending their money on real estate investments overseas, which many believe is a reaction caused by the economic slowdown of China in recent years.
Meanwhile, in a report by Forbes, Zhang was interviewed about the weakening of China's stock market and she reportedly said that indeed the market is slowing down. She also pointed out that the most affected area is real estate. She attributed the slowing down to the quick and massive urbanization efforts of China in the last 20 years which meant there are very few undeveloped spots in major cities.
"Today when you go around Beijing and Shanghai, there aren't many plots of land still available. You don't see as many cranes. It's a very clear sign that it's a slowdown. The numbers support what you see. The numbers are also slowing down," Zhang said.
