According to CNBC, in a data released by CBRE, it shows that the Chinese investors have invested $8.6 billion in U.S. commercial real estate properties in 2015. The figure does not count real estate development that Chinese investors have also heavily invested in. Moreover, China is recognized to be second in terms of real estate investments next to Canadians. But the rate in which they invest has quadrupled in just one year.
There is a growing concern if their presence in the U.S. real estate environment could hurt the U.S. market in the long run. In this regards, CNBC quotes Spencer Levy, CBRE's head of research for the Americas, "Volatility from China is the new normal, and the sooner we get used to it the better. At the same time, a certain amount of volatility isn't all a bad thing as global instability often leads to more foreign capital flows to the safe havens, notably London and the U.S."
Professor Sam Chandan, at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania already shared his thoughts on Chinese investment in the U.S. Chandan said, "The current volatility in China has underscored for Chinese investors the importance of diversifying their investments into the U.S. and elsewhere. It does, however, raise the possibility of a policy intervention on behalf of the Chinese government that will limit capital outflow and roll back some of the liberalization at least temporarily."
It is also worth noting that Chinese investors are putting the money into any sector. Housing, commercial or industrial they are involved. In 2015, the news that Chinese investors have purchased big ticket properties like Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City made waves. The same is true with the purchase of Standard Oil Building in San Francisco by a Chinese investor but according to CBRE data, most of their investments were concentrated on the warehouse sector.
