China has emerged as one of the fastest-growing sources of buyers for US real estate, in what some see as a sign that China’s rich are looking to take their money out of the country.
According to a report published by the National Association of Realtors this week, buyers from China and Hong Kong made up the second-largest group of foreign buyers of homes in the US in the 12 months to March – behind only Canadians – accounting for $9bn of sales. That is a 23 per cent increase on the $7.3bn of sales they notched up in the previous 12 months and an 88 per cent increase from $4.8bn of sales in 2010.
“International Chinese buyers are seen as a very desirable market by real estate agents at the moment,” said Jed Smith, managing director at the NAR. “The strongest growth is coming from China and the rise of Chinese buyers has made up for declines in sales from buyers from the UK and Mexico.”