Trump childhood home sold to Chinese buyer?

A five-bedroom Tudor-style house in a Queens neighborhood in New York City that US President Donald Trump lived in briefly as a child was sold to someone from China for a price that is more than double that of other houses in the area, according to media reports.

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that the buyer "is a woman from China" and said the purchase price of $2.14 million came in an auction by Paramount Realty USA. The house was built by Trump's father, Fred, in 1940 and the president lived there until he was about 4 years old. The family then moved to another house Fred Trump built nearby.

"This property is so much more than just real estate; it's the childhood home of the 45th President of the United States, and it's a part of history," Misha Haghani of Paramount Realty USA, told ABC News.

"I did have some expectation that the purchaser would be a huge Trump supporter from within America," Haghani told the Times. He declined to reveal the identity of the buyer. "But it is entirely possible that the purchaser is a huge Trump supporter from outside of America," he said.

Cathy Han, a New York real estate agent specializing in marketing properties to Chinese buyers, told the newspaper that she was not surprised that a Chinese buyer may have purchased the house.

"When I saw it was Trump's birth house property for sale, I knew immediately it would get a lot of attention from Chinese buyers," said Han. "I know he is a controversial figure in the States, but among Chinese people, Trump is a very popular kind of character in China."

The house was first offered for auction last fall but it was canceled. City records show an investor, Michael Davis, ultimately bought the home for nearly $1.4 million in December.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 04/03/2017 page2)