Chinese people spent $13b buying house in US

Over the past three years, Chinese investors have been pouring money into the most high profile real estate development projects in the USA, and up till now this year, Chinese investors have invested as much as $13 billion in real estate markets. Cities with ongoing or prospective projects by Chinese investors include New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal published on September 1, 2016.

In conditions of low confidence in Chinese real estate markets, Chinese companies are seeking developments overseas. Greenland Group is the largest Chinese real estate developer in USA, and has invested $1 billion in a project in the Los Angeles Metropolis. The group also holds 70% equity in an apartment project worth $6 billion in Brooklyn, New York. Since Greenland Group made its initial investment in 2014, they have already had three buildings under construction in Brooklyn. More buildings are planned to go under construction in the future.

Buying houses is also an essential part of investment in the USA. In the first quarter of 2016, Chinese citizens were the largest overseas buyers of houses in the USA. According to an investigation by the National Association of Realtors in the USA, this is the second year in a row for that trend. From April, 2015 to March, 2016, Chinese buyers purchased 29,195 houses in total, in the United States worth a total of $27 billion.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist from the National Association of Realtors, states that the Chinese people have very strong purchasing power with about 71% of them paying huge sums of money in cash. To some extent, this is due to the fact that they lack efficient mortgage and financing channels. It is also because the Chinese traditionally tend to save money before spending it.