Chinese rich buying properties overseas
In addition to the US, wealthy Chinese also tried to purchase houses around the world. Not only International cities such as Vancouver and Toronto, where Chinese migrants have aggregated, were Chinese rich's first choices, they also would like to invest in properties in international cities such as London, Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, and San Francisco. More and more overseas developers have realized the rise of China's purchasing power and begun marketing campaigns in the country.
Colliers International, a global commercial real estate service organization, told Caixin Century that it sold 790 houses to Asian customers in 2010, among which 5% were from China. But this number has quickly risen to 10% in the first six months of 2011.
In the past six month, Colliers International has sold more than 50 houses to its Chinese customers. The value of the deals was about 130 million yuan. Most Chinese buyers were private businessmen from Shanghai, Ningbo, Wenzhou, and Hangzhou, but the number of buyers from Beijing and Tianjin is increasing, according to the report.
Colliers International summarized the three top reasons why Chinese buy houses abroad: migration, studying, and investments. Although migrants and overseas students were still the main buyers of housing, more and more Chinese people are buying houses abroad for investment purposes. It has become an emerging investment trend in the country, as buyers expect an appreciation of value in their overseas homes. About one third of Chinese buyers purchased houses abroad for that purpose according to CB Richard Ellis Group, a multinational real estate corporation based in Los Angeles. Some investors believe that buying houses overseas is not only a good way to fight against inflation, but also make their personal asset portfolio more stable.
