NEW YORK—With China’s economy slowing and its stock market behaving like a roller coaster, more Chinese investors are looking into safe investments, like the U.S. real estate market.
New York in particular has become a favorite place for Chinese investors to stash their cash.
“We are at the beginning of a very exciting period in our relationship between Chinese buyers, real estate agents, and developers in New York City,” said Shaun Osher, CEO of CORE, Manhattan’s leading real estate broker.
Chinese homebuyers in the past had chosen urban West Coast areas, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle, because of a strong Hong Kong ex-pat population. Now they are moving to the East Coast and Texas, according to the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA).
“There has been a long romance between New York real estate and Asian buyers, particularly Chinese,” said Louise Phillips Forbes, broker at Halstead Property.
“New York is a safe haven. There is an opportunity to expand your wealth here. You can look at all the trends historically from September 11 to the financial recession. Investors know, over time, we have sustained their assets and the values have continued to expand,” said Forbes at a Nov.2 AREAA conference.
In Manhattan, the median price for houses rose 6.3 percent from last year to $982,958 in September 2015, according to StreetEasy. And in Brooklyn the median price for houses climbed 9 percent from last year to $545,139.
“The numbers are staggering,” said Nikki Field, broker and global adviser at Sotheby’s. “New York is a luxury brand. People started hearing and learning that there were great opportunities here, particularly for wealth preservation. You sell your property when you want and at the price you want.”
Chinese investors bought $28.6 billion in American residences last year, according to National Association of Realtors (NAR). They are No. 1, accounting for 28 percent of all foreign purchases.
The homes they acquired tended to be on the luxury side; the average house in the United States sold for $255,600, but Chinese buyers spent on average $831,800 for their American homes.
Although Chinese enjoy high returns in the New York real estate market, they are long-term buyers and prefer to keep their properties, said Field.
Most Asian buyers choose new developments, especially condominiums in New York City. “They tend to gravitate toward buildings that have a proper amount of light and air,” said Gordon Hoppe, executive vice president of Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group.
