Investing in New York City’s trophy properties is still a very safe bet, said The Real Deal publisher Amir Korangy in an interview with CCTV, the top state television broadcaster in mainland China.
Chinese investment companies are buying up trophy assets in places like New York and London, such as the Waldorf Astoria — Anbang bought the hotel for nearly $2 billion and plans to add condos to the building. Chinese investors have pumped roughly $700 million in Hudson Yards, which is the largest development in the U.S. to date, according to Korangy.
“The end goal is to have your money parked in a nice place,” Korangy said. “Chinese are long-term buyers. They’re not necessarily looking for immediate yield.”
New York is still a relative bargain compared to other world capitals, Korangy said. “New York City real estate continues to go up,” he said, and noted. When asked about whether the Chinese buying spree mirrored what the Japanese did in the 1990s (buying up trophy assets like the Rockefeller Center), Korangy said there was one big difference. “They had debt,” he said of the Japanese buyers. “Chinese buyers don’t have debt. They’re buying these places in cash.” [CCTV America] — Claire Moses