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It’s not all about luxury: Chinese buyers now scooping up lower-priced homes
More middle-class buyers are making investments
While Chinese companies continue their retreat from commercial real estate in the U.S., it’s a different story when it comes to residential.
Chinese consumers have been the top foreign buyers in both units and dollar volume of residential housing for six years, CNBC reported, citing data from the National Association of Realtors. And now, more middle-class buyers are buying lower-priced homes and often financing them with mortgages. Previously wealthy buyers were snagging high-end properties in all cash.
“The Chinese people still see the United States as a safe harbor where they can take their assets and park their money not only for their money but also for the future of their children,” said San Francisco-based real estate agent Michi Olson.
The median price of a home sold to a Chinese buyer dropped from just under $530,000 in 2017 to $439,000 in 2018, according to the National Association of Realtors. California is still a top destination, but buyers are also heading to Texas, Georgia and Florida.
Many are following the path of technology jobs, which have become more spread out throughout the U.S. Chinese buyers headed to Long Island City, for example, after Amazon announced plans for a campus in the Queens neighborhood. [CNBC] — Meenal Vamburkar