Chinese investors flexing cash in Queens market

A new breed of buyers has accounted for up to half the deals in some condo projects

A rendering of One Fulton Square at 39-16 Prince Street
A rendering of One Fulton Square at 39-16 Prince Street

A new breed of Chinese investors is making big bets on real estate in Queens, the New York Times reported.

The pool of Chinese investors has expanded from high-net-worth individuals with an eye for trophy Manhattan properties to upper-middle-class buyers more willing to diversify their bets, Bill Seto, a veteran residential broker in Flushing, told the Times.

“These new buyers have just come into wealth,” Seto said, “and they also want to invest it in New York.”

Indeed, buyers from mainland China can now account for as many as half of the buyers at new condominium buildings in “Falasheng,” (as the area is known in Mandarin) according to the Times. Ten of the 21 condo units sold at F&T Group’s One Fulton Square, for example, have gone to Chinese buyers, Seto – who is marketing the project – said.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

Similarly, about 135 of the 410 units sold at Onex Real Estate Partners’ Sky View Parc in Flushing have gone to Chinese buyers, Helen Lee, an executive at Onex, told the Times.

This new breed of Chinese buyer looks at the properties as investments and often lines up a tenant before closing a purchase, Lee told the newspaper.

“This Is No Longer About Going After Some Fifth Avenue apartment for prestige and status,” Lee said. [NYT]  – Hiten Samtani