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Latest hot spot for Chinese property investors
Local brokerages are now rushing to forge connections with Beijing
It’s not just Manhattan and waterfront Brooklyn that are attracting China’s real estate-crazed nouveau riche. Greenwich, Conn. is currently seeing an influx of Chinese buyers, spurring local brokerages to expand their global outreach efforts.
Late last month, Sotheby’s International Realty announced that it has opened a new office in Beijing — its second office in the Chinese capital.
Sotheby’s spokeswoman Kristina Helb told Greenwichtime.com that the move was “a continued effort to appeal to foreign buyers,” and a push to “market Connecticut listings to wealthy Chinese buyers looking to purchase or invest overseas.”
And with the Chinese economy showing continuing growth — and as the U.S. dollar depreciates against the yuan – brokers said they don’t expect the flow of foreign investment to slow. However, dangers remain for those moving millions overseas.
“In Manhattan a couple years ago, there was a big marketplace, where people were buying homes there sight unseen to bring their money into the U.S.,” Sotheby’s Shelly Tretter said. “But it’s become so expensive in Manhattan that I think people are realizing the value of Greenwich, the proximity to Manhattan, and I think we’re starting to get not only more primary residences for people buying from Asia, but also investment properties and secondary residences in town.” [GreenwichTime] – Christopher Cameron