The Chinese are not slowing down in their quest for trophy properties across the globe. Investment in foreign property by the Chinese increased by more than half last year, setting a new record.
Chinese overseas investment in residential, commercial and industrial property reached $33 billion in 2016, according to JLL data cited by the Financial Times. That’s up 53 percent from 2015.
The U.S. received the bulk of those investments, totaling $14.3 billion, followed by Hong Kong, Malaysia and Australia.
“We believe that Chinese investors will continue to be major movers of capital into global real estate for many years. But a similar increase in 2017 may be challenging given the recent discussion about China monitoring its capital outflows,” David Green-Morgan, research director for JLL in Singapore, told FT. “Many of the biggest players already have a significant amount of capital outside the country, so their investment decisions are not so reliant on Chinese governmental scrutiny.” [FT] —Christopher Cameron