In 2018, Chinese accounted for roughly 25% of foreign investment in the U.S. Residential real estate. In fact, Chinese investors have been the biggest buyers of U.S. residential properties for six consecutive years. But what will be the consequence of this trade tension between the U.S. and China, in the real estate sector?

Chinese invested big in U.S. residential real estate during 2018

ListGlobally's consumer traffic data has shown that in 2018, the Chinese consumers were the one's that displayed a higher interest for U.S. properties.

These purchase trends were confirmed and in 2018, as we can see on the National Association of Realtors Report, Chinese buyers spent $30.4 billion dollars on residential property in the U.S.

If we analyse the data in a more global level, residential and non-residential, we see that 284,000 properties were sold to foreign buyers last year, and the Chinese bought 40,400 properties. Overall, they represent 15% of all foreign transactions. We remind you that five years ago, the Chinese purchased only 23,075 homes, which means a growth of almost 50% on the number of properties sold.

Chinese residential real estate investment is highly concentrated on the Pacific Coast

Foreign buyers tend to spread their investments across the country. But the Chinese nationals concentrate their  residential real-estate investment on the Pacific Coast. Almost 40% of Chinese buyers have purchased in California. However they are also strong players in college towns, as they still prefer the American education for their kids, or in places like New York City, Florida and Texas.

Chinese buyers purchased more expensive homes

Chinese buyers purchased residential properties that were more expensive than properties purchased by other foreign buyers, however this is connected to the areas in the U.S. where they choose to buy. Even though they tend to buy properties in places that are more expensive, between 2017 and 2018, we see that the average purchase price decreased as buyers tend to search for affordable properties, as we can see on the graphic below.

 

According to NARS report, more than half Chinese, fifty-eight percent (58%), made an all-cash purchase. A majority of Chinese buyers purchased property in a suburban areas, and almost half of the purchases were for primary residential use. Note that Chinese nationals prefer the American education style for their children.

 

 

Sales results in 2019 are expected to be similar to the 2018 levels

The trade dispute between the U.S. and China is hot. Washington and Beijing imposed higher tariffs on imports and the negotiations between the two countries seems that is just getting started.

Buying property in the U.S. is becoming more expensive for Chinese buyers. On the other hand, in China there is a discussion about creating stricter rules to control the capital, especially when it comes to taking money out of the country to buy a property in America. 

Even though the political uncertainty, sales results in 2019 are expected to be similar to 2018.

ListGlobally provides you access to portals like Fang.com

ListGlobally is the world's largest network of property portals. We work with real estate agents to promote their listings worldwide. If Chinese buyers is a focus for you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us to discuss the topic and see how we can help you market your properties to Chinese buyers.

 

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