Chinese nationals became the largest foreign buyers of US homes last year representing over 27 percent of all international home sales in the U.S and according to a new study they pour billions into American real estate seeking safe offshore assets.
A huge surge in Chinese buying of both residential and commercial real estate last year took their five-year investment total to more than $110 billion, according to the study from the Asia Society and Rosen Consulting Group.
According to a post on Investors Business Daily, “The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has begun vetting transfers abroad worth $5 million or more and is stepping up scrutiny of major outbound deals, including those with prior approval”. “Previously, only forex transfers worth $50 million or more needed to be reported to SAFE. Now, the threshold has been drastically lowered to $5 million, and covers both foreign currency and yuan,” said one source.
Will these new currency controls slow down Chinese buying of New York Real Estate? There is a slowdown of buying presently however, as per the study it’s projected by the second half of this decade buying is likely to double to $218 billion. Click here for the Full report
