“By far and away the Chinese are the fastest growing demographic. They are the top consumer for real estate, and New York is front and center,” said Dean Jones, a US based broker with Sotheby’s International.
The Chinese have become the biggest foreign buyers of apartments in Manhattan, according to estimates by real estate brokers. The Russians who used to be the biggest buyers have dropped off since the unrest in Ukraine and US/EU sanctions were imposed.
Wealthy Chinese are snapping up expensive properties in New York, as well as in London and Sydney, as they look for safe investments for their cash and bases for their kids to get a Western education, Reuters reports.
High on the list for Chinese buyers is to be close to fist rate educational intuitions. According to the Hurun Report, a Shanghai-based publication, more than 80 percent of rich Chinese want to send their children to overseas schools and universities.
The Chinese were top of the list according to both volume and value of sales, although opinions differed on whether the Russians, Europeans or South Americans were next.
The Chinese are flocking to the US market because after the housing crash of 2007-2010, property prices fell and are still relatively low in comparison to other parts of the world.
Luxury apartments in Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai sell for between $4,100 and $5,000 per square foot, while in Manhattan as well as Sydney they go for $2,100 to about $2,500; London comes in at between $3,300 and $4,100.
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