The U.S. has become the number one destination for Chinese buyers. Check out the entire article we came across:

Why U.S. Is the No. 1 Destination for Chinese Buyers?

In Chinese culture, the New Year will be the Year of the Sheep, a favorite animal that symbolizes luck. Karen Yan, Executive Vice President of JinList.com, says that the Chinese character for “luck” () contains the character for “sheep” () .

The factors that attract Chinese to purchase U.S. real estate, according to Yan, include education, cultural diversity, free trade zone, in addition to constitutionally protected property rights. The recent U.S. policy changes in granting multiple entry visas also make it easier to students and businessmen to travel to the U.S. For these reasons, Yan predicts 2015 to be another record year for Chinese purchases of U.S. properties.

THE WORLD’S BEST EDUCATION

Education is a vital component to the Chinese culture; for many, it is the key to better opportunities and a brighter future. The U.S. is currently the number one destination for Chinese students because throughout the U.S. are some of the most prestigious upper education institutions in the world. For Chinese students, American universities provide freedom for them to choose their own majors such as English, political science, and other disciplines within the humanities. There are also universities renowned for their rigorous training in business and management.

International students are especially drawn to California, which enrolled more than 100,000 international students for the second year in a row, according to the 2013 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange report. New York came in second for hosting international students, followed by Texas, Massachusetts, and Illinois.

Yan comments, “In recent years, the U.S. has seen an influx in Chinese students. Last year, Chinese enrollment in American schools increased by 17%, totaling over 274,000 students”. Chinese students now account for 31% of all international students in the U.S. With the recent passage of a new law granting students with 5-year visas, the growth of these numbers will only continue to accelerate.

CULTURAL DIVERSITY

The U.S. is a cultural melting pot of numerous nationalities, languages, and religious affiliations. With the headquarters of the United Nations in New York City and foreign consulates all across the country, almost all of the 243 countries around the world are represented in the U.S.

In 2013, California accounted for 55% of all Chinese purchases of U.S. real estate and in 2014 that had dropped to 35%. Chinese buyers are expanding their search all over the country and now rank in the top 5 of foreign buyers in 46 states across the U.S. From food to music and museums, this melting pot of cultures is on display at over 17,500 museums and concert halls across the country.

THE WORLD’S FREE TRADE ZONE AND MARKETPLACE

The Chinese see the U.S. as a true free trade zone, according to Yan. The most visible financial centers such as The New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange make the U.S. the world’s leading financial center. Trillions of dollars in stocks and commodities are traded daily on these exchanges. World renowned brokerage firms have their headquarters in the U.S. Technology giants such as Apple, Google and Microsoft are also in the back of people’s minds when they make real estate investment decisions.

EB-5 LEGAL STATUS IN THE U.S.

The U.S. government provides a means of legal entry for people who can apply for an immigrant visa known as the EB-5. This EB5 visa offers permanent residency in return for investments in specific areas of economy. One has to invest $500,000 in certain areas of the United States where unemployment rate is 150% of the national average. The invested money by an EB-5 visa applicant should be able to create 10 full time jobs for U.S. residents. Each year, up to 10,000 EB-5 visas are allocated. If the investment is not for any targeted location, you have to invest at least $1 million and they must take an active role in that business (though they don’t need to control it). 2014 was the first year in the U.S. history that all 10,000 EB-5 visas were allocated, with over 85% going to Chinese nationals, as seen in the table below.

STUDENT AND BUSINESS VISAS

In November 2014, the U.S. announced its new visa policy that lets students apply for five year multiple entry visas whereas business travelers and tourists can apply for ten year multiple entry visas. These changes will make it easier for Chinese to visit and invest in the U.S. In 2013, about $21.1 billion was spent in the U.S. by 1.8 million Chinese tourists. The number of visitors is expected to jump 21% for 2014, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The new visa policy could mean as many as 7.5 million Chinese visitors by 2021, bringing an estimated $85 billion to the U.S. economy, a White House statement said.

In addition, Chinese buyers tend to combine travel with property hunting and usually buy properties in places they visit. Chinese parents will purchase a home for children studying abroad, and this five year visa will only encourage and accelerate those purchases. Chinese investors who are currently undecided about purchasing U.S. properties should find these new changes encouraging. All of these factors point to another record year for Chinese purchases of U.S. real estate.

In the U.S., real estate investors can find and purchase large tracts of land with fresh air and clean water, blue skies, and amazing views all across the country. Constitutionally protected property rights enable owners of these properties to pass them along to their children.

In the U.S., real estate investors can find and purchase large tracts of land with fresh air and clean water, blue skies and amazing views all across the country. Properties and land of all sizes are available for buyers, who can pass along to their children.

Read entire article at this link: http://list.jinlist.com/mail/12262014/

The Lawhead Team recently came across an interesting article from the San Diego Daily Transcript about Chinese buyers being attracted to homes in California. Here is what it said:

Chinese investors seek California homes.

By DEAN CALBREATH, The Daily Transcript — Thursday, June 19, 2014

With China’s real estate bubble showing signs of bursting, a growing number of wealthy Chinese are targeting California as a place to buy homes and businesses, according to a report released Thursday by the UCLA Anderson Forecast.

Last year, Chinese individuals and enterprises invested $12.5 billion in the United States, including $2.2 billion in real estate, with California being the “preferred investment location,” wrote William Yu, a Taiwan-born economist at UCLA.

“We have seen many smart Chinese investors bring in cash to buy properties in Los Angeles over the past two years…,” Yu said. “For Chinese investors, West Coast cities (including) Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle are ideal locations because of their geographic advantage, for example, direct flights, mild weather and large Asian communities.”

Yu’s charts also suggested that San Diego could be an attractive target because of its relatively low multifamily housing vacancy rates, which “might predict higher growth for rents in the future.”

The reason for the recent influx of Chinese investments — which totaled just $3.5 billion two years ago, including $900 million in real estate — is that China currently has a real estate bubble that rivals Japan in 1990 and the U.S. in 2007.

Its ratio between home prices and income levels is three times wider than in the U.S., resulting in growing vacancy rates.

Because of Chinese prices are still at bubble levels, it’s far cheaper to buy property in California than in a Chinese urban center such as Shanghai. And because California has a higher median income than Chinese cities, it’s easier to charge high rents on the property.

As an example, Yu cited a 1,248-square-foot condominium that sold for $995,184 in Shanghai in March, or $797 per square foot. Yet a 2,116-square-foot condominium sold in Los Angeles for $800,000, or $392 per square foot. In other words, the L.A. flat was 41 percent bigger but 19 percent cheaper.

Because Los Angeles has a higher median income, it would be possible for the buyer of the condominium to rent it out at $3,000 per month, more than twice as high as the $1,400 monthly rent it would bring in China.

Click here to read the rest of the article from the San Diego Daily Transcript “Chinese investors seek California homes.”