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Chinese splurged $28.6 billion on US real estate

Juwai Co-CEO Simon Henry to share insights on Chinese consumer purchasing at Inman Connect SF, 7 August @ 10:20am.

Chinese have surpassed Canadians to be the biggest group of international investors in the US – splurging US$28.6 billion on American property in 2014 alone.¹

Charting a 9% increase from the year before to overtake second-placed Canadians who merely spent US$11.2 billion on US real estate, Chinese buyers now make up 16% of total foreign investors in the US, purchasing 28% of total international sales by dollar volume.¹

Of equal significance is the fact that the average buying price of Chinese buyers is much higher at US$831,800 – making them by far the most extravagant group of international investors when compared to the average price of US$499,600 for other foreign buyers, and the average US house price of US$255,600.¹

Read more about how Chinese big spenders are taking on the world here!

Local vs. International Chinese buyers

That doesn’t mean they’re all buyers from China, though.

Of the Chinese buyers in the US, 49%, are already residents living there, while 43% are non-residents from outside of the US.¹  

Here on Juwai.com, we see Chinese buyers both from China and from the US looking at US properties. They’re not evenly divided across all 50 states either, but rather clustered in key regions and cities. California, New York, Hawaii, Texas and New Jersey are home to 64.8% of all Chinese Americans.⁴

Interestingly, Juwai.com search trends show that locations with the fastest-growing demand for mainland Chinese buyers are not actually the traditional Chinese-American population centres, even though these still have the largest share of buyer interest.

And as Chinese buyers from mainland China continue to seek out new locations, the potential opportunities for agents and brokers across the US expand.⁴

Intended use of US property

39% intend to use the property as their primary residence¹, which makes sense considering the US is the top immigration destination for Chinese HNWIs.²

76% of Chinese-American adults are foreign-born.⁵

Another 23%, however, buy with rental investment in mind¹ – an astute move with the US known to provide better rental ROI (Return on investment) over other countries, such as Australia, Canada, and the UK.³

Meanwhile, 7% buy a home in the US as a private accommodation for their children studying in the US¹, which can also double up as a vacation home.

Chinese buyers’ favourite US cities and states

In terms of the most popular state in the US, California is a clear favourite^{1, 2} – Juwai data shows that 36.2% of Chinese buyers are looking at the Golden State.⁴

New York and Florida take the second and third spots, whilst Washington and Texas make up the remaining top American states preferred by Chinese buyers.⁴

When it comes to top cities in the US though, three cities rank consistently at the top: New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.^{2, 4} Nevertheless, Juwai data reveals an enduring trend whereby Chinese buyers are increasingly seeking newer opportunities and locations all over the US.

Other cities trending with Chinese buyers in 2014 on Juwai.com include Seattle, Detroit, Orlando, Houston, Boston, Atlanta, San Diego, Irvine, San Jose, Honolulu, Las Vegas, and Chicago.⁴

Juwai’s Simon Henry on Chinese buyers @ Inman Connect SF

Don’t miss Simon Henry at Inman Connect SF! Hear Simon divulge the latest trends and research on Chinese buyers, purchasing demand, the impact on real estate industries worldwide, and how to capture some of this market.

Session: Connecting with Chinese Buyers: Going Beyond the Surface to Understand & Unlock the Opportunity

7 August 2015 (Friday) • 10:20am - 10:40am • Hilton Grand Ballroom, Hilton San Francisco Union Square

Full details here!

Sources: 1.  National Association of REALTORS (NAR) “2015 Profile of Home Buying Activity of International Clients” Report; 2. Hurun Report “Immigration and the Chinese HNWI 2014”; 3. The Economist; 4. Juwai “2015 Chinese-American Real Estate Report”; 5. Pew Social Trends Report, NBC News (25 August 2014)