China Bought $22 Billion Worth Of US Homes Over A Recent 12-Month Span

[xchrom]

http://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-all-cash-buyers-in-us-housing-2014-7

China became the largest international buyer of U.S. homes (in dollar value) last year, according to a report from NAR, taking over from Canada. In terms of volume of transactions, Canadians still represented the largest foreign buyers.

Over the 12 months ended March 2014, Chinese buyers bought about $22 billion worth of properties in the U.S., accounting for about 25% of total international sales.

What's more, 76% of sales were all-cash purchases, while 24% required mortgage financing. But what exactly were Chinese buyers looking for and where were they looking?

California, Washington, and New York were the biggest markets for Chinese buyers. The median price of homes they purchases was $523,148.





Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-all-cash-buyers-in-us-housing-2014-7#ixzz37WbkgSlo

[delrem]

1. Cool. What goes around, comes around.

It's just circulation of capital, my friends.

[xchrom]

2. huh? nt

[jakeXT]

3. They have no interest in an arab spring created by inflation

Finally, "why"?

Well, from the individual's standpoint taking money away from China's corrupt system and "investing" it in the US housing market certainly seems like far more safe proposition.

But why would the PBOC agree to quietly bless this activity which it has, at least openly, blasted vocally in the past?

Simple - to keep inflation in check.

Recall that China is a country which creates nearly $4 trillion in bank deposits every year. Also recall that back in 2011 China nearly chocked when inflation briefly soared out of control, leading to sporadic "Arab Spring" type riots in various cities. And since China simply can not reduce the pace of its loan creation at the macro level without crushing the economy, what it needs is to find outlets - legal or otherwise - that permit the outflow of funds.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-07-10/did-china-just-crush-us-housing-market

[littlemissmartypants]

4. Kicking. Thank you. nt

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

5. I remember in the 1980s when Japan was buying up a lot of real estate in the U.S.

and some Americans were up in arms when they acquired iconic things like Rockefeller Center in New York City, the Bonaventure Hotel in L.A., and Columbia Pictures in Hollywood. As I recall, the Japanese largely divested themselves of the property because they took great losses and a lot of the high rises they bought were mostly empty. For their sake I hope the Chinese don't suffer a similar blow to their economy. Maybe they think the U.S. housing market is going to greatly improve. I assume these are mostly institutional investors from China, right?

[amandabeech]

6. Many are extremely wealthy individuals. n/t

[Ikonoklast]

9. Who are seeking a safe haven for themselves and their money.

Many wealthy Chinese do not trust their government or care for the pollution, lack of good schools, bad food, and for those and other reasons and are planning accordingly to emigrate.

[Romulox]

7. The American housing market is in another bubble (relative to wages). A new leg up is extremely

unlikely, without substantial growth to the economy.

[Quantess]

8. Most americans can't afford to buy them.

This is Capitalism.