Chinese take advantage of slump in US home prices
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While the US west coast, particularly California, has traditionally been a destination for Chinese buyers, due to its large Chinese community, the east coast has been attracting attention in recent years.
"Manhattan is popular for Chinese buyers because many are from metropolitan cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, and are familiar with New York and the cosmopolitan lifestyle," Hsu said.
Prestigious neighborhoods such as near Central Park, Central Park West, Fifth Avenue, Park Avenue - with price ranging from $5 million to $55 million - are among the top choices, Hsu said.
Some Chinese buyers are also choosing the US for their children.
Hsu said some entrepreneurs and business owners have become successful in the past decade and are applying for US visas and sending their children into US schools, she said. "They purchase the houses for the children."
With an increasing number of Chinese coming to the US for education, more young Chinese graduates are also becoming homeowners.
Zhang, a young woman who prefers not to reveal her full name, is one of them. After graduating from a university in New York and working as a banker for two years, she decided to buy an apartment instead of paying about $2,000 a month in rent.
"The biggest reason for my purchase is the appealing prices in the US housing market," said Zhang, who bought a one-bedroom apartment for $450,000, about 20 percent lower than its usual price, in a luxurious apartment building in New Jersey in May.
It was not an impulse buy but she didn't spend much time looking.
"I paid for about 20 percent as down payment and pay a mortgage every month," she said, adding that the paperwork was fairly easy.
Zhang, in her mid 20s, said she will return to China after a few years. "But it is a good investment and I thought I would seize the opportunity to buy. I can either rent it or sell it when there is a good price later," she said.
Traditionally, the Chinese are astute in determining the value of currency and value of ownership versus rentals, with many believing owning is a must-have asset.
"True, I pay more on my mortgage than in rental, but the difference is that I own this place," Zhang said.
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