As of March 2016, the average price of a home listed for sale was approximately $186,000. However, it’s not just buyers in the United States who are playing a role in the nation’s real estate market anymore.
The cash flow from China into the U.S. is set to continue as citizens lose faith in their real estate market and hope to diversify their investments.
President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign has also compelled Chinese investors to seek projects abroad as a strategy to avoid a potentially harmful crackdown on their business in their home countries.
In fact, officials have even blocked real estate sales and detained executives from several different companies as a result of investigations.
During the first half of 2016, commercial-based property sales to Chinese businesses were up 19%, bringing last year’s values up to $5 billion.
Chinese investors have committed $12.9 billion to U.S. real estate investments this year alone, including those under contract that have not completed purchases yet.
“The vast majority are looking for development opportunities,” said Stephen Collins, who oversees a global capital markets group at real-estate investment-services company JLL.
He said that investors “can make more money buying the land, building it and selling it,” than just buying an existing tower.
To be fair, China isn’t the only country that’s ever been interested in U.S. real estate properties.
Believe it or not, this trend of foreign investment stretches all the way back to the mid-1800s, when wealthy Europeans bought homes in the U.S. in vast scores.
Although locations like New York City and areas like Los Angeles and San Francisco in California remain the most popular places for foreign investors to purchase property, a number of other U.S. cities are on the rise with foreign investors.
Charlotte, North Carolina has recently seen a boom in foreign investors, boasting a 29.8% boost in transaction volume for Q1 2016.
However, China has outdone everyone once again in a flashy investment announcement.
Investors plan to partner with New York-based Extell Development Co. to build a $3 billion apartment complex called the Central Park Tower.
Set to be 300 feet taller than the Empire State Building, this apartment complex will be the tallest in the United States.
Despite concerns about economic stalling and condo glut, Chinese investors continue to push on, hoping that their projects will be completed at the right time.