Saturday, May 28, 2011

Chinese buyers lining up for US homes


(Source: China Daily) BEIJING - Chinese homebuyers have become the second-largest group of international buyers of homes in the United States, according to a recent report from a realtors association.
Sales from Chinese homebuyers made up 9 percent of the $41 billion in international sales for US homes, according to an annual report released by the US National Association of Realtors. It is a considerable spike in sales from the 2007 mark of 5 percent for Chinese buyers, before the financial meltdown in 2008.
The report tallied the number of sales for 12 months starting from March of last year. In that span, buyers from 70 countries and regions purchased homes in the US. Canada, at 23 percent, ranked at the top of the list, followed by China at 9 percent and India, Mexico and the United Kingdom each raking in 7 percent of sales. The five nations accounted for 53 percent of transactions among international buyers, according to the report. The total amount of property sales in the US over 12 months since March of last year was $1.07 trillion. The report, from an association that represents 1.2 million realtors across the US, said the international property purchases were heavily concentrated in four states - Florida, Texas, Arizona and California, accounting for 58 percent of sales. See China Daily's report on May 27, 2011.