Chinese Buyers Scale Back on Foreign Real Estate Investment

Chinese investment in overseas real estate has slowed recently from its frenetic pace. A number of factors are behind the change, including the Chinese government’s restrictions on outbound investment and stricter regulations on the part of the U.S., leading to an 83% drop in Chinese investment in the U.S. in 2018. However, the decrease in overseas investment from Chinese buyers may not be for the long term, some real estate analysts predict. And while luxury homes may take longer to sell than in previous years, the slower pace of sales represents a normalization of the market, not a downturn. With this in mind, sellers of luxury homes should consider targeting other groups of buyers from Latin America and Europe, for instance—and emphasizing the long-term investment potential of their properties. In addition to buyers from China, buyers from Canada, the U.K., India, and Mexico are the top investors in residential real estate in the U.S., according to the National Association of Realtors. Canada and the U.K., meanwhile, attract more European buyers, so sellers in these regions may want to set their sights on these groups of buyers.