Did you
know that the cost of housing in China is the highest in the world? This is one
of the reasons that an ever increasing number of Chinese persons are
considering purchasing a home in the U.S. In light of recent changes to visa
regulations for visiting Chinese this trend is expected to increase.
Last week,
during his visit to the APEC conference in Beijing, President Obama
dramatically extended the time period that visas will be valid in the U.S. for
Chinese nationals. Student and exchange visas have been extended from 1 year to
5 and short term business as well as tourist visas will now be honored for a
full 10 years instead of the previous 1 year period. This is a major change in
policy and is expected to dramatically affect the number of Chinese persons
interested in buying a home in America.
Currently
many students from China attend various universities in the U.S. and with the
new visa agreement it is expected that these numbers will increase including
more secondary and primary students as well. As a result many parents will want
to purchase a home for their children to live in versus living in a dormitory
or renting off campus. According to Simon Henry, CEO of Juwai (a company that
deals with Chinese clients interested in purchasing real estate in the U.S.),
this is the 2nd most common reason for home purchases made by
Chinese buyers. He also stated that most of his clients are interested in
student visas versus business or tourist visas.
The NAR
(National Association of Realtors) states that Chinese buyers spend more money on
real estate purchases in the U.S. than any other foreign buyers. With more lax
visa requirements in effect, there is no reason to expect this to change. Is
foreign investment in American real estate a good thing? This is a debate that
has been going on for many years but for now it is definitely on the rise.
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