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Rich flock to US for homes

By Hu Yuanyuan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-13 10:33

Yin Guohua, a 40-something Beijing-based lawyer, will leave for Los Angeles on March 24. But this time, he goes to the US not for business but for an apartment.

"I plan to buy an apartment in Los Angeles or New York, with the total price hovering around $1 million," Yin said.

Visitors at a recent real estate exhibition in Fuzhou, Fujian Province. [China Daily]

Besides Yin, another 39 Chinese are going to Los Angeles for the same purpose, making it China's first property buyer's trip to the US.

Related readings:  Housing prices choke spending  Housing: More Chinese want to buy homes abroad  Housing prices drop 0.9% year-on-year in Jan

The delegation will start an 11-day trip from Los Angeles and continue shopping for bargain properties in major US cities including New York, Boston, San Francisco and Las Vegas.

Yin says "a proper price" is the key to securing a deal.

"Take New York for an example," he says, "A 20 percent to 30 percent discount from the peak price is acceptable. But the house must have a good location, so even if I don't use it for my child's education purpose later, it will still be of investment value."

According to trip organizer SouFun.com, China's largest property website, the 40 members were selected from more than 400 applicants. Most of them, aged 35-50, are executives from real estate companies, enterprise owners or senior managers of multinational corporations.

Though some would like to investigate the US real estate sector and make investments accordingly, a large number are looking for homes for their children. And these prospective buyers will mainly look at properties with valuations from $300,000 to $500,000.

Vincent Mo, chairman of SouFun.com, said two types of US properties will particularly interest those buyers. The first type is the home that has been taken back by banks and has entered into the legal process. The prices of such places are usually low.

The second type, which boasts access to good schools and community equipment, could see a price rebound soon if the economy warms up.

SouFun is also considering organizing similar trips to the UK, Australia, Singapore and Japan, depending on the demand of its members, Mo added.