In 2007 China‘s commercial property outflow was less than $1 billion. Now it exceeds $20 billion annually.
- Individuals and corporations in China still have an estimated $200 billion to invest abroad.
- Prominent commercial markets include Hong Kong, Australia, the U.K. and North America, particularly Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver.
In 2016 a Chinese tycoon purchased a $270 million Hong Kong home, and HNA Group acquired a $6.5 billion stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings. In 2017, CC Land Holdings shelled out $1.47 billion for London’s “Cheesegrater” skyscraper.
Chinese buyers are increasingly impacting residential and commercial real estate markets globally. At the recent Shenzhen Real Estate Expo, representatives from two dozen companies, including JLL and Leju, pitched real estate opportunities in Australia, Canada, Dubai, Greece, Malaysia, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, U.A.E., U.K. and the United States.
“The numbers are quite staggering if you look at the transaction volume and value of overseas purchases by Chinese,” said James Fisher. “You can see some market dislocation in areas that are popular with Chinese.”
In 2016, Chinese outbound real estate investments increased by 56 percent, reaching $28.2 billion, China also became the largest cross-border real estate investor, overtaking the United States.
