August 12, 2011 01:00PM From The Real Deal
Not only are Chinese banks investing millions of dollars in New York real estate, but Chinese business people are also increasingly buying luxury condominiums in Manhattan, the New York Times reported.
The average sale is a one-bedroom apartment for about $1.45 million, Pamela Liebman, CEO of the Corcoran Group, told the New York Times. Many of them are purchasing the properties as second homes or as housing for children studying in New York. In one case, Liebman said, a parent spent $20 million on an apartment for a daughter going to college in Manhattan.
The preference among the Chinese buyers is for condos over co-ops.
“It’s a fair challenge getting them to understand the co-op system,” Neil Palmer, the CEO of Christie’s International Real Estate, said.
Many of the properties of interest to the Chinese are shiny new buildings such as the Time Warner Center that remind the buyers of their cities at home. Others of interest are the Laureate on the Upper West Side, 15 Union Square West and an upcoming new building, 57 Reade.
Coming from the Asian tradition, most of the buyers pay in cash and are averse to mortgages. Corcoran plans to host a conference in New York to introduce buyers to the U.S. mortgage process.
Brokers have also been hiring Chinese speakers as staff members and Chinese language websites. They have also had to become accustomed to new cultural beliefs. Many Asian buyers associate the fourth floor with death while preferring the eighth floor which is associated with luck and prosperity. [NYT]
