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How And Why Buyers From China Are Snatching Up Bay Area Homes [20% Of Deals Cash]
San Francisco Chronicle ^ | November 30, 2014 | Kathleen Pender

Posted on 11/30/2014 4:17:17 PM PST by Steelfish

How And Why Buyers From China Are Snatching Up Bay Area Homes By Kathleen Pender November 29, 2014

The Lumina, a luxury condo development taking shape in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood, is popular with overseas buyers.

When Linda Vida sold her house in the Oakland hills this summer, she was hoping for a buyer who would live there, put kids in the local schools and “give back or participate in the community,” she says.

However, “as is very typical these days, a woman from China paid all cash for the house, and is not going to live in it but is going to rent it out for a while,” said Vida, who moved to Colorado. The buyer, a professor in Shanghai, paid $1.022 million, $27,000 over the asking price, for the home on Bay Forest Drive.

“In the end, she was the strongest buyer because she didn’t want to negotiate over nickel-and-dime things,” Vida said.

Although the Bay Area has always attracted foreign home buyers, anecdotal evidence suggests that their numbers are growing, creating even more competition in areas where demand has far outstripped the supply of new homes. The boom is partly because of globalization, but mostly a result of the tremendous buildup of wealth in developing countries, especially China, which had 2.4 million millionaires in 2013, up 60 percent from the year before, according to the Boston Consulting Group.

Many of these millionaires want to diversify their assets outside of what is still a communist country, send their kids to U.S. schools or have a place to escape if China’s smog gets even worse. Buyers from China are reluctant to talk about their purchases publicly, but real estate agents say they prefer new or nearly new homes or condos in good school districts with great views

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: bayarea; california; china; sanfrancisco; siliconvalley
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1 posted on 11/30/2014 4:17:17 PM PST by Steelfish
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To: Steelfish

Chinese millionaires can afford expensive homes in San Francisco.

Now liberals are talking about the new “Yellow Peril.”

And here I thought they were fans of unlimited immigration.

Go figure.


2 posted on 11/30/2014 4:21:19 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: Steelfish

I remember when Japanese “investors” overpaid for American real estate in the 1980’s - Major contributor to the real estate bust in the early 1990’s.


3 posted on 11/30/2014 4:22:17 PM PST by RebelBanker (May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.)
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To: Steelfish

I’m fortunate to have bought a house in Campbell, CA a several years ago. My area of silicon valley has seen at least 30% cash offers in the last year.


4 posted on 11/30/2014 4:23:29 PM PST by Huskrrrr
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5 posted on 11/30/2014 4:25:45 PM PST by RedMDer (I don't listen to Liars but when I do I know it's Barack Obama.)
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To: RebelBanker

Yep, and they ended up losing their shirts when they had to sell them.


6 posted on 11/30/2014 4:26:04 PM PST by Hugin ("Do yourself a favor--first thing, get a firearm!",)
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To: goldstategop

Smart, educated and wealthy Asians are not democrat voters


7 posted on 11/30/2014 4:32:32 PM PST by knarf
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To: Steelfish

Depending on the neighborhood, foreign (mostly People’s Republic of China) purchases can range up to 3/4 of purchases, per some of the leading realtors. (And yes, the realtors are marketing in China, including advertising and direct sales in Shanghai, Beijing hotels/ meeting halls. One realtor at least has purchased a small airplane to take visiting buyers on air tours over the houses on sale, that one and others provide Chinese with direct San Francisco airport pickup and van sales tours complete with purchase bid/contract packages so that sales can be completed in the vans on the way back to dropping the buyers off to catch their return flights to Asia.)


8 posted on 11/30/2014 4:44:49 PM PST by faithhopecharity ((Brilliant, Profound Tag Line Goes Here, just as soon as I can think of one..))
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To: goldstategop

What a great selling opportunity for existing homeowners.
All cash buyers wanting to buy their homes at premium prices.
They of course are establishing new market prices.


9 posted on 11/30/2014 4:46:20 PM PST by Maine Mariner
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To: knarf

‘not democrat voters’ - I wonder. I wonder if they vote, if they don’t live here but just rent the places out. I wonder if the liberal agenda seems familiar, like their Commie-homes. I wonder if the liberal agenda here seems more conservative than their Commie Comrades back home.

I don’t want this to happen to my So Cal home.


10 posted on 11/30/2014 4:52:04 PM PST by bboop (does not suffer fools gladly)
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To: Steelfish

The ‘how’ is easy... have enough money. The ‘why’ is because we are a chump nation that allows foreign nationals to purchase real estate in perpetuity, and not on a long term lease (say 99 years) like some countries impose so as not to wake up one day only to have found that their entire country has been purchased right out from under their feet.


11 posted on 11/30/2014 4:57:19 PM PST by SpaceBar
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To: bboop
I just saw a youtube clip of wealthy Chinese college kids with extremely expensive cars

Papa puts their kids through college here and from what I can surmise, the kids want to work, make money and party ... not necessarily into taking over a country.

12 posted on 11/30/2014 4:58:01 PM PST by knarf
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To: RebelBanker

I remember when Japanese “investors” overpaid for American real estate in the 1980’s .


Respectfully, I think it is great, when this happens. All markets are subject to forces, but the best thing, for me, is foreign investors can’t take their real estate back home with them.

Thanks.


13 posted on 11/30/2014 5:06:31 PM PST by jttpwalsh
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To: RebelBanker

They can’t take it anywhere.


14 posted on 11/30/2014 5:33:27 PM PST by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously-you won't live through it anyway-Enjoy Yourself ala Louis Prima)
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To: Steelfish

Linda Vida (the seller) wanted the buyer to “give back or participate in the community.” A woman from China paid all cash for the house, and Vida moved to Colorado.

Another transplanted Californian leftist in Colorado. [sigh]


15 posted on 11/30/2014 5:35:59 PM PST by BlueStateRightist (Government is best which governs least.)
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To: RebelBanker

The Japanese overpayment syndrome began in the late 1960s.
By the early 70’s, Bridgestone had out bid Perelli for the carcass that was Firestone Tire. They paid something near $80 per share for a company with no technology, no modern factories, just coming back from a massive recall of the Firestone 500.
It took Bridgestone over 40 years to turn their Firestone investment into a paying proposition.


16 posted on 11/30/2014 6:07:47 PM PST by Eric in the Ozarks (Rip it out by the roots.)
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To: Steelfish
said Vida, who moved to Colorado.

The worst part about this is that it allows more liberals to move here!!

17 posted on 11/30/2014 6:10:10 PM PST by Colorado Doug (Now I know how the Indians felt to be sold out for a few beads and trinkets)
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To: Maine Mariner

Sure.

And we can go ahead and tell young people that the reason they did everything right—studied, got good grades, graduated from college—and yet can’t find a job or buy a house, is because we sent their jobs to China so China can use the money to drive the price of houses so high our kids will be living with their parents until they are old themselves.


18 posted on 11/30/2014 6:11:56 PM PST by Age of Reason
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To: Age of Reason

I did not mean to sound like I thought it was a good idea.

It is the result as you pointed out-we buy goods and services from the Chinese. They accumulate dollars and buy our real estate, stocks, bonds, and so forth.


19 posted on 11/30/2014 6:21:22 PM PST by Maine Mariner
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To: goldstategop

Wake-up people, these are People’s Liberation Army soldiers buying “birth houses” with Chicom state money to breed little commies that are U.S. citizens due to the fact they are born on American soil.


20 posted on 11/30/2014 6:42:21 PM PST by Kenny500c
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