China’s new rich set trend buying luxury homes in California with cash
May 17th, 2010 by Key | Posted in News | 39 Comments »From World Journal, Los Angeles:
Mr. Chen had been renting and living in a 2 bedroom house in South Pasadena, California for many years, recently he was forced to move because his landlord sold the house for 525,000 dollars (short sale). Friends from mainland China asked him why, he always responded angrily, “All you mainlanders are too rich, buying houses with cash, causing me to move!”
As China’s economy rises, a group of China’s new rich with abundant cash funds appeared in Southern California, mostly businessmen, taking advantage of the housing market downturn bought a lot of foreclosures, short sales or not yet listed houses with cash.
China’s new rich like to live in cities with good school district, housing price with the potential of increase and more Chinese dominated areas, such as Diamond Bar the Country communities, Walnut, Arcadia, San Marino, Irvine and other places. The even richer tend to live in the white communities. In coastal Orange County, Newport Beach and Newport Coast are the most popular. Industry rumors said, many mainland China’s corrupted officials and illegal immigrants are mixed in this group of the new rich, began to shift into these luxury residential areas and bought multi-million dollar homes with cash to avoid being noticed.
Real Estate agent Zhou Min pointed out that she began seeing mainland Chinese purchasing homes in the 1990s. At the time, a community in Roland Heights had many buyers from Dalian and Shenyang, they appointed a Middle Eastern lawyer whose wife is from Shenyang to handle their “investment immigrations”, said they can get green card as long as they buy a 300,000 dollar house.
Although these mainland Chinese later found out that they were taken in, this trend made many mainland Chinese move into the new houses in the community. Living in a gated community in Roland Heights, Taiwanese immigrant Ms. Li said, the residential community she lives in was even numerously called “Ernai village” (“second wives village” or “mistress village”) by the Mainland Chinese media, because many home owners are wealthy businessmen from China who kept their mistresses there.
Zhou Min said the mainland Chinese in the end of the 90s purchased in the newly built condominiums near Arcadia Ranch market, they are less than 300,000 dollars, and are convenient for the Chinese lifestyles.
But the recent home buyers from China - from Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Chongqing, Dalian and so on, are all business tycoons, they all purchase over 1 million dollar homes, and also pay for them with one all cash lump-sum payment, mainly in Arcadia, San Marino and Diamond Bar etc. places.
“Once a customer produced the proof of bank account, took a look, it had 6 million dollars, everyone was shocked.” And the wealthier mainland Chinese buyers like to buy in white areas, Newport Beach and Newport Coast are their first choices.
As for wealthy mainland Chinese businessmen moving into Pacific Coast white communities, real estate broker Liu Zhaojun said mainland China has foreign exchange controls, rich businessmen do not want to be too ostentatious and be noticed.
Real estate agent Li Caiyi said, the number of wealthy mainland Chinese businessmen buying homes in Newport Beach and Newport Coast area is increasing, even white real estate brokers know their buying potential and taking initiatives in approaching them and showing them houses.
Mainland Chinese like to buy homes with cash, prefer single family homes priced at around 2 million dollars. They know the U. S. housing market, and communicate with their fellows in their home town. Only purchase when they determine the house value has potential to increase, they do not just buy anything. Some customers said, not only in Southern California, they are also purchasing in Northern California, looking for investment opportunities. From the interactions you can hear that they are mostly businessmen from northern China, some of their children are studying in the U. S. so they hope to buy a house for their children to settle.
Fengzhu Yue who lived in Newport for years said in the past Chinese who buy houses around here are all from Taiwan, in the recent years they are all from China.
Often traveling to China and Taiwan, she said it is not surprising because there are more and more wealthy mainland Chinese people. However no matter if they are from Taiwan or China, everyone is very low key, yet to see mainstream community rebounding.
Tags: California, Economy, Housing, Los Angeles, Money, Newport, Real Estate, United States
So rich Chinese are having anchor babies and grandbabies in U.S. so they can become citizens interesting probably hoping Amnesty laws pass.They are low key because they probably are visa overstays.
The irony felt by those that were caught up in the Cultural Revolution must be priceless – the same punks that murdered their teachers for being “agents of the captialist American dogs” are retiring to the U.S.?
The phenomena has root back home. Beijing’s average housing price has reached $3000 per square meter and in some areas (inside the 3rd ring) it’s $10k, and that’s the price for a condo not a house. The ridiculously high price is not a result from natural supply-n-demand but actually a bubble created by real estate speculators (we call them 炒房团 or 炒房客 in Chinese) from around the country. They stocked up on new houses to make the housing price soaring. Shanghai is no better than Beijing. The government is aware of it and has pushed some new regulations to prevent the bubble to bust, such as limiting one new condo per household and restricting banks to lend loans to new buyers. Thus there’s a recent trend that 炒房团 are moving to 2nd and 3rd tier cities and overseas such as Japan, Korea, Australia, Europe, Canada and United States, and you see a lot reports that they are “buying XXX country” in media:
http://house.focus.cn/news/2010-05-09/928066.html
For me it looks more like exporting bubbles to these countries, given the new rich’s reputation at home. A lot of these houses will be empty and might create problems for middle class house buyers in the host countries, just like what they have done in the Chinese market.
Wow! “Er nai” villages in America – that’s really funny )))
LOL…Don’t forget to hire those some English teachers as well.
I used to live in Rowland Heights, back during the 1990′s when the area changed from a sleepy “white” community into a virbrant Chinese community. What the article describes is pretty much true.
Anyone else here an alumni of the Diamond Plaza boba crew?
rowland heights is full of rich son of a biscuit eaters…..especially on friday nights at the diamond plaza……kids barely legal to drive are cruising around in late model porsches and stuff…..so envious
Why in the picture all the flags are at half staff. Is this supposed to be a bad thing? I look at it as a good thing. Chinese buy houses in America, America gets their money back. Its a perfect scheme. Lure more Mainlanders and get my money back. Better yet please buy my house in the Midwest. Chinese money in abundance is good stimulis for our economy. We can’t really sell our shit in china so let china buy our shit in america.
Two words: Ni$$a RIch!
To: Rich Fob
Chinese with money are not like uneducated, backward blacks with money. Chinese buy houses. Blacks buy cheap jewelry.
Chinese who buy houses in the US are well-educated, sophisticated even more than American whites with money.
Don’t ever compare Chinese with blacks or Mexicans. Chinese culture is superior to all the cultures. It is over 6,000 years old.
What white culture is that old? Jew’s culture only goes back 2,000 years.
Hahaha, Chinese culture is 60 years old, get used to it.
And obviously, being old doesn’t denote superiority.
I hope this is not the real kai pan. He didn’t say Nigga rich. I hope thats not what he meant. I really do take that in offense. Im black who own houses and Companies in yours or your families land both lands for that matter. I can say blacks can do some backwards shit if money was ill gotten. I earned my money legit, most black who come across some type of money is not substantial enough or legal money to purchase lets say a house without the Gov all over your nuts. Honest living “Africans” and or “African Americans” such as my self can live just as grand as the next man. I would love to invite to my home in Beijing, or Austin, or Los Angeles and see what life style real money can buy.
You have got to be an impostor you pulled the “6000 years” card. Give me a fucking break, that means China should be running circle in common decencies, etiquette, ethics, moral grounds and humility. Superior pile of shit if you ask me (no body did). I guess china is supposed to get the world to regress?
If this is the real Kai Pan I have lost allot respect for you and you have re-affirmed my impression of you.
B-Real, come on, man, you’ve read enough from me to know what kind of person I am and what positions/beliefs I have. Whatever impression you have of me, it can’t be this ridiculously stupid, right?
Anyway, it’s just one of my long-time trolls. When he was on china/divide, he trolled under the name “Hank”. When he was discovered, he got moderated and then tried posting under some new names, including female names. He was on chinaSMACK too, and swung by ChinaGeeks impersonating me recently as well.
I’m actually somewhat flattered that someone has such beef against me that they’d spend their time doing this. He’s like my freaky stalker.
Trust me, do not be flattered – especially if it one of the CD BBS trolls. Some have a very nasty habit of jacking people’s photos and/or accounts to do smear campaigns, pranknet style. If the IP of this twit is known, nip him in the bud, quick.
Thank God I was about to become 1 of your trolls for a minute there. Glad I didn’t have time at the office to mess around or the ignorant side of me comes out in full effect.
Next time I will take comments with grains of salt because that nearly ruined my night yesterday. Now I get where you are coming from Kai.
B-Real, dude, I’m flattered that the idea of me becoming an ignorant dumbshit (and not just someone who may have a different opinion and argues with people a lot) could’ve ruined your night! B-Real, you’re my new best friend. I never knew I had such a solid and profound place in your heart!
Yeah really just over night Kai Pan’s brains turned to shit and and smeared it all over the net. I wonder how long has this been happening? I swear I saw some stuff that didn’t seem like you and I said something about it but nothing in return. It was nothing over the top but it was leaning towards some anti chinese views I would agree with. I have to find it now and verify all your words haha.
http://www.chinahush.com/2010/05/07/severe-rainstorm-questions-guangzhou-citys-drainage-system/
I found it and it wasn’t you. Just scroll down until you see your “wanna be” He fooled king Tubby and confused me.
normally i clown on b-real hahaha……but i have to agree wih the brother that not all blacks are about cool-aid, fried chicken and watermelon……
TO TROLL: all ethnicities in society have uneducated scandalous fags….look at all those 2nd wives sitting around ……there are ALOT of curruptions in china and these wealthy business men do not work hard for their money……other villiager chinamans hard sweat, tear , and blood in exchange for their spending such as buying houses in so cal.
Hm… why Kai, your starting to sound like the crew over at the China Daily BBS – complete with the whole “5,000+” yarn. Unless you really are one of the CD BBS crew, just using Kai’ name to cause trouble.
Troll , you got a chip on your shoulder .
Come over to my canopy and I will replace your chip with my new upgraded banana + peanut special , fresh squeezed for you from me.
Herro Mr Robot. Have you updated your software to Ver. 2.3?
Rich Fob,
I beg to differ with your train of though. We have had kingdoms in Africa when the white man was still roaming the plains of Europe as barbarians and were being conquered by the newly evolved Romans.
An African General by the name of Hannibal almost conquered Europe. Is your history lesson limited to the Qin Dynasty and Mao Tse Tsung? Wise up and stop displaying your myopic knowledge to the whole world going on about which culture is superior to the other…no one asked you, they were only talking about rich dudes buying houses. Interestingly, nobody seems to care how these guys made their stash….
Black and Proud
开盘你这个混蛋：
you are a shame to all the chinese out there. chinese people who talk like you do are a disgrace to all the GOOD THINGS ABOUT chinese culture.
no point bringing white, blacks, mexicans and jews. and age.
you are CHINESE TRASH.
the whites are just being bitter ass haters right now, and the chinese are being typically arrogant douches, whats new? The native american’s use to own alot of land, and then some white faces showed up and took over the land, it’s just a turn of power, if it’s happened before, it will happen again.
on another note, I am soo proud of L.A for boycotting trade with the state of AZ.
Boycotting trade with Arizona might cost California water and electricity from Arizona which will hurt California more, their resources in California are running out because of over population they have to buy from other states especially their neighbors.Others states like Great Lake States are going to start charging more for things like bottled water,juice,soda,alcohol with taxes added to them.California is almost bankrupt they have more problems than worrying about Arizona and it’s laws.By the way I just found it ironic that rich Chinese who profit off their fellow citizens enabling to deny and suppress them rights are having their children and grandchildren become U.S. citizens.I feel the same way about the stupid Mexican officials who hide in Texas while their parts of Mexico are at war.It seems wrong on so many levels don’t you think.Especially since a lot of these people are part of the corruption in their own countries.
Hey! Why do you have to insult mexicans?
im not insulting the mexicans, i fully support the mexicans, re read what i wrote and it might make sense to you… i am saying I FULLY SUPPORT THE BOYCOTT OF ARIZONA POLICIES.
I find this article somewhat funny as it states that some Chinese wants to buy into a white neighborhood like new port and the inland suburbs of acadia. Chinese people have a lot of face and want to show off to their own countrymen they can fit well in a classy affluent white neighborhood.
I am really relieved to hear that is not the real Kai Pan. I have become a bit of a freaky stalker myself, reading his pieces on Chinadivide and his comments on the other China sites in most people’s rotation–that post was such a bummer.
Stella, I could be drunk off my ass with a eel squiring in my bum and not think much less say the retarded things that troll of mine posted here.
For the record, Jewish culture is much longer than 2000 years. It is Christianity, not Judaism, that could be argued to have began around 2000 years ago, with 0BC/0AD simply being the date of Christ’s death.
Nice visual… you should write an article for cracked.com – they will just love your prose.
Why does “Mr. Chen” feel forced to move because the house was sold? A new owner does not invalidate a lease. An owner could even default on the mortgage, the house go into foreclosure, be re-sold and the tenant would just send rent payments to the new owners.
So they leave their second wives in these nice houses and then go abroad for business??? Hmm, I think I’ll take a few drinks from their well while they’re away!
i always like to live in a 5 star condominium because the view is breathtaking:”‘
i love to stay and live on 5 star condominiums which provide great amenities”";
If any one knows any information about the real estate agent (Zhou Min) from this article, please let me know. My brother in-law needs help buying a home.
My e-mail address is: danti@yahoo.com
Thank you much!
美国房地产在中国有很大的需求量
Good news for US housing market
I LIVE IN WALNUT CA, My home is valued at 1.5 M and I am looking to sell, I found this website while seeking appropriate representation of my home to Chinese investors; since Walnut is demographically 60% Chinese residents, Walnut Unified Public Schools is among the best in the nation, I am hoping my exposure here can help me sell my beautifully customized home, to a very particular buyer.
Please let me know and we can go from there.
Sincerely,
Gary R Lemcke
411 castlehill dr, Walnut, Ca