Chinese investors could bring more than $50 billion to the New York City real estate market, according to Cushman & Wakefield chairman of New York investment sales Bob Knakal.
While last year saw record-levels of Chinese investments — including Anbang Insurance’s nearly $2 billion purchase of the Waldorf Astoria — more is likely coming to the city, according to the Street.
“Believe it or not, they’ve been testing the market over the past two years,”JDS Development’s Michael Stern told the website. “They’re very, very measured and calculated, in a good way.”
“They’re looking not necessarily for the best deals, but for the best assets,” said The Real Deal publisher Amir Korangy. “If you’re an entity with an unlimited amount of cash, like the Chinese insurance groups are, you can actually go buy the Waldorf Astoria at market price with a yield of 1.5 to-2 percent, which is below market.”
Chinese investments have been spurred by a ruling that encouraged outbound foreign investment in 2012. Last year, restrictions were eased even more, which led to the high volume of deals.
“Over the past few years, we’ve sold to buyers in 56 countries,” Knakal said. “The greatest number of those investors have come from China.”
On Monday, however, Chinese megadeveloper Kaisa defaulted, causing some to wonder what will happen if the Chinese property market continues to weaken. [The Street] — Claire Moses