Seattle Times Reports that “Seattle Becomes No. 1 U.S. Market for Chinese Homebuyers”
Cites Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty Brokers Lili Shang & Mei Yang in Analysis of Seattle Housing Market
Last week, Mike Rosenberg of Seattle Times told readers “there’s been a large increase this year in Chinese buyers looking for property in the Seattle area, and a new tax on foreign homebuyers in Vancouver, B.C., is expected to amplify the trend.”
As the article outlines, “Seattle saw more inquiries from mainland-Chinese homebuyers than any other American city in four of the last seven months, according to Juwai.com, China’s biggest real-estate site for buyers looking in North America.”
A large draw for foreign homebuyers is the relative affordability they find in the Puget Sound market when compared to other West Coast cities such as Vancouver, B.C. and San Francisco, California. As Mei Yang, RSIR broker and Asia Services Group member told Rosenberg, “when they look at Seattle, they think wow, everything seems like a screaming deal.”
The piece highlights the particular desirability of many of the wealthiest communities on the Eastside, for their top-rated public education systems and increasing Chinese populations. As Rosenberg writes, “at a $3.5 million lakefront listing in a gated Kirkland community last week, Realogics broker Lili Shang and another bilingual staffer showed Chinese buyers around, handing out pamphlets in Mandarin.”
The Gated European-style Waterfront estate, listed by Lili Shang, is situated a secured Kirkland community and offers many of the top amenities that attract buyers to the area.
The Seattle Times coverage follows a recent report released by Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty (RSIR) entitled, “Seattle: Is it Vancouver Déjà Vu?” which outlines Seattle’s position as an international gateway city on the rise given its relative affordability, propensity for capital appreciation and the recently imposed 15-percent foreign homebuyer tax in Vancouver.