Chinese have been snapping up U.S. real estate of all kinds... US stocks plummet as investors mull Fed's rate decision...
Chinese buyers snap up US property
(AP) Shanshan Wu already owns three houses back home in China. But the 36-year-old has spent the last two months in Chicago shopping for a three-bedroom. She's got cash to spend - up to $400,000.
And she's not done.
"The real estate market in China is dropping and I'm planning to sell one of them to maybe buy more houses in the U.S.," said Wu, whose hometown of Yunfu is in the province of Guangdong in southeast China.
Chinese have been snapping up U.S. real estate of all kinds, looking for a safer place to put their money than their own slowing economy. Investors from China are now second only to Canadians in the number of U.S. homes they buy.
In the last few months, amid signs that China's economy is slowing even more than expected, Chinese investors have stepped up their buying even more. The government's decision last month to downgrade the country's currency added to their urgency, since a weaker yuan makes buying real estate in dollars more expensive.
"I got a spur of buyers contacting me the past few days," said Gloria Ma, an agent with Re/Max Action in Lisle, Illinois, who is working with several Chinese homebuyers. "Some of the people are selling part of their holdings over there and come here and buy."
While purchases by foreigners represent just a sliver of overall U.S. home sales, they have impacted markets significantly in certain cities such as New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Irvine, California. Buyers are also showing up in more affordable Midwestern areas like Chicago.
In the 12 months ended in March, roughly 209,000 U.S. houses were sold to buyers living outside the U.S. or immigrants in the country for less than two years, according to the National Association of Realtors. That represents about 4 percent of all sales of previously occupied homes in the same period.
Of the $104 billion in total sales, Chinese buyers accounted for the biggest portion, $28.6 billion. Half of those sales involved homes in Florida, California, Texas and Arizona.
US stocks plummet as investors mull Fed's rate decision
NEW YORK (AP) — Fears over slowing global growth hammered stocks in the U.S. and Europe on Friday and lifted prices of government bonds and other assets seen as safer bets.
The selling pushed down major stock indexes in Germany, France and Britain before spreading to the U.S. The Standard and Poor's 500 index slumped to its biggest loss in more than two weeks as all 10 industry sectors of the broad market gauge fell. Energy companies dropped the most as oil plunged.
The stock sell-off came a day after the Federal Reserve decided to hold interest rates near zero. That means borrowing costs will remain low for a while yet, a prospect that has in the past typically boosted stocks. But some investors, expecting the Fed would be confident enough to nudge rates up by at least a quarter of a point, interpreted the stance as a sign that the global economy is dangerously weak.
"If growth in the strongest economy — the United States — isn't strong enough to raise rates even a quarter of a point, what does that say about the prospects for global growth?" said Bill Strazzullo, chief strategist at market research firm Bell Curve Trading.
The Fed has kept its benchmark rate close to zero for almost seven years. In that time, U.S. stocks have nearly tripled from their financial crisis low. The Fed meets again next month and in December.
(AP) Shanshan Wu already owns three houses back home in China. But the 36-year-old has spent the last two months in Chicago shopping for a three-bedroom. She's got cash to spend - up to $400,000.
And she's not done.
"The real estate market in China is dropping and I'm planning to sell one of them to maybe buy more houses in the U.S.," said Wu, whose hometown of Yunfu is in the province of Guangdong in southeast China.
Chinese have been snapping up U.S. real estate of all kinds, looking for a safer place to put their money than their own slowing economy. Investors from China are now second only to Canadians in the number of U.S. homes they buy.
In the last few months, amid signs that China's economy is slowing even more than expected, Chinese investors have stepped up their buying even more. The government's decision last month to downgrade the country's currency added to their urgency, since a weaker yuan makes buying real estate in dollars more expensive.
"I got a spur of buyers contacting me the past few days," said Gloria Ma, an agent with Re/Max Action in Lisle, Illinois, who is working with several Chinese homebuyers. "Some of the people are selling part of their holdings over there and come here and buy."
While purchases by foreigners represent just a sliver of overall U.S. home sales, they have impacted markets significantly in certain cities such as New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Irvine, California. Buyers are also showing up in more affordable Midwestern areas like Chicago.
In the 12 months ended in March, roughly 209,000 U.S. houses were sold to buyers living outside the U.S. or immigrants in the country for less than two years, according to the National Association of Realtors. That represents about 4 percent of all sales of previously occupied homes in the same period.
Of the $104 billion in total sales, Chinese buyers accounted for the biggest portion, $28.6 billion. Half of those sales involved homes in Florida, California, Texas and Arizona.
In depth: 4 ways to make more money while working less
No, this is not another article about brokers diversifying, says Top Broker's Joshua Vecchio.
No, this is not another article about brokers diversifying, says Top Broker's Joshua Vecchio.
US stocks plummet as investors mull Fed's rate decision
NEW YORK (AP) — Fears over slowing global growth hammered stocks in the U.S. and Europe on Friday and lifted prices of government bonds and other assets seen as safer bets.
The selling pushed down major stock indexes in Germany, France and Britain before spreading to the U.S. The Standard and Poor's 500 index slumped to its biggest loss in more than two weeks as all 10 industry sectors of the broad market gauge fell. Energy companies dropped the most as oil plunged.
The stock sell-off came a day after the Federal Reserve decided to hold interest rates near zero. That means borrowing costs will remain low for a while yet, a prospect that has in the past typically boosted stocks. But some investors, expecting the Fed would be confident enough to nudge rates up by at least a quarter of a point, interpreted the stance as a sign that the global economy is dangerously weak.
"If growth in the strongest economy — the United States — isn't strong enough to raise rates even a quarter of a point, what does that say about the prospects for global growth?" said Bill Strazzullo, chief strategist at market research firm Bell Curve Trading.
The Fed has kept its benchmark rate close to zero for almost seven years. In that time, U.S. stocks have nearly tripled from their financial crisis low. The Fed meets again next month and in December.
In depth: Tinder for brokers?
Meet the N3 app - an initiative that is to Tinder what LinkedIn is to Facebook
Meet the N3 app - an initiative that is to Tinder what LinkedIn is to Facebook
