I wanted to take a moment to share an interesting article from the Los Angeles Times. Essentially, a market of high-end luxury homes geared towards wealthy buyers from China has slowed significantly due to increasing pressure from China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange. Multi-million dollar homes that previously sold in a matter of weeks after multiple all-cash offers are now taking months to find a buyer.
The article explains a trend that I’ve noticed happening locally, especially in Arcadia and San Marino. There are still Chinese buyers in the market but they are now looking for lower priced homes. They are buying in other areas like Monrovia and parts of Pasadena.
For local buyers, this is good news. Now, without the cash offers from these wealthy Chinese buyers bidding up the price and driving them out of the market, they have more opportunities to find high-end luxury homes at more realistic prices. Chinese buyers were willing to pay higher prices for luxury homes because in comparison to prices in large cities in China, LA real estate is still a bargain. Another result is that without the hordes of all cash offers, buyers wishing to finance their home purchase now have a chance.
If you would like to read more about this, here is a link to the article.