Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa October 2015 | Page 55

REI OFFSHORE

EXPERT Q&A

CHINESE BUYERS SNAP UP
US PROPERTY

C

hinese buyers 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.
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.

George Eid
General Manager
of Ayton Captial
Q What is the difference between a
residency and citizenship?

This differs in small respects from country
to country but in essence the difference
between residency, permanent residency and
citizenship can be explained as follows:
A residency permit gives a person the legal
right to work, live and or study in a country
while still holding foreign citizenship. The
permit does have a time limit and the permit
holder will need to meet various requirements
to have it extended or renewed.
Permanent residency implies that you can
live in said country indefinitely but may well
not have the right to vote and your residency
can be revoked in the event of a criminal
conviction.
Q What are the advantages of
having either citizenship or
residency?

The answer to this question depends on where
you’ve applied. For example; if you apply
for either a residency permit or secondary
citizenship in Dominica you don’t need to
live there and you get Visa-free access to over
95 countries – including the Schengen Zone,
the UK, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and
Turkey. You do not however gain access to the
right to live and work in these countries.
If you apply to Hungary on the other hand
you can eventually become an EU citizen
which gives you all of the rights natural
born Europeans have (within a period of five
years).
So in essence the advantages range from
Visa-free travel to the right to live/ work and
study in a country to eventually also being
able to vote.
Q Are residencies or citizenships
open to family members?

This process differs from program to program
but in general the answer is yes. In Hungary
applicants can include dependents under 18 at
the time of PR (prima