Posted on 08/05/2013 12:15:10 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Downtown Detroit’s housing market was hit hard by the recession, as well the collapse of manufacturing and the long-term exodus of people. Currently one of the nation’s worst housing markets, the prices of homes have plummeted, while foreclosures continue to skyrocket. While the city is struggling to recover, China’s real estate-hungry buyers see an investment opportunity.
While many people in the United States aren’t looking to purchase homes, a new craze has hit Chinese investors hoping to cash in on Detroit’s woeful housing economy. After announcing that the city filed for bankruptcy on July 18, Detroit property has been a hot topic on China’s social media platform, Weibo. This news, compounded with a television news segment aired on state-run CCTV back in March that said a price of a pair of leather shoes could get you two houses in Detroit, got many people moving their money from the mainland to the Midwest. According to a report by Quartz, Caroline Chen, a real estate broker based in Troy, Mich., has been getting “tons of calls” from mainland Chinese with serious interest in the market.
In true Chinese fashion, they are looking to buy up in bulk. “I have people calling and saying, ‘I’m serious -- I wanna buy 100, 200 properties,’” Chen said in the report, adding that another colleague had just sold 30 properties to a single Chinese buyer. The report on CCTV received millions of comments. One user joked that on paper, Detroit sounded like an upgrade from China’s increasingly expensive cities. “700,000 people, quiet, clean air, no pollution, democracy -- what are you waiting for?” the commenter said. In reality, however, buyers seem to be only viewing the purchases purely as investment, and don’t plan on moving to Motown anytime soon.
(Excerpt) Read more at ibtimes.com ...
Slumlord Yao Ping...ping
As long as they’re paying taxes.
For the first time, the Chinese will enjoy the right to keep and bear arms and kill ******s.
Looks like the big three will stay in Detroit after all if China sends in the hired help.
Increase in rice sales to ensue.
I’ve heard homes in Damascus are cheap too
Detroit is a major FRESH WATER port city...
Hey , they’re experts at building cities that nobody lives in ....
They heard about the packs of wild dogs running loose in the city and figure it as close to buffet eating as they they see back in Tinjian.
The gang bangers will get out.
It will never work.
It takes real people, settlers if you will; moving, improving and making the neighborhood attractive.
Speculators will just sit around waiting for the “other guy” to make the place better.
Once you get to 80% speculators, it’s over. Nothing will change and the speculator writes off the investment.
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