Chinese investors making smarter decisions when it comes to buying US homes

In her job as a psychologist, 31-year-old Shanghai resident Katherine Yan helps post 1980s parents understand their children better. In her spare time, she does her own homework as an active international property investor who has spent months travelling around different US cities to find the best one to put her money in.

Yan owns two houses in Seattle and one studio in Fukuoka, Japan, and she is currently exploring if it is good timing to make a foray into London after Brexit, despite the fact that it is getting increasing difficult to send money out of China.

“The transaction system in western countries is very clear and transparent, even foreigners will not feel at a loss. I think my purchasing experience has been very smooth and I dare to say they are all successful investments,” said Yan, while browsing the real estate information apps Zillow and Trulia downloaded on her iPhone.

The story began in summer of 2014. Worried about the probable devaluation of the renminbi and future needs of her two small children when they were old enough to study abroad, Yan started looking at the US real estate market.

“My investment principle is straightforward – ‘buy-to-let’ for stable returns,” she said.

Rather than choosing California or New York, Yan eyed a second tier city that was home to Bill Gates’ Microsoft, Starbucks and Boeing. “I visited Los Angeles first, but the prices were already high,” Yan said.