Is boom in Chinese homebuying in suburban Los Angeles close to ending?

When Alisha Chen first got into real estate 10 years ago, she did not really plan on becoming a gatekeeper for a global housing market.

But a housing crash and a flood of Chinese money later, she is part of a growing cottage industry of real estate agents, bankers and lawyers who specialise in helping wealthy foreigners buy into southern California. Most are Chinese.

The job requires being part cultural ambassador, part shrewd property scout and part monetary policy expert. It means being able to read the different tastes of buyers from Hong Kong against those from mainland China, and to explain the nuances of Irvine versus Tustin to people who have never set foot in the United States.

It might mean not asking too many questions about where a million dollars came from, or prodding people accustomed to financial privacy to open their books to a mortgage banker.

For Chen, it also means taking and making a lot of phone calls in the middle of the night.

"11pm to 2am. That's the best time to talk with my clients," she said. "Some days I really need a nap."