New | Developers optimistic on long-term demand from Chinese investors
Lull in Chinese investment in overseas property due to yuan devaluation seen as temporary
The devaluation of the yuan has dampened the appetite of Chinese buyers for real estate globally, but sales agents and developers remain optimistic.
In prime central London, the growth of annual home prices slid to 1.7 per cent last month, the slowest rate since November 2009, partly because some Chinese buyers postponed purchases due to currency uncertainty, said consultancy Knight Frank.
But such short-term factors are unlikely to stop developers of overseas properties which believe that the appeal of their projects will beat the impact of a weakening yuan.
For example, the luxury Ritz-Carlton Residences in Miami Beach in Florida. Its developer bought the site for US$20 million in 2012 to turn it into a residential development, and then signed a 30-year agreement with the hotel operator to run the property after it is ready by the end of next year.
So far, about 60 per cent of the project's units have been sold, with 10 per cent of those to buyers from China, said developer Ophir Sternberg, the chief executive of the Miami-based real estate investment firm Lionheart Capital.
The project offers 111 condominiums and 15 stand-alone villas, with prices ranging from US$2 million to US$40 million.