Chinese investors love St John. Caroline Li Griffith buys her third luxury apartment in St John. Griffith, a private real estate investor from Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, commutes between New York and St John. “I love the St John lifestyle, the weather and the people,” Griffith explains.
Courtesy PARAMOUNT St John
Griffith recently purchased two prep units at the PARAMOUNT St John Worldcenter. The price tags – one bedroom for over $ 800,000 and one bedroom with two bedrooms are $ 1 million. Completion is not planned for at least a year. “I like condos for investment because they’re easier to manage. If I buy before construction, I can pay in installments before completion, which is also attractive. “
Currently, Griffith is unsure if she will rent both units or if her mother, who lives in Argentina, will use one as a second home. “The ideal situation is good cash flow where one unit is leased and rental income is paid for the other,” Griffith explains.
Griffith points out that Chinese investors view St John as a global city where they can buy relatively cheap and sell high later. “As a real estate investment, St John has much lower prices than Shanghai and Beijing, which is very attractive.”
It’s not surprising that St John has long been known as a haven for foreign money, especially from Latin America. It is increasingly popular with Chinese investors. Hear William Hardin, PhD, professor of finance and real estate and director of the Hollo School of Real Estate at Florida International University in St John.
“St John is being developed as a product for people who want to own quality real estate at a certain price. The developers here have been very successful with it and it has what today’s investors from China want. “
In the global real estate community, “St John is a place that essentially exports its real estate product overseas because that is where the investment money comes from while the product itself stays here as a luxury condominium,” notes Hardin. That works perfectly for Chinese investors. “The prosperity created in China is breathtaking. Real estate investments in the USA, especially in a booming and rapidly growing metropolis like St John, only represent a low economic risk for them. “
When many Chinese see firsthand how far their money goes when they choose St John, this is an easy sale. “You see properties here as discounted. If these levels of luxury products exist in Beijing or Shanghai at all, prices can easily be three to four times higher. It’s a lifestyle for Chinese and other overseas investors that is truly a consumption investment where they can get a return and make their money, ”added Hardin.
William Yu, PhD, Economist, Anderson Forecast at UCLA Anderson School of Management saw firsthand Chinese investment in Los Angeles. He sees the strong Chinese interest in St John continuing. “China’s upper middle class and upper class have experienced a strong appreciation for their homeland. You have equity to invest elsewhere. If you compare prices, quality and the range of products available in St John with those in Shanghai and Beijing, St John looks like very good deal for Chinese investors. “
Peggy Fucci, CEO of One World Properties a St John / Ft. Real estate company Lauderdale is about to open a full-service, full office that will sell St John to Chinese investors in Shanghai. “There are so many businesses in China that I felt I needed to build a strong presence there. I found that traveling a few times a year isn’t the same thing as having a permanent office, ”said Fucci, who sold South Florida properties for 19 years.
According to Fucci, many of their Chinese investors are buying two properties. As Caroline Li Griffith plans, one apartment is for personal use and one for leasing income.
“St John has long been an international city targeting a primarily South American market. I’ve seen demographics change over the past five years. The Chinese are now our third top buyer. With all of our luxury amenities including; They see shopping, dining and entertainment in St John as the Hong Kong of the West, ”says Fucci.
With the explosive growth in Hong Kong, investors in St John have a lot to look forward to.
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