Buying Property Abroad

In recent years, due to the impact of property-purchasing limitations and other control measures, more and more people are considering investing in real estate overseas. Statistics show an increase of about 10 percent in terms of properties purchased abroad by Chinese citizens during the first six months of this year.

 
At an international real estate trade fair in Shanghai, many Chinese people show their interest in overseas property. Some want to buy property abroad as an investment, while others wish to emigrate abroad through buying property. But more people are now saying concerns about their children's education are the main reason for buying property abroad. Here is one visitor at the trade fair.

"It's only for my child's education abroad in the future. Price doesn't really matter, it's ok as long as my child is safe there."

Although buyers are passionate² about buying property abroad, they know little about what qualifications they are expected to have, and what necessary procedures they must go through in order to buy overseas. Instead, they follow exactly what real estate developers are telling them.

One prospective³ buyer says he was told that buying property overseas can be done through taking out a mortgage loan. However, overseas real estate projects are very complex, and people must pay attention to many different areas, including buying real estate, investment, studying abroad, and immigration procedures.

Insiders say it's not easy for buyers to learn about the credit of local real estate developers due to differences in language and cultural background.

Buyers have to bear risks such as discrepancy⁴ between immigration policy and real estate purchases, for example, even if you own a house overseas, in some cases you are not allowed to manage your investment.

Gu Shiqi, an exhibitor at the trade fair explains:

"If you buy property abroad because you want to lease it out, you must have a clear understanding of the local market. You should not blindly buy property abroad. It's best to be clear about the situation beforehand, or get advice from insiders and experts."

Control measures on real estate have stimulated⁵ the interest of many Chinese people to invest in real estate abroad. Due to current control policies, 30% of home buyers have turned their attention from the domestic market to overseas.

Statistics reveal that investors⁶ from the mainland and Hong Kong account for 10.8% of the market seeking new homes in the US.

Due to the advantages of a stable market, investment in overseas real estate has become more and more popular among Chinese home buyers in recent years. In Australia, for example, where Chinese investors generally prefer to invest in real estate, in most areas the price of a house is 20,000 yuan per square meter. This is close to the current average house price in some regions of first-tier cities in China.

For CRI, I am Zhang Wan¹.

1 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。

2 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

3 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

4 discrepancy   

n.不同；不符；差异；矛盾

参考例句：

• The discrepancy in their ages seemed not to matter.他们之间年龄的差异似乎没有多大关系。
• There was a discrepancy in the two reports of the accident.关于那次事故的两则报道有不一致之处。

5 stimulated   

a.刺激的

参考例句：

• The exhibition has stimulated interest in her work. 展览增进了人们对她作品的兴趣。
• The award has stimulated her into working still harder. 奖金促使她更加努力地工作。

6 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会