Chinese home buyers boost property investment in Seattle

Realogics Sotheby's International Realty CEO Dean Jones says the influx of Chinese home buyers is certainly good news, because they account for more than half of Jones' clienteles.

"The secret is out and the Chinese know it. We have no state income tax. We have phenomenal schools, relative affordability when it comes to home prices, and high incomes."

Janie Lee, right, a residential specialist with John L. Scott Real Estate, shows a home for sale to her client, Hongbin Wei, center, of Beijing, China, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014, in Medina, Wash., near Seattle, as homeowner Doug Ebstyne looks on at left.[Photo: AP]

Cost-effective affordability is so far a major force boosting property investment, as it may cost much more for the same Chinese buyers in their hometowns. Robert Pong, a real estate agent at Realogics Sotheby's International Realty, explains.

"You take them on the boat. They look at this beautiful waterfront and they say 'wow, you only pay 10 million for something like this?' That's crazy for us to hear but the prices in some of the cities they come from, like Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai, is three, four, five times more."

No state income tax is another incentive for Chinese investors. In contrast, traditional property investment favorites like Vancouver on Canada's west coast imposed a 15-percent tax on foreign investment last year.

Apart from individual home buyers, Chinese property developers have also been enticed by the city's appeal.

Construction firm Create World set up its operations in Seattle three years ago. The Chinese developer is building its first project - an apartment and condo complex in the Bellevue area of Seattle. Lili Lu is the CEO of Create World America.

"We have high expectations for Seattle, and it hasn't let us down so far."

The Chinese developer is now planning a condominium tower in downtown Seattle, and Lu expects up to 40 percent of the planned condos to be sold to Chinese nationals. It is just another indicator that Chinese home buyers' interest in Seattle will likely keep going and remain robust for quite a while.