The recent purchase of the Chase Manhattan building in New York City by a Chinese buyer is only one of many global commercial acquisitions of its kind. For Chinese investors, real estate in New York is not only a valuable hard asset, but is also a “bargain” compared to Chinese real estate in major cities, according to The Wall Street Journal. In a video interview with Michael Klibaner, the Greater China head of research for Jones Lang LaSalle, he states that real estate prices in China are at an “all-time high,” and the Chase Manhattan building was actually half the price of a recent commercial property deal that recently happened in China. According to him, mature markets like the United States “were really hit very hard by the financial crisis, and it is really only in the last year or two years that interest is coming back and prices are rebounding, but on a relative value basis, they look very attractive.” Watch the video embedded above to hear more of his take on why U.S. real estate is such a steal for China’s investors.
