The ten most expensive cities for real estate have only one US city: New York. The other cities are Monaco, Hong Kong, London, Singapore, all outranking New York, and Sydney, Pairs, Moscow and Shanghai, reports Investors Business Daily.
From February 2014 through February 2014, 788 homes were sold in the US for over $10mm, according to Zillow. Over half the sales were in Los Angeles and the New York area. Some of the most expensive transactions were in San Francisco, south Florida, Aspen and Vail.
Savills, the global real estate company in London, reports that the average luxury home in Hong Kong was valued at about $11,000 per sq ft. In London, the average was $5300 per sq ft and in New York $4100 per sq ft.
With strong economic growth in China, the National Association of Realtors states that the Chinese are buying up high-end US properties, attracted by America’s stronger property rights and a relative stable political and economic climate. International buyers have found Florida real estate less expensive than in their own countries, according to 80% of surveyed Florida realtors. While the median price paid by international buyers in Florida was $216,477, it appears that the segment of interest in properties for foreign buyers is very limited.
Channel 12 News reports that in 2013, Florida was visited by 266,000 Chinese tourists. Orlando, Miami and Pinellas County have tourism leaders making pitches to and working with Chinese tourism operators in Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Shanghai to start selling vacation packages in China that will showcase the beaches, museums and golf resorts in the county, aiming for Florida home buyers.
