Chinese Buyers: Interview with the Vancouver Observer
My most recent interview with the Vancouver Observer's Jenny Uechi: Ever increasing Chinese Buyers and the Vancouver Real Estate Market.
Anthea Poon is a local-born agent who speaks Cantonese and some Mandarin as well as English and French. She said her skills have helped significantly in serving the Chinese clients, who make up half of her clientele.Poon said that Chinese buyers view West Vancouver as the most desirable location, though East Vancouver has also started to be in demand. "Many of them are coming with cash on hand, literally. And they're buying properties at that moment." She said that the typical house in the Cambie area -- which is "hot" at the moment -- average around $1.4 - $1.5 million, while homes in the Dunbar area are closer to $2 million.
The high volume of foreign home buyers has provoked some unease among locals in Vancouver. Real estate entrepreneur Cam Good, whose company The Key caters largely to China-based clients, wrote in The Vancouver Sun that his office was recently "inundated with emails" by people fearing a "Chinese takeover".
Poon said that the fear of outside buyers is unfounded, and that many Chinese buyers are here with the intention of settling down for their child's education or to enjoy a higher quality of life. "I've been fortunate to work closely with Chinese buyers and investors over the years and they are very humble, genuine and open minded people," she said.
However, with the average Vancouver home costing many times above the average annual income (the average home in Vancouver is 9.5 times the city's median houshold income of $63,000), some people have been calling for government to step in and restrict foreign ownership. Former city councillor Peter Ladner said last month that countries like Australia restrict foreign ownership and that Vancouver should be considering the idea.
Poon, however, believes that shutting out Asian investors would be a mistake and would reflect negatively on Vancouver's reputation.
"Chinese investment is a big reason we were able to survive the global economic downturn as well as we did," she said. "How can we set impositions on the very people who believed in and supported us throughout the economic recession?"
Hasman, meanwhile, believes that government may have to step in to bring the prices down and make housing more affordable.
May 20, 2011. For the more details please visit: http://www.vancouverobserver.com/city/2011/05/20
