How China's property boom is driving young couples to invest in overseas real estate

It is a fact that China is modernizing rapidly but the Chinese society still keeps many of its traditional values. For example, the idea of getting married before starting a career still prevails within China. Mr. Li is 30 years old and says that his parents started to build a house on their farmland for him when he was 18 years old.

The prerequisite for marriage for Chinese men has entailed "three necessities". In the 1970s, the three necessities were the ownership of a bicycle, a watch, and a sewing machine. In the ‘80s, it was a fridge, a TV and a washing machine. In the ‘90s, Chinese men were supposed to own an air-conditioner, a computer, and a DVD player. And currently, the three necessities for a Chinese men have become an apartment, a car and a good amount of savings in the bank.

However, Chinese men face major problems as China's real estate prices have increased exponentially over the last decade. For example, the average price of real estate in Beijing was 1300 USD per square foot in December 2017.  As a reference point, the price per square foot in the most expensive city in the US (New York) is 1700 USD, and in San Francisco it is 1200 USD.  Clearly, real estate prices  in China are extremely high pushing many local Chinese citizens to invest in real estate in the US instead.