Sound Off: Will overseas economic woes impact our real estate market?

Will overseas economic woes impact our real estate market?

In the Marin County real estate market, where we specialize, we are not anticipating much of an impact to the overall real estate activity from the economic issues in Greece and China.

Survey data from the National Association of Realtors shows that Chinese buyers have surpassed Canadians in 2014 as the top international buyers of U.S. homes.

The biggest concern is whether the drop in China’s stock market will cause the country’s economy to slow, as many U.S. companies do business in China, and a weaker Chinese economy could result in lower sales and profits for them.

The risk of financial catastrophe seems much more limited, and we expect the economic and financial fallout to be minimal

Greece’s government debt default and China’s stock market crisis keep everyone in the U.S. wondering what the consequences may be for our economy.

A possible upset of the U.S. financial markets.

The Federal Reserve might want to wait on the interest rate increase planned to begin in September this year.

If the interest rates remain low and housing inventory at the same level, our local real estate market will be favorable to local buyers and perhaps to some foreign investors looking to park their money securely.

According to National Association of Realtors, Chinese investors spent $22 billion buying real estate in our country last year.

[...] what is safer for their investments at this time than the Bay Area real estate market?

Pacific Union Christie’s International Real Estate,

Greece plays only a small role in our economy, so our real estate is not affected.

Experts estimate U.S. exports to Greece don’t even account for half a percent of our economy.

China could affect our real estate in certain neighborhoods, specifically SoMa, South Beach, Mission Bay and Yerba Buena.

Chinese culture tends to be conservative and with their financial turmoil, I can see these buyers waiting for the storm to pass.

Curiously, Qu Hongbin, chief economist for Greater China at HSBC, an international bank, recently told clients that the stock market wealth effect in China is smaller than many assume, as stocks represent less than 15 percent of household financial assets and equity issuance accounts for less than 5 percent of total social financing.

Par Hanji, Paragon Real Estate Group,