Chinese investments in US housing market surge

Data from the US National Association of Realtors (NAR) showed that Chinese buyers spent $2.2 million in the US real estate market last financial year, taking up a quarter of foreign investors' spending, news agency China News Service (CNS) reported Wednesday.

From April 2013 to March 2014, foreign buyers spent $9.22 million in the US real estate market, an increase of 35 percent year-on-year, according to a report released by the NAR on Tuesday.

Chinese investors, wh0 accounted for 24 percent of the foreign investment, spent $2.2 million in the financial year, up 80 percent year-on-year, CNS reported.

The NAR's report showed that more than half of foreign homebuyers come from Canada, China, Mexico, India and the UK, with Chinese buyers taking up 16 percent, only next to Canadian, and growing fast, according to CNS.

The report said more than three-fourths of Chinese buyers pay cash for home purchase and they favor property in California, Washington, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas states.