MYFOXNY.COM -
Foreigners are buying up New York City and it's a welcome development because it is helping the city recover from the recession and the 9/11 attacks.
The second tenant to lease space at Ground Zero's One World Trade Center was Vantone, a billion dollar real estate company from Beijing. A few blocks away the old AIG Insurance Company buildings were purchased and then sold by the South Korean company Young Woo.
The United States, especially New York City and Manhattan, are top real estate choices for Asian companies. It's bringing needed capital into the city's economy, according to city real estate agents.
"Big numbers in the billions, China, India and South Korea and Singapore are coming around," said Gie Faan Kim, Managing Director of Bracha Group.
Kim says wealthy Asian families buy homes here so their kids can get an American education, and Asian companies buy office buildings by Wall Street and Midtown to have a presence in the financial capital of the world.
The non-profit New York City Economic Development Corporation says that Asians see New York as a best buy.
"Foreign buyers are seeing this as a discount, getting great city like New York and have room for growth," said Kim.
So what is the trend for the future of the New York real estate market?
The American economy is rebounding, so the outlook good," added Kim.
What is driving this Asian investment in New York City? Generally good business in a stable, safe society with a clear, if exact, legal system, but also there's an immigration rule known as EB5. If you invest one million dollars in the U.S. economy, you get a visa and legal entry into the United States.
Purchasing New York City real estate, from the Italians who bought the Flatiron Building and Arabs who bought the Chrysler Building, has always been desired by foreign investors.
Now the some of the biggest investors are coming from Asia.
But some longtime immigrants are not benefiting.
Paul Lee, a community activist, says the Asian investment has not reached small stores owners in Chinatown. It's one lower Manhattan community that never recovered fully from the 9/11 attacks.
