RICH Chinese investors are finding luxury real estate is a good hiding place from the economic fallout of the coronavirus.

Across China and in some of their familiar hunting grounds in Asia, wealthy buyers are snapping up top-end housing, in many cases to guard their wealth against anticipated inflation and a weakening yuan. The rush to add real estate has led to a jump in upmarket housing prices in China, while offering some support for Asian property markets hit hard by the pandemic.

“It’s been flat-out,” said Monika Tu, founder of Black Diamondz, an Australian company that caters to Chinese buyers of luxury real estate.

Since March, Tu has sold A$85 million (US$55 million) of prime property, with about half the sales to Chinese clients who were in Australia when the pandemic hit. That’s a 25 percent jump from earlier in the year. The homes, priced between A$7.25 million and A$19.5 million, are all in Sydney’s well-heeled, ocean-front suburbs such as Point Piper.

A gradual easing of virus restrictions is making it easier for wealthy Chinese to view properties and complete purchases in nearby Asian hot spots like Shanghai, Seoul, Sydney and Singapore.

Chinese buyer inquiries for South Korean property increased 180 percent in the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2019, while inquiries on New Zealand homes jumped 75 percent, according to data from Juwai Iqi, a real estate firm. Searches dropped 32 percent in the United Kingdom and 18 percent in the United States.

Even in Singapore, where a partial lockdown remains in place, activity is picking up via online platforms. Three Chinese clients bought six apartments worth a combined S$20 million (US$11 million) at Marina One Residences this month without any virtual tours, said Clarence Foo, a property agent with APAC Realty Ltd.’s unit ERA. One investor spent about S$12 million on three separate three-bedroom units in the same development, a five-minute walk to the iconic Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino.

“They view Singapore’s property market as a safe haven because of its stability. It’s a more regulated market compared to say Hong Kong,” ERA’s Foo said.

Outside Asia’s major financial centers, inquiries are also rising. Malaysian real estate agent Zulkhairi Anwar, who specializes in luxury properties at Azmi & Co., conducted viewings this month with two Chinese nationals looking at apartments and bungalows in the US$2 million to US$5 million range in the capital Kuala Lumpur.

“I don’t think the pandemic would deter the Chinese from coming back,” Zulkhairi said. “Malaysia appeals to them because there’s a substantial local Chinese population here, making it easier for them to integrate, and our luxury properties are still cheaper than the likes of Singapore.”

Affluent Chinese buyers are also starting to shop at home. Homes priced at about 20 million yuan (US$2.8 million) in the country’s biggest cities have emerged as among the most popular since April, according to China Real Estate Information Corp. Prices for top-end homes in the four biggest Chinese cities rose 1 percent in April, led by the biggest jump in two years in Shenzhen.

In Shenzhen, developers sold a record number of luxury residences last month, according to Landz Realtor, which tracks high-end sales.

In Shanghai, demand exceeded supply by fivefold for US$2.4 million apartments at the Oriental Garden project south of the Bund waterfront promenade. (SD-Agencies)