Fast Growing Global Real Estate Firm Outlines Growth Predictions and the Influence of Chinese Homebuyers in the Puget Sound Region
On February 1st, 425 Business Magazine (“425″) highlighted Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty(“RSIR”) in a print article and homepage feature entitled “Eastside Real Estate is Growing Up.” In the piece,Adam Worcester digs into the inevitable growth of the Puget Sound area, which RSIR’s President and CEO Dean Jones says is moving vertically.
In an article revolving around growth, Dean Jones says he believes density paired with the region’s mountains and water will result in more skyscrapers and a changing landscape with “pockets of density on the Eastside developing around rail stops: mixed-use high rises with residences, restaurants, and retail stores.” The cause? As the article describes, “Jones thinks the driving force behind new growth in our area will be a continued stream of Chinese real estate investment, both residential and commercial.”
In a comparative analysis, 425 outlined the market in Vancouver B.C with the help of Dean Jones’s father Trevor, who was a real estate agent when Chinese investment and immigration first came to that region. As he told 425, “Our real estate is what it is because of the Chinese. Nothing else.” And while the Puget Sound is similar to many other “gateway cities,” there are a few key differences: the availability of waterfront properties, top-rated schools, and relative affordability. Citing data provided by RSIR, 425 says that the affordability ratio in West Coast cities peaks in Vancouver at 10.36 and is at its lowest in Seattle at 7.83. That, along with EB-5 investment opportunities, is contributing to an influx of Chinese homebuyers.
RSIR has been a leader in connecting Chinese homebuyers to the Puget Sound for years. Most recently, the firm worked alongside Tiger Oak Publications to produce Seattle Luxury Living, a 92-page all-Mandarin magazine and built a custom WeChat App platform with adSage. Jones is also a community leader, serving on the Washington State China Relations Council and working closely alongside the firm’s affiliate in Beijing. Their efforts recently shone through in the Juwai.com Chinese-American Real Estate Report and in Palace Magazine’s addition of Seattle to its list of Top Markets Sought by Asian Homebuyers. The firm also produced a feature documentary entitled East Meets West, which outlines China’s influence on the real estate market in the Seattle area:
“The world economy has become a global transfer of wealth, Jones said, and Seattle is becoming a hub for wealth distribution. [President] Xi’s visit was a tipping point for Chinese investment. ‘It’s no longer a question of if it’s going to happen; it’s when,’ said Jones. ‘Wealth is moving here long term.'”