Chinese investors make up 80pc of visa waiting list

Photo: Paul McDee

The visas, which are given to those who invest at least $500,000 into a business in the US, have been snapped up by Chinese buyers, according to real estate firm Savill Studley.

Demand has been high consistently for some time, with over 10,000 visas in total issued in 2014, 25 per cent higher than 2013. Indeed, the year's allocation was already used up by the end of August. Savills Studley forecasts a similar scenario in 2015, with the year's allotment of EB-5 permits predicted to be given out by September.

Over 6,400 people are now on the waiting list for the visas, says the report, quoted by Reuters, with over 8 in 10 of them hailing from mainland China.

The report follows a study by Investorist, which said that investment from Chinese buyers in overseas property has reached "unprecedented" levels, with no sign of slowing down.

Figures from the National Association of Realtors last year found that Chinese buyers were the biggest spender out of all foreign nationalities, splashing $22 billion on American property with an average sale cost of $590,826.

All 105 agencies included in Investorist's survey expect to see sales increase this year, expecting to sell more than 10,000 international properties.

"China’s domestic real estate market is going down, while the buying power of RMB is going up, definitely more and more people will want to relocate some of their wealth in a different market," predicts Song Han, Director of 5zfang.com.