Emily Landes has a fascinating account today on the San Francisco Chronicle’s “On the Block” blog detailing how brokerage Pacific Union “decided it wanted to play ball” in China last year and sponsored a black-tie dinner in Beijing honoring the country’s 100 richest people.

Seeing the potential to do some big business with wealthy Chinese looking for homes in the U.S., the company hired a bilingual “concierge” and is building a website to market listings in Mandarin. The website, which launches May 15, is hosted on a Chinese server to get around lag time for sites that are hosted outside the country.

Pacific Union CEO Mark McLaughlin tells Landes that wealthy Chinese buyers are quick to buy, but instead of trading up in a few years, they “tend to buy, hold and then buy more.” That could add to the inventory crunch in San Francisco and other markets and drive prices higher. Source: blog.sfgate.com.

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
Only 3 days left to register for Inman Connect Las Vegas before prices go up! Don't miss the premier event for real estate pros.Register Now ×
Limited Time Offer: Get 1 year of Inman Select for $199SUBSCRIBE×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×