Forget New York or San Francisco, Chinese investors are looking at balmy Miami
Despite tight capital control measures from Beijing, Miami is emerging as a cheaper buying destination in the U.S. for Chinese investors, Peggy Fucci, CEO of real estate broker OneWorld properties told "Squawk Box" on Thursday.
The city has remained a hot property for mainland investors even as Chinese regulators fined prominent brokerages Citic Securities, Haitong Securities, and Guosen Securities this week as a part of long-term capital control efforts in the country.
"I don't think that's going to stop the investment," Fucci said, referring to Beijing's efforts of cleaning up China's financial sector. "I think that the U.S. real estate will continue to be that safe haven and that the Chinese will always look into it."
Fucci said lower prices compared to long-standing investment havens like New York, San Francisco and Seattle help keep Miami in the mix for real estate investments from China.
Upcoming development projects are further attracting Chinese demand. Swire Properties is developing Brickell City Centre, which will include complex of luxury condos, office buildings, hotel and a shopping center.
Such increased foreign demand has been blamed for pushing property prices higher in the past, and has forced local governments to introduce cooling measures. But Fucci believes Miami's property market is still in the growing stage.
"I think that Miami has a lot of growing up to do and there's still a lot of room for growth in Miami," she said. "The real estate market is a long-term play not just a short-term."
