China Moves to U.S. Projects Investors Taking on Distressed Properties in Cities Such as Detroit

中, 美 부동산 투자 붐...'깡통부동산'도 넘봐

 

2013.10.29 16:04+크게

(머니투데이 김신회 기자) 중국의 미국 부동산 투자 붐이 '깡통 부동산'까지 확산되고 있다. 중국 자금은 뉴욕 맨해튼의 노른자위 부동산은 물론 최근 재정위기 끝에 파산한 디트로이트의 빚더미 오피스빌딩과 호텔로도 유입되고 있다고 월스트리트저널(WSJ)이 28일(현지시간) 보도했다.

 

신문은 중국 투자자들이 높은 공실률로 고전하는 오피스 빌딩 등 미국의 문제 많은 부동산까지 노리는 것은 부동산 가격이 반등할 때까지 몇 년이라도 장기 보유하겠다는 의지를 반영하는 것이라고 지적했다. 미국 부동산시장의 회복 가능성에 대한 베팅이라는 이야기다.

 

일례로 중국 부동산업체 둥두인터내셔널(DDI)은 이달 초 디트로이트 지역 대표 신문 '디트로이트프리프레스' 전 본사 등 디트로이트의 랜드마크 오피스 빌딩 2개를 1360만달러에 매입했다. DDI는 디트로이트프리프레스 본사는 아파트로 탈바꿈하고 데이비드스톳 빌딩은 전처럼 오피스 빌딩으로 계속 쓸 계획이다. 이 빌딩의 공실률은 75%가 넘는다.

 

중국 투자자들은 최근 뉴욕의 카사호텔도 매입했다. 이 호텔 소유주는 최근 파산보호를 신청했다. 1980-90년대 대표적인 소프트웨어 업체였던 볼랜드가 본사로 삼았던 실리콘밸리의 한 오피스 빌딩도 중국 투자자 손에 넘어 갔는데 이 곳도 높은 공실률도 고전해왔다.

 

장민겅 그랜드차이나펀드 회장은 "미국의 부실 부동산의 할인가격이 일생일대의 기회를 제공하고 있다"고 말했다.

 

이런 분위기를 반영하듯 올 들어 중국의 미국 부동산 투자액은 급증했다. 중국 정부가 기업들을 상대로 자산 다변화와 외환 소비를 부추긴 데 따른 것이다. 올 들어 중국인들이 산 미국 부동산은 17억달러어치로 2011년 전체의 11억달러를 훌쩍 넘어섰다.

<저작권자 @머니투데이, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지>

 

 

The Wall Street Journal

 

2013년 10월 28일 오후4:49

 

Chinese property investors are flocking abroad for better yields. The WSJ's Wei Gu speaks with Michael Klibaner, greater China head of research for Jones Lang LaSalle, about how high real-estate prices at home are pushing Chinese to diversify overseas.

By MATTHEW DOLAN and CRAIG KARMIN

 

 

An unlikely participant increasingly is showing up in the bidding for distressed office buildings, hotels and other overleveraged commercial properties left over from the boom years: Chinese investors.

 

While China has made headlines recently for landing trophy properties in Manhattan and for developing new projects in California, Chinese investors also have been pursuing properties that are in default on loans, suffering high vacancy rates or facing other turnaround challenges.

 

 

The deals are a sign that some Chinese investors are willing to take more risk than most seasoned foreign real-estate companies and even many U.S. investors. Experts say this reflects their willingness to hold real estate for years until values rebound.

 

In the most recent deal, Dongdu International, known as DDI, earlier this month paid a total of $13.6 million for two of Detroit's better-known buildings, including the former home of the Detroit Free Press. DDI is planning to convert the empty Free Press building into apartments and keep the David Stott building, which is less than 25% occupied, as an office building.

 

Chinese investors also have purchased New York's Cassa Hotel, whose owners were seeking bankruptcy protection for the property, and a largely vacant office park in Silicon Valley that once was the headquarters of Borland Software Corp. Four of the 15 largest U.S. property investments by the Chinese in the past two years "resolved a troubled situation," according to Real Capital Analytics Inc., a data and research firm.

The discounted prices on distressed U.S. real estate offers "a once in a lifetime opportunity," says Zhang Mingeng, chairman of Grand China Fund, which manages yuan-denominated funds investing $4 billion in Chinese real estate and a $60 million dollar-denominated fund investing in the U.S.

 

Overall Chinese investment in U.S. property has risen sharply this year as Beijing has encouraged companies to diversify and spend foreign capital reserves. Chinese property deals in the U.S. already have reached $1.7 billion in 2013, up from $1.1 billion in 2011, according to Real Capital.

 

Like most foreign investors, some Chinese buyers are targeting trophy properties such as one Chase Manhattan Plaza, which is being purchased for $725 million by Fosun International Ltd. Earlier this year, billionaire Zhang Xin bought a stake in the General Motors building overlooking Central Park, in a deal that valued the tower at $3.4 billion.

 

What is unusual is that Chinese investors also are going after distressed properties that typically require local real-estate savvy and often additional investment. Foreign investors often steer clear of these deals because of the costs and complications involved with renovations, brokers, local politics and complying with U.S. laws.

 

Chinese investors are showing up more in sales by Auction.com LLC, which this year will conduct about 6,500 auctions of property, much of it distressed, according to executive vice president Rick Sharga. In just the past few months, they have made 23 bids and that doesn't include those making offers through U.S. representatives, he says.

Some Chinese investors are willing to take on such challenges because the properties are selling at steep discounts. The two Detroit buildings, for example, each would cost between $80 million and $100 million to replace, according to Ryan Snoek, a consultant for Luke Investments, the seller of the properties.

"People from China look at the price in which you can buy these buildings and think that's the cost of one apartment in Shanghai," says Goodwin Gaw, founder of the Hong Kong-based Gaw Capital Partners. The real-estate investment firm is in the early stages of raising a $300 million to $500 million fund for investing in U.S. real estate.

 

Some Chinese investors pride themselves in seeing value in troubled properties. DDI's chairman, Hailin Li, likes preserving architecturally significant buildings, said Peter Wood, general manager of the company's enterprise center in Shanghai.

"There is a deep understanding and respect as to what [role] these type of iconic buildings can play in the life of the local community," Mr. Wood says.

Detroit's central business district has seen more deals this year, Much of the buying is by Dan Gilbert, the billionaire founder of Quicken Loans Inc., which moved its headquarters there. Still, many real-estate investors have steered clear of the city, which filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year.

 

Chinese investors also have been willing to take on more risk than other foreign investors that arrived recently. State-owned property developer Greenland Holdings Group has cut a tentative deal to buy a 70% stake in a sprawling development project next to the new Barclays Center arena in Brooklyn.

For investors looking for distressed properties, there are plenty on the market. About $44 billion in delinquent loans that were converted into commercial mortgage-backed securities still are outstanding, according to real-estate data tracker Trepp LLC. That is down from $63 billion in 2011 but still way above the $2 billion in early 2007, Trepp says.

The pace of sales of these assets has been increasing by special servicers or auction houses. For example, the former Borland campus in Silicon Valley was taken over by special servicer LNR Partners LLC after a debt default and sold through Auction.com. The property, which was only about 13% occupied, was purchased by Hong Bo Li, a China-based investor.

Beijing's HNA Property Holdings, a subsidiary of a Chinese airline, bought New York's Cassa Hotel in 2011 for $130 million. The owner, an affiliate of Assa Properties, was seeking bankruptcy protection for the project at the time. The Chinese company partially renovated the Times Square property, which now is charging rates starting at around $340 for a Saturday night room.

 

 

 

 

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