No homebuying sprees expected

Brexit will have a limited impact on Chinese homebuyers in Britain because most of those purchases are not made as investments, but for other reasons, according to Charles Pittar, chief executive of Juwai, an international property listings website.

Education is the chief reason Chinese buy homes in Britain, he explains. "For most Chinese buyers, it is a long-term game. If they want to buy an apartment for their children in preparation for college, they shouldn't be too worried about Brexit."

A Juwai survey this month of 411 Chinese real estate professionals and investors found that 51 percent had temporarily postponed their property transactions in Britain pending the outcome of the June 23 vote.

Justina Fan, executive director at global property service provider DTZ/Cushman & Wakefield, says Brexit will have little effect on the UK housing market.

"For one thing, the UK's housing market is always in short supply. A stable population increase and changes to people's mindset, resulting in an increasing rate of people living alone, have helped to boost the demand for housing," she says. "But in terms of supply, development of new housing projects is limited by conservative urban development ideas and extremely high land prices."

(China Daily Africa Weekly 07/02/2016 page9)