Bankrupt Detroit has thousands of empty buildings that are being offered for sale at record low prices, and they are proving hard to resist for Chinese investors, who are buying up these unbeatable deals.
With office buildings and factories sitting empty, the influx of cash is most welcome to the city, which has recently received bankruptcy court approval to have its $18 billion in accumulated debt restructured.
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder recently paid a week-long visit to China. On the eve of his visit, Gov. Snyder commented that Detroit is coming back and that the city is emerging from bankruptcy.
The governor was planning to visit Shanghai, Beijing and three other cities while in China. The country is Michigan’s third-largest export market.
Chinese investors are no strangers to the Detroit market. In September 2013, Dongdu International Group of Shanghai paid $13.6 million for three buildings in Detroit.
The package included the Detroit Free Press building and a complex built by Kmart founder Sebastian Kresge.
The company wanted to own “a bit of classic America”and be part of the city’s recovery. The same amount of money it spent on the three Detroit buildings would buy one upscale apartment in Shanghai, which means American properties offer good value for these international buyers, too.
