China’s ultra-rich are snatching up luxury homes in bet on first-tier cities, defying property crisis in country

BEIJING: Linda Wang, a 30-year-old Shanghai native, bought a 186-square metre new home in the city’s downtown Xuhui district at 26.4 million yuan (US$3.7 million) on August 29, after she and her family sold two other flats a year ago.

Wang, whose latest purchase is her third home in the city, represents a new trend among ultra-rich homebuyers who are snapping up luxury flats despite a national property downturn, in the hope that the scarcity of properties in prime neighbourhoods of first-tier cities can help protect their assets, reported South China Morning Post.