In the past month, daily life in Nanjing, eastern China, has been tentatively returning to normal, following several weeks of lockdown to help combat the spread of coronavirus. Boris Mei, a 39-year-old who works in the export industry there, is among a rising number of Chinese looking to buy property overseas.
“I’m looking at either LA or Melbourne, as we have relatives in both cities,” he says. “We would like our daughter, 14, to study at university in either of these places, to experience the overseas lifestyle — and possibly for us to migrate as a family in the future.” Mei is planning to buy an “entry-level property” initially, for about Rmb3m ($425,000).
He began his search before the outbreak of coronavirus, but is now looking more seriously, waiting for the right time to make an offer. “The economic situation is not optimistic globally, I feel that prices will continue to drop for property, so I would like to wait and see if it will go lower.”