[quote author="Anonymous" date=1233798998]bishopkr - depends on what sort of investor I guess. I could see someone buying their kid a place to go to school from. However, per the newsarticle with the larger capital outflow - that's likely another phenomenon. I mean, think about it, if you were a very, very wealthy Chinese investor that usually lent their money out in China for various business/real estate ventures for good return, but now with the downturn those opportunities were gone, you'd be looking overseas for opportunities. And those opportunities would be all about preserving and growing capital, not about sending your kids to school - it'd be a vast sum of money to invest, far more than one could spend on one's kids.</blockquote>
The Chinese investor traveling abroad with a local agent as their tour guide are not the the ultra rich. The ultra rich would have been well connected with the local developers for the properties that potentailly have a higher performance in return. The ones joining the tours of local San Gabriel agents are the mom and pops village operation that made their wealth but primarily still uneducated with global finances. They are the group who likely take detour trips to Cabazon, Vegas, and South Coast Plaza. Their biggest fear is not being able to keep an eye on the property and finding someone trust worthy will be difficult. The scenario of having relatives to occupying the property makes a lot of sense.