Spatial Deployment of the Chinese Property Market (2010–2016)

Abstract

Real estate activities and companies in China have grown considerably since the major reforms of the late 1970s. This paper examines the spatial deployment of firms linked to the Chinese real estate market in Chinese cities in 2010, 2013 and 2016. It provides a first mapping of multinational firms specialized in the real estate sector. It describes the patterns of ownership networks built by financial links both between foreign multinational firms and Chinese firms and among multinational firms themselves. It therefore provides a new understanding about the penetration of both foreign direct investment (FDI) and Hong Kong’s role in the Chinese real estate market. This paper provides a comparison of the spatial location logics of these firms according to their Chinese or foreign origin and offers a new perspective on the geography of real estate investment by analyzing financial links between the Chinese and foreign cities involved.