New Chinese Real Estate ETF Beckons

This week, the first U.S.-listed China Real Estate exchange traded fund (ETF) hit the market. The Claymore/AlphaShares China Real Estate ETF (TAO) began trading on the New York Stock Exchange Arca. It is the first vehicle to offer investors the opportunity to invest in the growing Chinese real estate market. Real estate news in the U.S. has not been so positive lately, but there are reasons to look at other real estate markets as a possible investment. Here are a few reasons the Chinese real estate market is beckoning:

• China’s 1.3 billion residents are becoming wealthier and with increased foreign investment in China, there has been a boom in Chinese property values.
• China is urbanizing very quickly as more residents move from rural areas to the cities to seek greater economic opportunity, creating increasing demand for housing.
• Today, 40% of China’s citizens live in cities. But by 2020, that number is expected to grow to 60%.