Hello all ! My fiance lives in KM now, as does most of her family. She will be joining me in the US next year. When I retire in about 5 years we will be moving back to KM to live.

Of course that is a long time away, but planning early never hurts.

One of the things I am most interested in at this time is the housing market. We intend to buy a home.

I will be in KM from Jan 9 - 15, 2009 and I wanted to look at some homes for sale. I grew up in, and am accustomed to a large home. I know that probably isn't going to be easy to find, so in the hopes of making my expectations reasonable, is it possible to find a home in the 110 - 150 sqm with a two car garage? What are the price ranges for these types of homes? Are there any good real estate agents that speak english that any one recommends? I like the green lake area, but I assume that may be a bit pricey. Any suggestions?

I ask my fiance about homes with garages and she just looks at me like I am crazy!

Also, while my fiance/wife will attempt to teach me Mandarin when we are in the US, I would be willing to bet that I will need to go to school to learn Mandarin when we move there. Any schools you would recommend?

Thanks for any advice you can give!

If you can afford to do so, buy now, the market has recently cooled somewhat, making purchases a bit cheaper and the renmimbi/US dollar exchange rate is only going to move against you as time goes on. Another thing to consider is that the government penalises anyone selling a property within 5 years of purchase by confiscating 20% of the sale price, so if you were to purchase now, you wouldn't be subject to this when you finally settle here. Personally we have several properties here. I regard Kunming as a good long term investment, as the Chinese population ages more and more of them will look to places such as Kunming to retire. We are in fact looking to sell one of our properties which we've held for just over 5 years and reinvest in another promising property. It is a large apartment about 180 sqm, with 6 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms spread over 2 floors and is currently rented out. If your interested in talking, email me at edm.mark@gmail.com and I'll give you our telephone numbers here, you and I can talk in English or your fiance can talk to my wife in mandarin. Regards atomic.

Larry,
We just got a wonderful place in the North of KM. Many foreigners are moving to this area. It is newer and cleaner. many restaurants/walmart, etc...
Our Real-estate agent was great! He also found a place for our friends. I went thru at least 8 other agents that all waisted my time before finding him. He speaks excellent english and will search for exactly what/where you want to live.

Also, there are some western style houses (not appartments) in the area.
For more info email me @ zhappylucky@gmail.com

-Matt

The housing market has cooled, yes, although I wouldnt jump in something right now....even if the banks are giving record low interest rates.

In my opinion, 2 to 3 years time we will see an upward trend in housing market....Why you ask??

The drastic drop in western consumer goods demands will only effect China next year.
Although a slowdown in China's economy will be delayed it wont be as drastic as the toppling domino effect we saw in the western credit system.

One thing to keep in mind is China holds the debt of the USA....the final outcome after this downturn will see China well positioned in the world economy

Larry, my Chinese wife and I bought a 150 sq. m. 4 bedroom/2 bath condo in a area south of the current airport. This area is going to develop into the new city center. It is definitely not populated by westerners. For months, I was the only laowai anyone saw. Western style detached houses are called "villas" here. Villas can also be 2 and 3 story townhouses. 2 car garages are not common, but some villa developments do have them. Exclusive villas neighborhoods are usually gated and remote with driving an absolute requirement. Driving in Kunming is a complete waste of time since the infrastructure cannot support the influx of new drivers/new cars. Many condo developments like ours are like little cities with banks, a post office, many shops, restaurants, bars and grocery stores. They also have access to the bus system and soon some will have access to light rail. Newer condo buildings have assigned parking spaces in underground garages that can be purchased.

You will get the biggest bang for your "buck" or "quai" by looking into developments where ground breaking is imminent or in the planning stages. The cost/sq. m. rises and the number of units available decreases as construction near completion. Take the time to explore the city thoroughly. We even talked to taxi drivers about different parts of the city regarding things like extreme traffic congestion, relative air quality and even the incidence of flooding due to excessive rains.

Kunming is as a good a place to live as anywhere in China with the added benefits or great weather, a beautiful province and IMHO the best cuisine in China!