Ron DeSantis: Chinese Purchases of U.S. Real Estate Are a ‘Huge Problem’

United States farmland (1)
Sergio Flores/Bloomberg via Getty Images; inset: Joe Raedle/ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images

China’s purchases of American homes and land are a “huge problem,” Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in an interview.

Ron DeSantis made the remark after the news surfaced in a National Association of Realtors (NAR) report that China is the biggest investor in the United States real estate market, gobbling up $6.1 billion worth of homes and land last year.

“I don’t think they should be able to do it,” DeSantis said on a Fox News program.

“I think the problem is these companies have ties to the CCP, and it’s not always apparent on the face of whatever a company is doing — but I think it’s a huge problem,” DeSantis said.

NewsMax reported that the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2019 revealed that Chinese-linked entities owned at least 192,000 acres of American farmland worth more than $1.9 billion.

As Breitbart News reported:

The other top investors in U.S. real estate, in order from second, are Canada ($3.6 billion), India ($3.6 billion), Mexico ($2.9 billion), and Brazil ($1.6 billion).

Florida was the state that has the most real estate purchases, according to the NAR report, and [2021] represents the 14th consecutive year that foreign investors picked that state as a top choice.

Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) earlier this month wrote a letter to the Biden administration asking for a review of a Chinese company’s purchase of North Dakota farmland located just 12 miles from Grand Forks Air Force Base, where drone technology is stored.

Follow Penny Starr on Twitter

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.