In Hawaii you hear it every day, “the Chinese are coming…with bags of money to buy up our real estate!”

Well, the reality is, Chinese buyers do buy, but still only represent an small part of the market here on Oahu, In 2012 Chinese investors made up five percent of all of Oahu’s international investors. But oftentimes when the Chinese do buy, they are selecting trophy properties in Kahala and along the ridges of East Honolulu - and they’re paying cash.

Following an Internet lead from China, I had a family that flew in specifically to purchase property. Within days, they had selected a million dollar-plus home in Kahala to use as a second home – of sorts. They paid for the property and then bought a car and other items for the home… all with cash. During their first year of ownership, the family returned to Hawaii only twice and eventually decided to sell and buy in Los Angeles where "the Chinese food was better.”