Chinese investors have targeted three Southern California submarkets for investment in industrial product. According to a new study from Investorist, Chino, Portola Hills and Irvine are the top Southern California markets for single-family home investment. Single-family home developers say that 98% of the occupancy in these communities is from Chinese buyers. We sat down with Josh Cunningham, VP of Sales for Americas at Investorist, to talk about the increase in single-family investment from Chinese buyers and why they have targeted these three communities.

GlobeSt.com: Why have Irvine, Chino and Portola Hills been pinpointed as the top markets for foreign investors?

Josh Cunningham: For Irvine, there have been two main factors: One, the large existing Chinese population. Two, the area's excellent University offerings – based on a survey we conducted in China earlier this year with over 120 Chinese-based agents advising their Chinese clientele on where to invest in the US, education was ranked the number one motivators for Chinese investment, following asset safety and lifestyle.