Chinese real-estate investors are losing interest in the US as their concern over yuan depreciation eases and questions swirl around President Donald Trump's stance on protectionism.  That's the view of Andrew Haskins, executive director of Asia research and advisory services at Colliers International, who expects Chinese capital to return to Asia as investors pull out of America. 

“The bulk of yuan depreciation has probably already happened, and if that's the case there is less incentive for Chinese investors to place money in dollar-denominated assets,” Haskins said in an interview.

After declining 13% against the US dollar over the past two years, the yuan has gained almost 1% in 2017. Most other Asian currencies have also strengthened, led by the Korean won, which is up 4%. 

Asian property investment in the US surged to a peak of $33bn in 2015, representing 51% of aggregate investment outside Asia that year, according to Haskins, who cited Real Capital Analytics data supplemented by Colliers calculations. 

The figure fell by 12% to $29.1bn last year, of which Chinese capital accounted for 43%, he said.