The United States is the leading target for real estate buyers based in China, followed by Australia, Canada, the UK and New Zealand, according to a survey making by a Chinese property company.

Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand make up the rest of the top five, according to the Quarter One survey from the popular Chinese-language website.

The ratio of buyers looking for US property fell from 20.69% in 2013 to 16.98% in the first three months of 2014, with Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco leading the way. But buyers are now more willing to look at investing in second and third-tier cities, including Seattle, Irvine and Dallas where prices are lower, SouFun suggests.

More investors are also aiming to increase their budget, with those willing to spend 5million Yuan (£477,900) or more rising from 26.75% last year to 40.86% this year.

“Many Chinese buyers began to focus on high-end real estate in the United States and the desire to pursue high quality of life is growing,” the report explains.

Most buyers of residential property (41%) chose houses, with 19.3% opting for condos and 7.8% townhouses. The amount of those investing in land rose from 7.88% last year to 13.4% now, which was boosted by new investors.

Australia attracted 13.7% of buyers, increasing its share, with 60% of them looking for property in Sydney and Melbourne, with the Gold Coast and Brisbane picking up 10% each. Most (38.6%) want villas, with 18.8% opting for condos and 11% for townhouses.

Canada was the choice of 10.22% of buyers, and Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa were among the most popular targets. Half of investors opt for villas, with a quarter preferring condos.

In Britain, London was by far the leading destination, attracting 69.7% of UK investors. Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester were the next most popular targets. As London property prices are already high and rising each month, Chinese investors are willing to increase their budget and around 20% of them are looking to spend between £500,000-£1million with others willing to pay more.

The UK was among nations attracting rising interest, up from 6.31% to 9.62%. Malaysia and South Korea also attracted more attention from investors.

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