(Chinanews.com/Chen Chao)

China's total overseas investment in real estate hit $15.8 billion in the first half of the year, according to a report by the leading global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, China News reported on Aug. 23.

The report says that, in terms of investment categories, Chinese investment in overseas land development continued to grow in the first half of 2017, while office building investment dropped by 40 percent to $6.8 billion during the period on a year-on-year basis.

Among all overseas investment destinations for Chinese mainland investors in the first half of the year, Hong Kong ranked first with an investment of $5.4 billion, followed by the United States and the United Kingdom with investments of $4.2 billion and $4 billion, respectively.

Cushman & Wakefield predicted that investors from the Chinese mainland will still give priority to the three mature markets in the future.

The U.S. was also predicted to regain the top spot as the most favored overseas investment destination for Chinese investors in the long run.

In addition, real estate auctions show that nearly 30 pieces of land in Hong Kong will be open for bidding this year, which will be much attractive to investors from Chinese mainland.