The American consumer may still be hobbled, but investors are helping to prop up the U.S. housing market — and many of the retail investors buying homes are from Asia. CNBC reports:

While American secondary schools and universities are a big draw for the majority of Chinese buyers in California, Yang, and many of his colleagues, are also concerned about China's political instability, inflation, even pollution. They are paying all-cash for real estate in California, using it as a safe-haven for their wealth. 

The coverage also notes that many aren't moving to the U.S. immediately, as they have young children and are waiting for them to become school-aged. in the meantime, many of these new investors are renting out their homes.