LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Times reported today that home buying trips to America are quickly becoming one of the more popular tour packages for Chinese travelers. San Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, three cities hard hit by foreclosures, are three of the most popular destinations.

While some purchases would be purely investments, most buyers are looking to occupy their homes, either as new immigrants or for children attending American colleges. The numbers aren't expected to make much of an impact on overall sales figures, but in areas like Los Angeles' San Gabriel Valley, home to the largest concentration of Chinese American communities in the country, sales are brisk.

The tours operate like others that have sprung up in high-foreclosure areas, with buyers boarding buses or vans to tour several properties at once. The LA Times sourced James Chou of Alhambra's Coldwell Banker George Realty, who said he will host several Chinese tour groups next year that will bring as many as 200 buyers to San Gabriel Valley.