NEW YORK — Asian buyers are spending billions to scoop up luxury properties across the US, including some of New York City’s priciest addresses.

Fifteen apartments going for roughly $1 million each at the Upper East Side’s sought-after 515 East 72nd Street have been purchased by Asian buyers in the past six months, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Those purchases are just a small part of the $9 billion buyers from China and Hong Kong spent on US real estate in the 12 months ending in March, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Several full-floor apartments at the new One57 high rise in Manhattan — the product of architect Christian de Portzamparc and interior designer Thomas Juul-Hansen — have gone into contract with buyers from China, with price tags upwards of $50 million.

The phenomenon of deep-pocketed overseas buyers, while not new in Manhattan, has reached a fever pitch in recent years. Foreign buyers snapped up five of the 12 Manhattan homes that have sold for more than $35 million since 2010, the Journal reported.

A One57 penthouse duplex that has not even been built yet sold in May for between $90 million and $100 million, according to the New York Post.

The nationality and exact amount the buyer agreed to pay are unknown, but the price tops the $88 million paid by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, who reportedly bought a penthouse for his daughter last winter at 15 Central Park West.

January Pending Home Sales Rise, Market on Uptrend

Washington, DC, February 27, 2012

Pending home sales are on an upward trend, which has been uneven but meaningful since reaching a cyclical low last April, and are well above a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 2.0 percent to 97.0 in January from a downwardly revised 95.1 in December and is 8.0 percent higher than January 2011 when it was 89.8. The data reflects contracts but not closings.

The January index is the highest since April 2010 when it reached 111.3 as buyers were rushing to take advantage of the home buyer tax credit.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said this is a hopeful indicator going into the spring home-buying season. “Given more favorable housing market conditions, the trend in contract activity implies we are on track for a more meaningful sales gain this year. With a sustained downtrend in unsold inventory, this would bring about a broad price stabilization or even modest national price growth, of course with local variations.”

The PHSI in the Northeast rose 7.6 percent to 78.2 in January and is 9.8 percent above a year ago. In the Midwest the index declined 3.8 percent to 88.1 but is 10.8 percent higher than January 2011. Pending home sales in the South increased 7.7 percent to an index of 109.1 in January and are 10.5 percent above a year ago. In the West the index fell 4.4 percent in January to 101.9 but is 0.7 percent above January 2011.

“Movements in the index have been uneven, reflecting the headwinds of tight credit, but job gains, high affordability and rising rents are hopefully pushing the market into what appears to be a sustained housing recovery,” Yun said. “If and when credit availability conditions return to normal, home sales will likely get a 15 percent boost, speed up the home-price recovery, and thereby significantly reduce the number of homeowners who are underwater.”

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.