The CAP rates one new construction are much lower and a lot of times builders will offer move-in specials to get higher rents than the market will support (ex. 3 months "free" rent at 1.25x market rate). 

I have heard that a HELOC on investment property is doable but more difficult.

Typically what I end up seeing is banks willing to loan 80 of the Appraised value but with a cap at 90% of whatever you have into the deal. 

They want 1.6m, but at a 7% CAP it works out to be worth about 900K.

This way, rather than the group of 3 being capped at 10 total, you can get to 30 total.

For individual units, the cap rate isn't too bad at around 2-5%, especially considering the appreciation, but I feel like I have money stuffed under the mattress with the large amounts of equity I have built up in them.My end game is to leave Beijing and move to the SW U.S. when I retire from my current career within the next 5 years. 

Recapture tax is capped at 25%, so it would actually be LESS than the regular tax bracket for many investors. 

I’ll admit, they can be difficult to find since everyone is overvaluing properties in this market. 

I suppose they are "retail prices" creating a 7-8% CAP rate overall.

So it is very difficult to purchase off the online auction.