I didn't see a link to the actual report which I believe is this[0]
[0] http://www.realtor.org/reports/profile-of-international-home...
Chinese Buyers Replace Canadians as Top Foreign Buyers of U.S. Homes
21–30 of 35 posts
Re: Chinese Buyers Replace Canadians as Top Foreign Buyers of U.S. Homes
#22China has an authoritarian government that produces pollution that threatens the entire world, uses the great firewall to attack tech companies in other countries, prints up to 282% of GDP [1] in order to buy their way into other countries real estate and companies, ignores human rights and free speech, creates artificial military island near neighboring countries, and supports dictators in Russia and Africa. If China gets anymore powerful, the world is doomed. We need to curb commerce with China.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/02/11/c...
Re: Chinese Buyers Replace Canadians as Top Foreign Buyers of U.S. Homes
#23China has an authoritarian government that produces pollution that threatens the entire world, uses the great firewall to attack tech companies in other countries, prints up to 282% of GDP [1] in order to buy their way into other countries real estate and companies, ignores human rights and free speech, creates artificial military island near neighboring countries, and supports dictators in Russia and Africa. If Chin…
This comment seemed familiar, so I looked at your comment history. You've left this comment over and over on different stories. In general, it is preferred you leave comments specific to the stories your are commenting on.
Re: Chinese Buyers Replace Canadians as Top Foreign Buyers of U.S. Homes
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
yep a lot of the property is brought as a safe guard against the the day when the mob starts hanging people from lampposts. Also I suspect lack of trust in the local stockmarket might have something to do with it.
> yep a lot of the property is brought as a safe guard against the the day when the mob starts hanging people from lampposts. Do you have any evidence to back that up or are you just making it up? I'd personally be surprised if it has even crossed the mind of some of them. More likely, the Chinese are buying US properties because they are cheap and can be rented for profit.
I was speaking mostly metaphorically but...
You don't think some of the Cadres saw what happened to Nicolai Chauchesku and think that if it went really bad that that could be them. Remember that within living memory China has had extended periods of almost anarchy.
Re: Chinese Buyers Replace Canadians as Top Foreign Buyers of U.S. Homes
#25I've seen this, anecdotally, in trying to buy a house in the bay area. I've lost two serious bids to "foreign investors" who pay 10% above asking price, 100% cash, with no contingencies. I've heard stories of these properties going vacant, as well. It's frustrating.
An acquaintance who works as a wealth management consultant made an interesting point: there are hot markets in other areas of the country, but SFO is right here. The bay's accessibility could be exacerbating our problems, ironically.
He is advising his clients to pull out of real estate in California right now - not so much because of a potential bubble, but because the market is so bizarre.
Re: Chinese Buyers Replace Canadians as Top Foreign Buyers of U.S. Homes
#26Can someone post a link thats not behind a paywall please
If you believe as I do that paywall'd articles do not belong on a news aggregator, the Flag option is at your disposal.
I agree with you. Unfortunately dang disagrees and has explicitly threatened removing the ability to flag from those who choose to flag stories for this reason: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9717601
If you really hate paywalls, the only real solution is to find a different online community.
Re: Chinese Buyers Replace Canadians as Top Foreign Buyers of U.S. Homes
#27I've seen this, anecdotally, in trying to buy a house in the bay area. I've lost two serious bids to "foreign investors" who pay 10% above asking price, 100% cash, with no contingencies. I've heard stories of these properties going vacant, as well. It's frustrating. An acquaintance who works as a wealth management consultant made an interesting point: there are hot markets in other areas of the country, but SFO is ri…
This is commonplace in London too. Streets of empty properties. London already has a housing crisis which can't be fixed by ordinary means because the population growth far exceeds the property construction, despite it having been ramped up. What would help of course is Land Value Tax, but that is less desirable the higher up the social pyramid you are.
Re: Chinese Buyers Replace Canadians as Top Foreign Buyers of U.S. Homes
#28I work in real estate and am privy to the behind-the-scenes details of some of these all cash, foreign buyer deals, in markets like SF, NYC and Miami. There's nothing new about it: money laundering has been around for a long time. And that's all it is, money laundering. Chinese families are moving assets out of China and into real estate in Western countries in order to evade taxes, evade lawsuits (often for obvious theft) and/or protect themselves from political crackdowns. In Miami, it's South American families doing the same thing to flee unstable or unfavorable regimes in that part of the world.
If I were a law-abiding millennial trying to buy a house in one of these markets I would be extremely frustrated. The playing field was a little uneven before (young versus old) but the influx of foreign money has taken it to the next level. The domestic political challenge is that current homeowners have no incentive to stop it because they receive a net benefit from rising home prices. And of course the real estate machine (agents, appraisers, contractors, etc) are all incentivized to ensure it continues.
Most economists seem to agree that the best long-term solution is a high land value tax (replacing various other taxes). Let the foreign owners pay 3% of home value each year to local governments - it will encourage them to invest elsewhere, or at least discourage letting properties sit idle. But in the short term house prices in areas like California would fall.
Re: Chinese Buyers Replace Canadians as Top Foreign Buyers of U.S. Homes
#29This whole thing almost rhymes with the Japs buying up lots of choice properties in New York, California, and Hawaii before their bubble burst back around 1990. They were more into commercial properties and golf courses, held by corporations rather than individuals, though.
Not trying to derail from your point, which is valid and a good observation, but I wanted to let you know that "Japs" is considered a derogatory term these days. It's simply fixed by saying "the Japanese" or "Japanese citizens" For a overview of this topic, check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jap
I stopped worrying about what is considered derogatory about seven years ago, when the scope got ridiculous, my nigger.
Re: Chinese Buyers Replace Canadians as Top Foreign Buyers of U.S. Homes
#30I work in real estate and am privy to the behind-the-scenes details of some of these all cash, foreign buyer deals, in markets like SF, NYC and Miami. There's nothing new about it: money laundering has been around for a long time. And that's all it is, money laundering. Chinese families are moving assets out of China and into real estate in Western countries in order to evade taxes, evade lawsuits (often for obvious…
Why not just add a tax for homes that aren't your primary residence? Foreigners will not do this since they would need to pay income tax as well?