In a nation in which 1 out of every 3 homes is unaffordable, you’d think the primary goal of public policy wouldn’t be to ensure real estate becomes even more out of reach for the average citizen. However, we live in a country in which policy isn’t being driven by logic and what’s in the best interest of “the people,” rather, we live in an neo-feudalistic society in which policy is being driven by what is best for a handful of white-collar criminals.
It’s bad enough that American financial oligarchs have leveraged free money polices of the Federal Reserve to purchase tens of billions of dollars in real estate only to rent it back to people who were kicked out of their homes during the 2008 crisis, but the government is now going out of its way to allow Chinese (and other foreign criminals) to launder money via U.S. property.
In case you aren’t up to speed on this issue, I suggest reading the following:
Chinese Purchases of U.S. Real Estate Jump 72% as The Bank of China Facilitates Money Laundering
Zillow Opens the Floodgates to Chinese Buyers in Order to Keep Housing Bubble 2.0 Inflated
Apparently, the level of ill-gotten funds flowing into U.S. real estate still hasn’t reached the level desired by policy makers. As such, China and the U.S. have extended the terms of multiple entry short-term tourist and business visas to 10 years from one year. Reuters reports the result has been a 35% jump in Chinese interest:
(Reuters) – Chinese inquiries about real estate investment in the United States surged 35 percent this week after the two countries agreed to extend the terms of short-term visas, China’s top international property portal said on Friday.
The White House announced this week that both countries have extended the terms of multiple entry short-term tourist and business visas to 10 years from one year. Student visas were extended to five years from one year.
The relaxation on student visas could have a bigger impact than the other two, said Juwai.com, an online property marketplace that refers potential Chinese buyers to overseas agents. It said there were twice the number of inquiries about student visas compared to tourist and business visas.
Millennials had better fluff up that basement couch.
In Liberty,
Michael Krieger
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Everywhere I go here in SoCal I see young, pregnant Chinese females in the shopping malls – especially the high end, luxury ones like South Coast Plaza. Orange County retailers and their counterparts in Pasadena in Los Angeles County cater to the many wealthy Chinese now pouring into CA.
But what I want to know is this: how will all of this play out, and what will the consequences be, if any? Thanks in advice for any prognostications…
Lin Sanity?
Consequences: middle class and lower class continue to get annihilated, but before they truly take notice, they continue to love their servitude, until one day it all erupts and the raging bull market in social unrest begins. Granted, probably a few years off, but it is coming.
There are other options.
All those dollars that we send to China for their products is now coming back to the US. This will drive up prices of everything for the average person. It will start with real estate, but will spread out to other luxury products and eventually all products including food. Then we will be even poorer because the purchasing power of our dollars will be less and less until it’s nothing.
@David,
Indeed. Even Grandpa Farce Buffett agrees with you. He wrote a piece a bunch of years ago called Squanderville vs. Thriftville.
sorry here is the link: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1053684/posts
It is WELL worth the read in that people have forgotten that Buffett too feels that the dollar will crash at some point.
And Buffett’s macro worry is starting to happen: right now.
CHINA’S NEW RICH
China today is a country of great contrasts and a huge income gap, with a new generation of wealthy citizens and expatriates living in villas, shopping in a plethora of luxury malls, high-end car dealers, collecting art and partying in VIP clubs.
http://viiphoto.com/articles/chinas-new-rich/
Yes they have the money we should have had. Lets all cive a heary round of applause for the folks who make policy. I think there was, inthe case of the Chinese, some kind of deal involving gold andmaking China a prefered trading nation, exempt from import duties or something. Thank your local reps.
Waaaah…the smarter Asians beat us at our own Ponzi Racist games…waaaaaaaaahhhh. Lets blame the Asians and not the CockAsian Politicians….waaaaaaaahhhhh. While we were too busy killing overseas others beat us at our own financial ponzi schemes. Waaaaaaah…Cry me a river.