patrick.net
An Antidote to Corporate Media
1,364,996 comments by 15,735 users - FuckTheMainstreamMedia, gabbar, Misc, Robert Sproul online now
Job Loss Could Put One in Three Out of Their House
2011 Oct 7, 1:56am 15,450 views 46 comments
by BobbyS follow (0)
« First « Previous Comments 37 - 46 of 46 Search these comments
Perhaps more of them are wealthy citizens (naturalized or born) than immigrants.
This is probably the case. A large percentage of Asians in Cupertino, for example, have been here for a long time -- more than 10 years. There is census data to show this, and I have demonstrated this on Patrick.net before.
There are also lots of H1-B folks in the Valley and southern East Bay, but those people are not the ones buying expensive housing. Why would you buy an $800K house if there's no guarantee you might be able to stay longer than 3 or 6 years? And how the hell are you going to buy a fortress house on your lower-than-market H1-B salary after you made 1/5 of that back in your home country prior to that? Some portion of these H1-B-enabled people will get sponsored by an employer, but that's after they've been here for at least 6 years typically, maybe 7 if they get the one year extension while adjustment is pending. Even some H1-B people do buy houses despite not having a guarantee they might stay here, but typically it's in a much cheaper neighborhood than the so-called fortress pricing.
maybe the whole "rich foreigners buying everything up" idea is just white people trying to cope with the fact that a large non-white segment of society is taking (or earning, rather) their place as the dominant upper-middle class demographic (in the BA anyway).
That honestly seems to be the best explanation for "Asian hordes are taking over our real estate," attitude, I'd agree. Many of those rich "foreigners" speaking funny languages at open houses are permanent residents or citizens, not the fabled rich people fresh off the Boeing that our bailing out our housing woes.
TechGromit
@
2011 Oct 12, 7:10am
These Asians from China and India must be SUPER RICH to pay the outlandish prices for real estate here. I make six figures and cannot afford a home here.
Most people from China and India are savers. And not the oh I'll save 5% of my income for a rainy day fund. They save a good 30 to 40% of there income, before other expenses. They may live 4 to a room for several years, over time that kind of saving really adds up. They know the value of money, and how lucky they are to be earning a decent living. As opposed to the Americans who believe they are gods gift to the world and deserve a BMW, Iphone and to eat out every night of the week.
I firmly believe that anyone can save a good portion of there income if they really examine what they are spending there money on. Instead of shopping at the GAP for clothes, go to Goodwill. Instead of eating out 3 nights a week or getting that starbucks latte eat at home, brew your own coffee. Coupons are your friends, I read of extreme coupon stories where people are getting a month worth of groceries for under $100 and so on.
Who knows, maybe the whole "rich foreigners buying everything up" idea is just white people trying to cope with the fact that a large non-white segment of society is taking (or earning, rather) their place as the dominant upper-middle class demographic (in the BA anyway).
The flip side of that is the native middle class former homeowner (seller ) now has the $1M in cash because he sold at peak inflated prices, to the rich (now former rich) foreign buyer.
Who is the dominant upper-class now ? Someone is $1M poorer.
When people talk about the shift of wealth distribution today, the above certainly had an impact of enriching some due to high inflated prices of homes.
As opposed to the Americans who believe they are gods gift to the world and deserve a BMW, Iphone and to eat out every night of the week.
After a couple of BMW break inspections at $2-3 a pop.
They will think otherwise.
The flip side of that is the native middle class former homeowner (seller ) now has the $1M in cash because he sold at peak inflated prices, to the rich (now former rich) foreign buyer.
Who is the dominant upper-class now ? Someone is $1M poorer.
Yes, this is a very good point. Some people like to say, "the people living in [area] are much richer than the people who used to live there." And I like to say, absolutely not -- the people who live there now just gave a huge windfall by buying a house for an inflated price, and the prior owner is now the rich one.
bmwman91
@
2011 Oct 12, 10:45am
The flip side of that is the native middle class former homeowner (seller ) now has the $1M in cash because he sold at peak inflated prices, to the rich (now former rich) foreign buyer.
Who is the dominant upper-class now ? Someone is $1M poorer.
Sure. Still, prices in the "nice" areas are still largely inflated, and the native with $1M in cash from a sale will have to spend most of it to get into comparable house in a comparable area, or use it as a down payment and borrow even more to "upgrade." They have even less if they still owed the bank for the original purchase.
the native with $1M in cash from a sale will have to spend most of it to get into comparable house in a comparable area
Not necessarily. A condo in Florida goes for much cheaper, with no state tax and better homestead and pension protection. Win-win! Or maybe a ranch in Montana. The possibilities are endless.
The people who sold their houses at inflated prices have real hard money. A lot of other people have debt, not wealth.
Not necessarily. A condo in Florida goes for much cheaper, with no state tax and better homestead and pension protection. Win-win! Or maybe a ranch in Montana. The possibilities are endless.
Oddly enough Billionaires Tomas Siebel and Ted Turner live in Montana.
TechGromit
@
2011 Oct 13, 1:01am
> Job Loss Could Put One in Three Out of Their House
A little misleading title. This would imply that 2 out of 3 people have the financial resources to survive indefinitely without income from a job.
This reminds me of the movie "The company men". People who appear to be quite wealthy often have a lot of debt and no plan for what to do when the big paycheck stops rolling in.
« First « Previous Comments 37 - 46 of 46 Search these comments
"Ten percent of survey respondents earning $100K or more a year say they would immediately miss a payment.
The survey was conducted on behalf of a financial consortium comprised of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Financial Planning Association, Foundation for Financial Planning, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Sixty-one percent of those surveyed said if they were handed a pink slip, they would not be able to continue to make their mortgage or rent payment longer than five months.
Job loss has become the primary driver of mortgage defaults. With the national unemployment rate holding above 9 percent for five straight months and not expected to drop by any significant measure in the foreseeable future, the state of the labor market is one of the biggest obstacles for struggling homeowners and their lenders.
A number of programs at both the national and state level have been launched to assist unemployed homeowners, but so far the expected results haven’t materialized."
http://www.dsnews.com/articles/job-loss-could-put-one-in-three-homeowners-out-of-their-home-2011-09-30
If this unlikely scenario came true, it could lead to further declines in prices. But it seems more like sensationalist journalism with a cautionary bend.
#housing