patrick.net

My brother was a census taker in 2010 in Manhattan. He canvassed some new ultra-luxury high-rises in the West 60s that seem to have been primarily bought by foreign investors. No one was ever at home. The buildings are like ghost towns. Apparently these owners are so rich they don't even bother renting the places out.

It's a shame for the people who live there to have huge vacant buildings take over their neighborhoods.

dublin hillz says

Many of them happen to be rich foreigners

the same rich foreign buyers before the home prices took a plunge...

there truely must be a whole department of BS at the NAR cranking this stuff out every week...

when you hear "rich foreigners" ... be very skeptical !

dublin hillz says

Should government step in and outlaw these 2 groups from puchasing real estate in the united states? It appears that they are doing exactly the opposite, granting residency to those who purchase real estate for $500Gs and up.

Ask the Japanese who lost billions on US property they purchased.

Well for one.. if the property is connected to criminal organization some deals were axed .. and others have been confiscated, as in Marcos property.

Many countries have certain restrictions regarding foreigners being able to buy property - either outright or based on location. I don't see why we should encourage worldwide free for all on our real estate and also why hedge funds should flex their aggregate power to purchase individual properties and rent them out. I think we already have plenty of national REITs operating apartment complexes. That is more than enough.

Try a figure closer to 60%

dublin hillz says

've been reading some articles that indicate that currently approximately 28% - 31% of buyers are considered to be "all cash.

For Example:

"Cash buyers, who are typically investors looking to resell the properties or use them as rentals, account for nearly 60 percent of all Phoenix-area homebuyers now, according to data compiled by AZBidder.com, an online foreclosure-auction service."

Phoenix-area homebuyers squeezed out by investors

http://www.azcentral.com/business/realestate/articles/2012/03/06/20120306az-real-estate-investors-squeeze-out-buyers.html#ixzz1pDdRqgnt

http://www.city-data.com/phoenix-area/1526342-60-home-buyers-investors-phoenix-market.html

People think "at least they can't print real-estate".
True, they can't print it, but they can build more.

dublin hillz says

Should foreign buyers and hedge funds be able to purchase real estate?

Yes. Besides, maybe as foreign buyers and hedge funds own a larger share of real estate, more Americans will question why our government props up housing prices, and demand an end to those policies.

Heraclitusstudent says

they can build more.

Exactly.

denise says

My brother was a census taker in 2010 in Manhattan. He canvassed some new ultra-luxury high-rises in the West 60s that seem to have been primarily bought by foreign investors... It's a shame for the people who live there to have huge vacant buildings take over their neighborhoods.

The issue in NYC is too many limits prevent building an adequate supply; even "air rights" sell for $400/sqft. Once all those costs are paid, the resulting construction is overpriced and often low quality: rain leaks in, neighbor noise is a constant problem due to inadequate insulation. It's one of very few places where "prewar" (i.e. more than 70 years old) is a selling point; the newer stuff tends to be inferior. If they built more, with retail at ground level and apartments above, they'd have plenty of good housing and no one would care whether anyone upstairs was home. If absentee buyers want to pay local real estate taxes, that's fine so long as the local industry can build more for people to live in.