Foreign buyers scooping up U.S. homes

[n2doc]

Bernard and Joan Spain in their apartment on the 16th floor of the Plaza Hotel in New York. Because of the number of foreign buyers, the actual residents at the Plaza Hotel¿s new apartments live virtually alone. (Marilynn K. Yee/The New York Times)

CNNMoney
6:38 a.m. CDT, October 21, 2011

International purchases of American homes are ramping up, and a new Senate bill designed to boost the ailing real-estate market would encourage globe-trotting investors to buy even more.

The bill, co-sponsored by Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Mike Lee (R.-Utah) would grant a U.S. visa to international investors who agree to spend at least $500,000 on residential real estate here.

If passed, the legislation could add to a surge in homebuying by international purchasers over the past year or two that's already given some local U.S. markets a welcome boost.

Foreigners spent $82 billion buying up U.S. homes in the 12 months ended in March, up 24 percent from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That represents 8 percent of total U.S. sales.

more
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-foreign-buyers-scooping-up-us-homes-20111021,0,2771868.story

[dkf]

1. Well that's one way to get rid of an oversupply of homes.

Have owners who are only there for a minimal amount of time.

It's too bad we can't let the price of a home fall to the point where normal people won't hurt paying their monthly housing payments. Smaller home payments would help us all, except lower prices hit net worth numbers.

[dmallind]

5. oh yeah - and the people who work building them. nt

[valerief]

11. Normal people don't count. Only the 1% matter. nt

[TwilightGardener]

2. This is sad.

[City Lights]

3. This makes me sick. eom

[peace13]

4. Selling visas now are we Chuck?

Once again the 'haves' are on the receiving end of our politicians.

[asjr]

6. I am not sure about how I feel towards

this. I need to learn more. At first glance it made me think USA for Sale. Are these homes that were foreclosed on or are they new? Sometimes I wonder about Chas Schumer.

[salinen]

7. Foreign owners

Wonder if this has anything to do with outsourcing jobs and creating a serf class.

[valerief]

12. Good point! nt

[FarCenter]

8. When we keep running $500 billion/year trade deficits, foreigners have to be able to buy something

There are a huge number of dollars piled up in foreign investors hands due to the fact that the US is running a trade deficit of about a half trillion dollars per year, and has done so for many years.

Foreign investors are now quite loathe to invest dollars in US mortgage backed securities, since US borrowers don't pay them back.

Therefore, buying US houses outright seems a better use of dollars.

[Bigmack]

9. Umm... are those people...?

aware that a lot of the titles on those homes are somewhat clouded...? What with the robosigning and lack of title paperwork.

The info in the recent Mass supreme court ruling would keep me from buying a house unless they could show me the title and mortgage papers.

[leveymg]

10. I believe the theory is, if enough foreclosures make real estate cheap enough, the mortgage

real estate industry and the realtors will be back in business. That seems to be the thinking behind Bernanke's and the Obama Administration's approach to this crisis. Guess who gets left out in the cold with that equation.