Where are all the people coming from?

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Mar 14, 2013
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That's what I'm asking though.. why is there such a demand for housing all of a sudden? Either there are a lot of people that had been living in their parents basement that are suddenly moving out, or a bunch of houses/apartments now sitting empty somewhere (which I don't think is the case).

I'm told we have a smaller population of working age people, and the death rate in the US was the highest its been in 100 years the last couple years..
I believe there’s a big push from investors/investment corps to put their cash into real assets and out of the petro dollar. Even if it sits empty you still own something real instead of a rapidly declining fiat currency. Same thing happening with land. These investors are from inside and outside the US, all dumping their petro dollars for real assets. Volatile times ahead.
 
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I believe there’s a big push from investors/investment corps to put their cash into real assets and out of the petro dollar. Even if it sits empty you still own something real instead of a rapidly declining fiat currency. Same thing happening with land. These investors are from inside and outside the US, all dumping their petro dollars for real assets. Volatile times ahead.
Probably on to something. Use their access to printed money/cheap money/OPM to suck up hard assets like real estate.
 

CorbLand

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I believe there’s a big push from investors/investment corps to put their cash into real assets and out of the petro dollar. Even if it sits empty you still own something real instead of a rapidly declining fiat currency. Same thing happening with land. These investors are from inside and outside the US, all dumping their petro dollars for real assets. Volatile times ahead.
During times of high inflation, the single worst thing you can have is cash.
 
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During times of high inflation, the single worst thing you can have is cash.
Yes Corb, purchasing power of fiat currency in general goes down as inflation rises. This is a 100% reliable principle. Based on that principle alone your conclusion would be a no-brainer, But the decision to be in cash or assets (and which assets) at any certain time involves plugging that principle into an equation that includes many other economic factors. Right now the complexity of the economic equation is really high. Strong economic tensions from multiple angles make it hard to know how to protect your purchasing power these days. Lots of uncertainty for sure.
 

MattB

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I believe there’s a big push from investors/investment corps to put their cash into real assets and out of the petro dollar. Even if it sits empty you still own something real instead of a rapidly declining fiat currency. Same thing happening with land. These investors are from inside and outside the US, all dumping their petro dollars for real assets. Volatile times ahead.
On what basis do you believe this?

US investor in general would not do this because there is zero cash flow on an empty property. In a market with declining valuations, there is not even an appreciation play. It made sense for domestic investors to buy properties coming out of the last recession at reduced prices with cheap debt or readily available equity capital, but not now (at least not in most markets). Equities (stocks) provide for a much better inflation hedge.

Chinese investor often do what you are suggesting, but as a means to diversify outside of China.

I highly doubt anyone is investing in US real estate to get rid of "petro currency". In my experience people who have financial means don't make investment decisions based on Alex Jones-esque financial strategy. That isn't to say it hasn't been done, but I guaranty you it is not a needle mover in the broader market.
 
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On what basis do you believe this?

US investor in general would not do this because there is zero cash flow on an empty property. In a market with declining valuations, there is not even an appreciation play. It made sense for domestic investors to buy properties coming out of the last recession at reduced prices with cheap debt or readily available equity capital, but not now (at least not in most markets). Equities (stocks) provide for a much better inflation hedge.

Chinese investor often do what you are suggesting, but as a means to diversify outside of China.

I highly doubt anyone is investing in US real estate to get rid of "petro currency". In my experience people who have financial means don't make investment decisions based on Alex Jones-esque financial strategy. That isn't to say it hasn't been done, but I guaranty you it is not a needle mover in the broader market.
i Try to gleen many different macro economic perspectives. this is just my take on what I’m hearing. I may be all wrong. It does seem to me that, especially in the non-western world, the de-dollarization drums are getting louder. I would agree with you that this is not a mainstream investment consideration in the US. I do think there is a small minority that are making decisions with this in mind but I also feel it’s slowly growing. I appreciate your perspective from your experience.
 
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