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:
Welcome to Arcadia – The California Suburb Where Wealthy Chinese Criminals are Building Mansions to Stash Cash
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
