Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Asian Real Estate Woes

"The Chinese real-estate market has been souped up for years. But lately it has been going into overdrive. Chinese property developers are racing to fill their war chests--and empty them again--as competition for the best remaining land intensifies and real-estate prices soar in China's booming cities. ... Bei Fu, an associate director of corporate ratings at Standard & Poor's in Hong Kong [said], many real-estate investors feel now is their chance to become national players, 'The next three to five years--that's their window, their do-or-die time'," WSJ, 21 November.

How right they are. What did people in California think in 2005? Buy a house now, it's only going to become more expensive in the future. What did many US land developers think in 2005? I expect Chinese real estate to begin falling in the next 18 months.

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