PEW's Lost Wealth Analysis

[don]

Interactive graphics @
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...rt.html?ref=us

[Milton Kuo]

Re: PEW's Lost Wealth Analysis

Thanks for the interesting article. It's particularly interesting to note how far Asian net worth has plummeted after the 2008 crash. The paper indicates that the lower net worth is heavily affected by an influx of recent immigrants but even after factoring the recent immigrants out, Asians still had a decline of over 30% in net worth.

I strongly suspect that this is due to Asians being heavily leveraged to housing--far more so than other ethnic groups. As a whole, I've never seen a group of people more willing to shoulder an unbelievably heavy financial burden than Asians for housing. During the housing bubble run-up, no group of people I spoke to (outside of real estate agents) was more adamant in its belief that there was no housing bubble--that prices rationally reflected the great wealth of the buyers.

Here in the Bay Area, it's my belief there still is a bubble in housing, despite my understanding (I could be wrong) that EJ thinks that places where there are lots of high-paying jobs (Silicon Valley, Boston, Washington D.C.) might not see further housing declines. When I see town houses selling for $500,000 and up with only a 3.5% down payment in San Francisco, $600,000 and up with only a 3.5% down payment in Redwood City, it just reeks wishful thinking for a return to the bubble years and FHA loans. I'm 100% certain that without government intervention, housing prices would fall dramatically here.

I'm currently in a town house in Mountain View where I believe the typical unit costs around $600,000. Many of the owners are Asian. Egads. Also, within walking distance, there is a 1,500 square foot house built in the 1950's on the market for $2,000,000. The house is on a half-acre plot but the price seems outrageous. Last I checked, even $600,000 is an awful lot of money.

I'm still waiting out the housing bubble and hoping that I don't screw up (and fearing that Bernanke manages to somehow reflate the housing bubble.) It's been Hell dealing with the housing bubble--it seems like it'll never end.

[don]

Re: PEW's Lost Wealth Analysis

In the North Bay Filipino families invested heavily in McMansions.

Foreclosure city . . . .

[CanuckinTX]

Re: PEW's Lost Wealth Analysis

Here in the Bay Area, it's my belief there still is a bubble in housing, despite my understanding (I could be wrong) that EJ thinks that places where there are lots of high-paying jobs (Silicon Valley, Boston, Washington D.C.) might not see further housing declines.

Also, remember that EJ said the bubble grew outwards from the higher valued home areas like San Fran and along the beaches in LA out to the suburbs, and the collapse of prices will ripple back in over time. I still follow prices in Long Beach, CA where I used to live and I am still amazed what places are selling for, but I know it will crack eventually.

[reggie]

Re: PEW's Lost Wealth Analysis

How does Pew know that Hispanics were most impacted, for it is well known that hispanics largely don't invest their wealth in conventional instruments nor do they put their cash in banking institutions, for their simply don't trust them. Pew knows this, and knows that the US Department of Labor contracts with statistical and survey research firms in an effort to figure out how to change hispanic attitudes toward this distrust.

[BK]

Re: PEW's Lost Wealth Analysis

Pew is talking its book - if they had a pewlavia -you can bet they would come up with compeling data that lavians were most impacted.
http://pewhispanic.org/