I grew up in an extremely remote part of Southern California and for years there were rumors of "land banking" investments being made by Asian investors. This was back in the 90's, so it was extremely difficult to verify these types of rumors.

Fast forward 15 years and an article pops in their local paper (I had long since moved away), and it turns out it was true!

From the Daily Press [1]:

> Lured by the prospect of massive transportation projects that could skyrocket land values, the Victor Valley has become a jewel for foreign and domestic investors looking to make a fortune in a practice called land banking. In land banking, investors buy raw land and hold onto it until the value goes up because of inflation or development.

For those who aren't familiar with the area, it's a remote and extremely low-income, low-education area of California. Anyone making investments in property there is looking for them to pay off a generation or two from now.

[1] https://www.vvdailypress.com/article/20121001/BUSINESS/31001...