The Great Chinese Exodus

Unlikely. The less that is built, the more the value of the existing housing stock goes up.

The problem isn't just additional housing, it's increased density in the existing areas that would spur redevelopment and the creation of new units.

The issue isn't that new housing isn't going to be built; in Vancouver, there are condo developments all over the place. The issue is that the vast majority of the housing in Vancouver consists of condo developments that are essentially unaffordable.

As a married, well-paid tech worker with a wife working a union job for a solid wage, we could live extremely well anywhere else, but in Vancouver the idea of buying a home is laughable. At our current combined income, we could 'afford' to buy a place if we had fifty thousand dollars in the bank, but most of the places we could buy are cheap, tiny condos that are barely large enough for the two of us, let alone a cat, a dog, and a baby on the way.

The current state of Vancouver is that it's cheaper to rent than buy, and the new developments going in aren't going to solve that problem at all. The new Vancouver House development in downtown Vancouver is being sold overseas first – to the wealthy elite in Singapore, for example – because it's essentially unaffordable to all but Vancouver's most wealthy (and they already have pricey condos downtown or sprawling mansions in the suburbs).

We rented a two-bedroom condo twenty minutes' walk from the downtown core for about $200 less than a reasonable mortgage would cost (assuming a down-payment larger than we have), but when you add strata fees and maintenance on top of that, it's far more cost-effective to own. It's possible to argue equity, but friends of mine who recently sold their condo to move to the UK approximately broke even on the five years they owned it. Others have lost money on condos they've purchased, but which haven't even finished being built yet.

Owning a home in Vancouver is unaffordable for most, and renting is slightly less unaffordable, but my rent in Vancouver was twice as much as my rent was in Montreal, and my salary certainly hasn't kept pace, and that won't change until more housing is built to appeal to the locals, and not the rich Asian investors/embezzlers and the rich Emirati – but that won't happen until it's more financially viable, and it's difficult to arrange that situation without inconveniencing (and angering) a lot of people, and having to field accusations of racism against Chinese immigrants (rather than classism against the rich elite who care nothing for Vancouver beyond its potential for real estate speculation).

In the meantime, we'll keep renting.

There is clearly too much money so it seems likely that it or its value will get destroyed at some point. Buying a productive asset is never a bad thing but they take work.

I have these same thoughts. My problem is I grow complacent, maybe "this" is the new normal. Then I remind myself that what goes must come down. Always does. The boom and bust cycle is very reliable.

Apparently, the Chinese (from mainland) prefer San Francisco to other cities because SF already has a large and vibrant Chinese population, so it's easy to adjust to life here. It is also physically close to China.

Wait - so they could freely send money from Iran to the US to purchase houses worth millions, but they couldn't send thousands as allowance but instead had to rely on said houses' rent? That seems weird.

Any thoughts on how to compete with that or determine if it is occurring?

This is the same dilemma that 1st generation Indian immigrants also struggle with. Sir V.S. Naipaul compares it to being 'Shipwrecked'. You've arrived at a new land where you don't know anyone and build your life from scratch. You spend enough time here, but still don't "fit in" to the culture because you did not grow up here. Festivals are alien (ex: Halloween), holidays are alien (ex: Thanksgiving Day). You hit ceilings at work because the promotions in corporate america are mostly reserved for white men in their 40s. Your kids grow up here, and experience High School, Prom, College, Internship and such, and they have no idea what you are talking about when you say you miss the homeland. You can't leave either, because you've put down roots, probably had some kids, and back home, things have changed dramatically, and even if you go back for good, you don't "fit in" there either, because you are always treated as the "NRI" - Non Resident Indian.

So after a decade or two,you are neither here nor there, essentially "shipwrecked" in America.

Worth mentioning: the US and Japan, as well as most first-world countries, have "totalization agreements" to take care of this. If you've paid into US Social Security for your entire working career and then retire to Japan, Japan pays you (fairly) equitably, and this is net out against e.g. me working for my entire career in Japan and then drawing US Social Security. (This includes two major question marks, like whether I'll be in the US at retirement and whether US Social Security will be worth enough to justify a postage stamp to get it.)

The problem can be, and you see it a bit in Australia, is that they end up pricing everybody else out of the market.

This is will change for the children younger than 10; I've experienced this first hand.

Hi. I don't want to be pedantic, but you always make this mistake, and it just drives me nuts every time... " business men skimming money that isn't THEIRS using them to buy property"

"Their" indicates a person possessing something, as in "Their car was parked in the next street". "There" indicates a place, it's a bit like the opposite of "here", as in "put the blue shirts here, and the red shirts there"

It is generally assumed that Bay area is more costly than most of China. Hence the quote. Of course, chinese people may know that it is otherwise....

He asked about the price of a property near Santa Clara, which was approx $900k. His response was, "oh that's very cheap". He was expecting about $1.5m. An interesting comment.

True, and they have been surging again after the chinese government eased monetary conditions after the financial crisis in 2009 (remember).

But to Xi Jinpings credit -and I do not think he is getting enough of it- he has pricked it.

For those not actively following china. There is a big difference between the central government (Xi Jinping) and provincial and local government. In that the central government has much less control than one would think or is used to in the West.

Chinese leadership is implementing a lot of new policies which can be summarized under 'improved quality of economic growth'. So we will see how that goes. But it should have an impact on emigration.

The simplest way is the "youhuitong" or "preferential exchange" service the Chinese banks offer, which is a fancy name for "bribe us and we'll circumvent the transfer limits for you."

As well as bitcoin which other people mentioned (and honestly I don't think this is that large right now), you can also just take bank cards out of the country attached to multiple local currency accounts in China and max them all daily. Otherwise, make business invoices from overseas to support the foreign exchange control bureau's approval of your transfer. Or just drive through Laos to Thailand with a car full of cash and enjoy your 90 day visa on arrival as a Chinese citizen. There's a lot of options.

Parts of the western infrastructure that spring to mind are stronger environmental laws, stronger property and ownership rights, less corruption. I'm sure there's more.

They want their kids to be educated in English and attend universities in English speaking countries, which increases their career prospects not only in those countries, but also within China.

Also, a number of these wealthy Chinese seeking to emigrate are highly corrupt. Some of them have committed all kinds of bribery, fraud, and extortion to enrich themselves. Although corruption is rampant in China, it is also punishable by death, so these people are looking for a quick getaway route should they get caught.

They probably mean anyone who wants to leave, can, versus strict emigration control that communist countries had in place to stop brain drain.

Nothing (assuming 'wide' is relative).

However, there is nuance that is missed. Almost any Chinese person can get a passport, but whether they can get a visa for another country is a completely separate problem. So even though it's easier than ever for Chinese to travel abroad they are still relatively restricted in terms of travel options - but not because of their government, but rather the governments of other countries.

To me, 'wide open' borders also implies going in both directions, and China is also getting much more picky about who it is letting in.

I misunderstood the writer, thought he/she meant anyone from anywhere in the world can get a Chinese passport. But meant Chinese citizens which is a totally different story. Still wouldn't call a country's border "wide-open" because the citizens can get a passport.