Comments on: The immigrant mentality and homeownership – why it can be a dangerous combination

By: Why did homeownership rates go down the most amongst Asians? — The Baglady

Why did homeownership rates go down the most amongst Asians? — The Baglady — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:41:32 +0000

[...] of even one job means that the next mortgage payment is no longer affordable. As I wrote in this article about Chinese/Asian immigrants and real estate, Asians often ignore the basic debt to income ratio guidelines to buy a home because they figure [...]

By: Crimson Wife

Crimson Wife — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:45:06 +0000

I definitely understand the desire to spend on education and also to a certain extent on a house. What I really don’t get about Asians is the whole luxury car/SUV thing. It’s a depreciating asset and is a BMW or Lexus really three times as good at getting you from point A to point B than a Honda or Toyota?

By: FB @ FabulouslyBroke.comI

FB @ FabulouslyBroke.comI — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:19:03 +0000

I was just saying that to BF the other day…

The parents are definitely the ones who push for property to be held, but I’m more into renting than buying if it makes sense financially…

By: Alex

Alex — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:29:55 +0000

Part of this is the perception that stocks and bonds are not “real”. I suppose Westerners felt the same way once; hence, the term “real property”.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:58:13 +0000

I wonder if this immigrant mentality applies to younger generation immigrants. My feeling is younger generation immigrants (at least from Asia) are not as manic about home ownership. It’s really the parents that are the ones pushing the dream of home ownership… perhaps because they grew up in a different era (that was in most cases a lot less economically prosperous) and thus seek stability more than anything else. … Not that owning a home necessarily gives you financial stability… but I think there is the impression with that generation that home ownership equals financial stability.

Yeah, yeah, sue me… I am an ungrateful brat?