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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 w
by robbyking 6y ago
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/310019997?template=ampart https://www.vvdailypress.com/article/20121001/BUSINESS/31001...
- AnimalMuppet 6y agoI wouldn't call it remote. I know people who live in Victorville and commute over Cajon Pass to Riverside. One hour each way isn't an unthinkable commute in Southern California, and it lets them afford a fairly nice place compared to what they could get in Riverside. I suspect they're not that unusual. In fact I thought of "land banking" there myself a decade or two ago, because I could see that the commute over Cajon would become thinkable.
- asdff 6y agovictorville may very well get a high speed rail station in the coming decades.