Asian real estate as a hedge against inflation

Over the last year or so, I kept hearing and reading the word “deleveraging.” Companies and individuals are busy deleveraging. So basically, people are saving more money, paying down their debt, and spending less. Overall, it gives the impression that leverage is undesirable and should be removed.

Marc Faber said that in Asia, family businesses in Hong Kong and Singapore have very little debt. Many wealthy families in Singapore do not have mortgages. He believes that the Asian real estate sector will continue to perform well. This fits with what Jim Rogers thinks about how we should own real estate and he, in a recent interview in New York, said that he would buy real estate in the United States now if he stayed there.

We should also buy other tangible assets that would keep pace with or grow faster than inflation and protect or increase our wealth in the process. However, most of us are not in the same league as Marc Faber or the wealthy families he mentioned.

So what should we do if we want a piece of the action and own some Asian real estate? Did we work too hard to save money before buying that piece of real estate? 100% cash up front and no home loan? Or do we put in 20% and borrow 80%?

Simply, like any other investment, the answer lies in time. Buy when the market is down or up and hold for the long term. If you think the world will see extraordinary inflation in the future, this is something we should do if we have the means. If we have the money, please pay 100% cash in advance. If we only have 20% to