[ROTB]

The question is, why don’t/can’t Americans buy foreign real-estate? What’s wrong with this country where on the whole we are so poor, that we must sell, rather than being rich enough to buy?

[durasell]

Americans and American companies do buy foreign real estate.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

The question is, why don’t/can’t Americans buy foreign real-estate?

We do. Where did you get the idea that we didn't?

I know a number of people who own property overseas ranging from small vacation homes to full scale estates. And that is not counting the amount of foreign real estate owned by privately and publicly owned American firms.

[Arkinsaw]

The question is, why don’t/can’t Americans buy foreign real-estate? What’s wrong with this country where on the whole we are so poor, that we must sell, rather than being rich enough to buy?

Lots of people ignoring RISK to make a quick short-term buck grew a big bubble and now it has popped. Our concentration on short term profit over long term strategy and growth are why we get pounded by the business cycle and grow bubbles.

Let's face it, our business leadership concentrates on the results of THIS QUARTER. And you can't blame them because that is how the system is set up right now and they are just doing their jobs.

As a nation we need incentive for LONG TERM investment over quarterly profit statements. Right now we reward quarterly and year end profit pretty much exclusively.