Thread: The O.C. now has third-largest Asian American population in nation

O.C. now has third-largest Asian American population in nation


Shoppers pass by the Asian Garden Mall in Little Saigon. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

ANH DOcontact the reporter

From 2000 to 2010, the area's Asian American population increased by 47%. Latinos, by contrast, jumped 16%.

O.C. boasts the third-highest count of Asian American-owned businesses in the U.S., employing 96,000+ workers.

Orange County now ranks as the third-largest Asian American population nationwide, with nearly 600,000 Asian Americans living in a county once defined by its dominantly white communities, a study to be released Tuesday shows.

In a boom decade running through 2010, the number of Asian Americans living in the county increased 41%, changing the face of cities from Anaheim to Irvine.




Across the United States, Orange County now boasts the third-highest count of Asian American-owned businesses, employing more than 96,000 workers. Those businesses generated more than $20 billion in revenue in 2007 alone, the study found.

"There are a lot of surprises in this study," says Mary Anne Foo, who heads the Orange County Asian Pacific Islander Community Alliance.

“This is a place known for more than just the Vietnamese American community. There are Korean, Chinese and Filipino groups, some who are usually ignored. Our hope is that people can start seeing the larger picture."

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The alliance worked with Asian Americans Advancing Justice, both in Los Angeles and in Orange County, to compile the data. Though the report relies mainly on U.S. Census Bureau numbers, it also infuses material from the California Department of Education, USC's Center for the Study of Immigration Integration and UCLA's California Health Interview Survey, along with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Shoppers take a break in Little Saigon. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Until the new millennium, Orange County’s most distinguishing Asian American community was in the central county cities of Garden Grove and Westminster where Vietnamese immigrants settled, forming the now-sprawling Little Saigon district. Since then, the Asian American growth has moved both north and south.

Irvine is now home to the county’s largest Asian American population, and tiny La Palma is the county’s first majority Asian American city, with 51% of the population. Asian Americans make up roughly 43% of Irvine’s population

The study also found that the number of Pacific Islanders or native Hawaiians increased 17% during the same 10-year period, with much of that growth clustered in Anaheim, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Santa Ana and Irvine.

Asian Americans, the study found, have more immigrants than any other racial group in the county, with almost 62% of Asian Americans and 16% of native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders born outside the United States.

"One of the things that strikes us the most is that these diverse populations experience real needs. They've been impacted by the economic crisis. There's a growing homeless crisis. Overall, the groups need to engage more politically," said Dan Ichinose, director of the Demographic Research Project for Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles.

Between 2007 and 2012, for instance, the number of unemployed Asian Americans in the county jumped 123%. Today, more than 57,000 Asian Americans and 1,700 native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are living at the poverty level, according to the report.

"We want policy makers not to look at Asian Americans as a homogeneous group," says Kristin Sakaguchi, research analyst with Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles. "Each ethnic group has different needs, and we urge them to understand them to create policies that are more effective."

anh.do@latimes.com

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Southland homes draw foreign cash

Home values have returned to pre-recession levels in parts of the San Gabriel Valley. Above, a home for sale in Alhambra. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

TIM LOGANcontact the reporter

Among U.S. cities, L.A. was the top destination for real estate searches from China on the realtor.com website

The $92 billion amounts to 7% of all money spent on homes in the U.S. during those 12 months

Many international buyers are drawn to parts


A record amount of foreign money is flowing into the U.S. housing market. And the Southland is a prime destination.

Overseas buyers and new immigrants accounted for $92 billion worth of home purchases in the U.S. in the 12 months ended in March, according to a new study out Tuesday from the National Assn. of Realtors. That's up 35% from the year before, and the most ever.

Nearly one-fourth of those purchases came from Chinese buyers. And the place they're looking most is Southern California. Among U.S. cities, Los Angeles was the top destination for real estate searches from China on the realtor.com website, according to the study; San Francisco was second; followed by Irvine.

The real estate market in China is crazy right now. You can sell a little condo over there and easily afford a big single-family home here.- Sheril Liu, a real estate agent with ReMax Premier Realty in Irvine

The report highlights the growing effect of global capital on some local housing markets. The $92 billion amounts to 7% of all money spent on homes in the U.S. during those 12 months, and nearly half of it was concentrated in a handful of cities, including Los Angeles.

There are several reasons why so much global — and especially Chinese — cash is flowing into Southern California real estate, said Jed Smith, managing director for quantitative research at the Realtor group.

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Some families are buying houses for their children attending California universities, or even high schools in some top districts.

Others see the U.S. as a smarter investment than the overheated Chinese housing market. And in some cases, wealthy Chinese are parking money in a safer haven than is available at home.

"California's a nice place to live, and by and large the U.S. is a good place to put your money," Smith said.

That's driving prices in parts of the region that have long been popular with Chinese buyers. Home values have returned to pre-recession levels in parts of the San Gabriel Valley, for instance. And in Irvine, home to a booming population of young Asian families, new residences are getting scooped up by Chinese buyers.

Many international buyers are drawn to parts of the region where their fellow countrymen already live, said Sheril Liu, a real estate agent with ReMax Premier Realty in Irvine. Whether it's family connections or simple familiarity with the names, new buyers tend to follow the old ones.


Related story: Wealthy Chinese home buyers boost suburban L.A. housing markets E. Scott Reckard and Andrew Khouri


"These are famous cities they know," said Liu, an immigrant from China who estimates that half her business now comes from Chinese buyers. "They know San Francisco. They know Los Angeles. They know Irvine."

Good schools certainly help. Liu said many of her clients are families with children, planning to immigrate to the U.S. and looking for a top-ranked school district. And the high-cost Chinese housing market means that even neighborhoods in the U.S. where the median price is pushing $900,000 can look like a steal.

"The real estate market in China is crazy right now," Liu said. "You can sell a little condo over there and easily afford a big single-family home here."

As the Chinese-to-U.S. market grows, more agents are trying to find ways to tap it. MSM Luxury Estates in Beverly Hills, for instance, opened an office in Hangzhou last year to better reach new customers.

So far, said Chief Executive Moe Abourched, it has done quite well.
"We're seeing more of an influx all the time," he said.

Abourched said his firm is working with a range of customers — including would-be immigrants who need a mortgage, wealthy younger Chinese who can pay millions in cash, and investment groups aiming to buy tracts of land to develop new subdivisions targeted specifically at Chinese buyers.


Related story: Existing home sales surge in May as housing market heats up Andrew Khouri

They wouldn't be the first to build with the foreign market in mind.

Some home builders in Irvine have started incorporating Chinese design principles into their houses. And Chinese state-owned Greenland USA is launching a $1-billion project in downtown Los Angeles, including a 38-story skyscraper with condos aimed at an "international clientele."
Sales will start in September, and interest has been strong from foreign buyers, said Horacio LeDon, president of Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, which is handling sales for the project — though he notes it has been almost as strong from local buyers.

LeDon said he sees high-end buyers from all over the globe — the sort of people who typically stuck to New York or London or their own countries — taking a closer look at Los Angeles. And not just Asians.

The weather of Southern California appeals to Europeans; the glamour to buyers from Russia; and the economic stability to Latin Americans looking for a haven.

"The world has really opened its eyes to California," he said.

Still, he noted, these global elite are only active in a certain slice of the market. And while that may keep driving up prices at the high end, it probably won't make much difference to the average first-time home-buyer in a middle-class neighborhood.

Smith agrees, noting that beyond a few pockets like the San Gabriel Valley or Irvine, the effect of foreign buyers, even in Southern California, is muted.

"I don't think the foreign buyer is cutting very many people out," he said. "There are plenty of other houses available."

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