arm when it involves real estate. In some areas of the country, the concern is that foreigners will end up owning the nation's agricultural sector, while, in other areas, the concern is that the quality of life in resi dential areas will suffer. In the State of Hawaii, each of these concerns is involved; however, it is the quality of life issue which has received the greatest public attention.
Japanese investment in Hawaiian real estate is heavy because (1) the Japanese have money to invest, (2) the invest ment opportunities in Hawaiian real estate are attractive, and (3) the large Japanese American population in the state is con sidered by investors from Japan to be a positive factor. Hong Kong Chinese investment in Hawaiian real estate is heavy because the scheduled return of political control of Hong Kong to the Peoples Republic of China in 1997 has wealthy residents 3of the British Crown Colony running scared, and the incidentssurrounding the student protest movement in Beijing in the sum mer of 1989 exacerbated this fear.
The development, or over development according to some Hawaiians, of real estate in Hawaii did not begin with the increased investment by the Japanese and the Hong Kong Chinese. Real property development had reached a point in the early 1980s where many residents of the states began to actively pur sue growth and development control legislation. The recent increase in Japanese and Hong Kong Chinese investment has con tributed to an acceleration of (1) real property values in Hawaii, (2) a changing character of urban life in the state, and (3) demands for growth and development control legislation.
Real estate accounts for a greater proportion of the total value of all assets in the United States than does any other single asset classification. Value in real estate is an objec tive factor; that is, it refers to market value.2 Market value is concerned with the present worth of future benefits, and...