Real estate market. Smokin' hot.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by KNS

How times have changed. I grew up in Highland Park (and Tujunga and a couple other palces..), we lived on Mt Washington. It was a neat area with a small artist community and a quick shot to downtown.

Edit: holy crap I clicked on our old house and it's pushing 1 mil for a 1900 Sq Ft house!

No siht? Was it on Mt Washington Dr? 1900 sq' is pretty good size for that place. I live in Mt Washington and grew up in Echo Park when it was a dump. Still is IMO.

[KNS]

^^ We lived in two different houses on Mt Washington/HP. One was on Terrace 49 which is sorta Mt. Washington and the other was on Mavis Dr. but I couldn't remember the exact address, the neighborhoods have changed quite a bit (40 years ago). We also lived in a third house on Mt Washington but I am trying to recall the area. I remember that one being on stilts on a hillside.

I don't recall our Terrace 49 house being 1900 SF but from googling it it seems to have had some additions.

I do remember our parents having a few (talented) artists as good friends and neighbors. The only reason we left was because the schools were crappy. We attended Toland Way and Mt Washington Elementary.

[creaturecat]

Vancouver is overflowing with mainland China money. dirty money, for the most part.
the natives are getting pretty restless, rightly or wrongly.
Amazing transition to a colony of sorts.
Hong Kong folks are moving back home, to avoid the mess. no more malicious "Hongcouver" jokes.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by creaturecat

Vancouver is overflowing with mainland China money. dirty money, for the most part.
the natives are getting pretty restless, rightly or wrongly.
Amazing transition to a colony of sorts.
Hong Kong folks are moving back home, to avoid the mess. no more malicious "Hongcouver" jokes.

Sounds like a schithole. China in N. America.

[KNS]

Originally Posted by creaturecat

Vancouver is overflowing with mainland China money. dirty money, for the most part.
the natives are getting pretty restless, rightly or wrongly.
Amazing transition to a colony of sorts.
Hong Kong folks are moving back home, to avoid the mess. no more malicious "Hongcouver" jokes.

How many of the recent arrivals are staying and how many just looking for a place to put their money?

[Bill Douglas]

Don't worry, if Trump gets in firstly the stock market will collapse, followed shortly by the real estate market. Then all that dirty foreign money will exit the place too.

[jyl]

Vancouver B.C. really should consider imposing a large (50%) tax on house purchases by non-Canadians.

[jyl]

Quick numbers, just food for thought.

$500,000 mortgage, 30 years, interest rate 4%. Annual payment $28,644, total interest paid over life of loan $359,384. But mortgage interest is deductible, if marginal federal+state income tax rate is 40% (assumes a high earner in a state with high income tax rate) then after tax interest paid is $215,630. Which is equivalent to an after-tax interest rate of about 2.5%. Any time you can borrow money at 2.5% to buy an asset that is at least reasonably likely to appreciate, and also serves as shelter, you should. Okay, if your crystal ball shows a major real estate correction in the near future, then you shouldn't . . .

[Scuba Steve]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Don't worry, if Trump gets in firstly the stock market will collapse, followed shortly by the real estate market. Then all that dirty foreign money will exit the place too.

To be fair, it's set up to happen for whoever takes office next.

[creaturecat]

Originally Posted by KNS

How many of the recent arrivals are staying and how many just looking for a place to put their money?

place to hide money.
they pay no taxes, as they refuse to provide income data, for taxation purposes. this is allowed, due to the "cultural norms" clause. i kid you not.
living in 20-30 million dollar homes. shifting the tax burden to the poor.
the most wealthy neighbourhood in Vancouver - Shaunessy - has a lower per capita income than the downtown east side., where the disadvantaged live on the sidewalk. i kid you not. public record.
good old Canadians. wouldn't say **** if their mouths were full of it.

[creaturecat]

busloads of mainland Chinese. all over B C. literally.
with black notepads.
they have witnessed the soft underbelly of Canada.
guess what? if you bring in a million in cash in a suitcase? get caught? 1000 dollar fine. money handed back to criminal. i kid you not. public record.
is it racist, mentioning the current state of affairs within this framework? i dunno. apologies if this offends anyone.

[TheMentat]

Originally Posted by KNS

How many of the recent arrivals are staying and how many just looking for a place to put their money?

Hard to say. One gets the impression that the vast majority are staying. Their kids go to school here and, my neighbours for instance, seem keen to integrate. The breadwinner travels back to China only as required for work, and they might go back occasionally to visit family. However, most of them have a pretty dim view of the government and quality of life over there.

But to answer your question, we'd need to know how many of them are simply parking money, and those guys aren't exactly walking around on the streets. There aren't a heck of a lot of vacant homes around here, and many of those are simply waiting for permits to demolish & rebuild.

[VillaRicaGA911]

What? The people with money from China want to stay in Canada and not go back to communist government, currency manipulating, human rights violating, free speech suppressing country? Well I am just shocked and they want to come to a country where they can park vast sums of money with a questionable origin. No way. Don't worry I am also not shocked that we have vast amounts of people crossing our southern border. It's a sad race to see which country will no longer be US or Canada?

[creaturecat]

anyone interested in the Vancouver scenario: Infographic: Vancouver Real Estate Mania

[biosurfer1]

I've been casually searching for my next home but not in any rush. I think there is a correction coming and think it's already started. For years houses have sold faster and faster. Some still are but I'm also seeing price reductions, and decently priced homes staying on the market for weeks at a time. That was unheard of just a couple months ago. I doubt a crash is coming (though I wouldn't mind since I sold and am waiting in an apt.) but I think a healthy correction is on its way.

Who knows, maybe I'm wrong

[TheMentat]

Originally Posted by creaturecat

anyone interested in the Vancouver scenario: Infographic: Vancouver Real Estate Mania

Nicely put together, but not without some serious flaws (do these guys even understand what they are writing?):

Renters are not immune to price increases either, as price-to-rent ratios are way out of whack in Metro Vancouver. According to real estate website Trulia, in nearby Seattle it takes 14.5 years of rent to equal the price of a house. In Vancouver, it takes 36.9 years.

[KNS]

Interesting - the article above mentions the "Monster House". Same thing has happened in Arcadia, CA (and many other Socal neighborhoods). Arcadia has a very highly regarded school district, attracting many buyers. As soon as a home sold the new owners would tear it down and build a gigantic new house on the property.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by creaturecat

busloads of mainland Chinese. all over B C. literally.
with black notepads.
they have witnessed the soft underbelly of Canada.
guess what? if you bring in a million in cash in a suitcase? get caught? 1000 dollar fine. money handed back to criminal. i kid you not. public record.
is it racist, mentioning the current state of affairs within this framework? i dunno. apologies if this offends anyone.

I don't think the Canadian government minds too much. Damn the voters.

Where the rich are located...is where they will most likely spend their money(cultural norms aside).
Propping up local RE market keeps the property values artificially high, and those taxes flowing back into the general fund.
Gravy train.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by jyl

Quick numbers, just food for thought.

$500,000 mortgage, 30 years, interest rate 4%. Annual payment $28,644, total interest paid over life of loan $359,384. But mortgage interest is deductible, if marginal federal+state income tax rate is 40% (assumes a high earner in a state with high income tax rate) then after tax interest paid is $215,630. Which is equivalent to an after-tax interest rate of about 2.5%. Any time you can borrow money at 2.5% to buy an asset that is at least reasonably likely to appreciate, and also serves as shelter, you should. Okay, if your crystal ball shows a major real estate correction in the near future, then you shouldn't . . .

You're forgetting property taxes and fixing stuff. Not insignificant in CA with a house that is 50+ years old and likely has a bunch of deferred maintenance and crappy "remodels".

I think the tech bubble will burst at some point in the next few years and there will be a correction. But CA will never go to national norms - tech isn't the only reason housing prices are so high here. You can't fix location...

[creaturecat]

Originally Posted by TheMentat

Nicely put together, but not without some serious flaws (do these guys even understand what they are writing?):

i did not see any serious flaws. the statement you quoted seems accurate. i guess i missed something. please elaborate.