Looking for a home in Southern California?
Does the looney at par have you looking at homes in the USA? “America’s Builder” DR Horton is holding an ‘UnAuction Sale‘ in 23 southern California neighborhoods offering new homes for up to 50% off their peak value. In fact you can likely find deals like this in a lot of sunbelt states right now due to the current state of the US housing market.
The exchange rate and crashing house prices is making US property more appealing to many Canadians, but you’ll want to check into tax issues before you buy, even if you’re not planning on renting it out for cash-flow. Some states like Arizona charge the same property tax whether you’re a resident or not, while other states like California charge a much higher property tax to non-residents.
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February 20th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
February 20th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
February 20th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
http://tinyurl.com/25ubbw
I think our society has been sold a pile of crap that we’ve bitten on hook, line, and sinker
If I could log on to that other blog I would have read the above, and I would have to warn you that you could end up on probation just like snick,
Heck you could get banned like me.
February 20th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
http://tinyurl.com/29aycp
incoming sunlight could be considered “cellulite”
…from craigslist Spectrum ad
February 20th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
I hope their greed keeps them in the market long enough so that they won’t be able to unload their investment on to some poor, honest,and hard working first time buyer, who sees a home for what it should be, and not a poker chip.
I am quite convinced greed and denial will keep the greedy fools from exiting at the first signs of trouble.
As inventory levels rise, they will just interpret it as a temporary lull.
The beauty of bubbles is they leave a lot of excess capacity as well as updated inventory behind, too bad some of it will leak.
The good thing is the specuvestors who deserve the bad karma, will be holding the bulk of the leaky condos.
February 20th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
You’re my favorite Boomer.
Craigslist:Harbinger of dooooooooooooom!!!
As it happens, I’m in the market for a 2bdrm. Do you have recommendations? My only two criteria are no grow ops, and no krrish….
February 20th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
February 20th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY notices,
REST OF FEB FREE!!!! ads
I saw one WE’LL COVER YOUR BILLS
And several ads for our fave building Spectrum. The asked rents fluctuate wildly…. there are several one bedroom suites asking the same price as the 2 bdrm suites, and one townhouse that’s 1850, which is about what people are asking for some of the 2 bdrm suites.
I think we’re looking at an England style meltdown, where the “let to own” specuvestors gets burned first…
February 20th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Its mostly about the ‘harm reduction’ policy for drug addicts and prostitutes. I wasn’t aware of the extremely high levels of disease in that neigborhood, they say HIV infection rates are the same as Botswana.
February 20th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
February 20th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
What? Vancouver lumped in with California, Nevada and New York? But we’re different here right?
I love that we’re getting lumped in with the biggest US bubbles in a globally read financial letter!
February 20th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Which leaves brand new unoccupied units at Mode, Spectrum 1,2,3, and 4., Coopers Lookout etc. plus there is now turnover in the newer buildings such as YTP, Hudson etc. and finally the newer units create a vacuum where people vacate older buildings (for example the exodus from the twelve year old 939 homer to the new YTP across the street).
Why do I keep harping about rentals?
Because if “investors” can’t get $1500 per month to offset their $3,000 mortgage it’ll cause the crash to occur faster and also make it even more of a renters market while it happens.
Secondly if the rental market is already saturated ,as badly as it is now, imagine what will happen when another 10,000 units flood the market and the transient construction workers (aka renters who’re paying above market rent right now and also renting hotel suites) move along.
February 20th, 2008 at 11:55 am
What? Vancouver lumped in with California, Nevada and New York? But we’re different here right?
I love that we’re getting lumped in with the biggest US bubbles in a globally read financial letter!
February 20th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Inventory hit 10,358, of which 2,529, or 24.42%, were over 90s”
Just for the bears who are locked out of rob’s blog, but want to know this useless info.
Remember these numbers are completely useless unless we know the numbers behind the numbers.
February 20th, 2008 at 9:37 am
Canadian officials in Beijing turned blind eye to reports of immigration fraud
Basically a young clerk in a Beijing office reported to canadian officials the practice of requiring young healthy people to get x-rays that are then put into the medical records of people with medical problems who want to move to Canada. Sounds like the Canadian government hasn’t done anything about it.
February 20th, 2008 at 9:36 am
I also think our major tax paying industries are a lot more sustainable than the US’s. You can’t outsource resource industries and farms, and they produce stuff that the rest of the world wants.
I think finding a job there would be the ‘easiest’ route for a Canadian to move to the US
Indeed it is, but the problem is that except for the NAFTA scheduled occupations, it’s just as easy for a US employer to bring in someone from India (H1B) as from Canada. And they work for a lot less.
February 20th, 2008 at 9:09 am
February 20th, 2008 at 8:42 am
Ok, it was just a question, no need to get insulting patriotz. I think finding a job there would be the ‘easiest’ route for a Canadian to move to the US, but I don’t have experience with that so I’ll take your word on it.
Your later response about medical insurance is in my eyes the main issue. For younger people the increased cost of private medical insurance is made up for by the lower cost of living, but its trickier for boomers. I think you can live part time in the US and keep your Canadian medical insurance. You’d still have to get travel insurance for the time you’re in the states, but I think this is what many snowbirds do.
Still not sure if that would justify buying a place in the states vs. just renting it while you’re there.
February 19th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
Honolulu property market
Seems like at least Honolulu is spared from the subprime plague (perhaps, simply because there’s no need to entice people to buy its coveted real estate). I would jet to Hawaii in a jiffy if I got a green card, work or no work waiting.
February 19th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
February 19th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
http://tinyurl.com/2s2brl
Looks like a few banks are finally throwing in the towel on the Miami condo market.
February 19th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Today I walked by it and it looked like a porn star convention with all the glitzy realtors descending on the place in their flashy cars, in fact they were all over the place. Guess it’s their open house day, the day they all try out the beds and then go for lunch or something.
Keep an eye on this place. See if it drops any further by Springtime and then we will know if the hype factor in Vancouver is dying out as I suspect it is.
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And what would a post by me be without this…..?
When the investment world finally wakes up to the shortages, and soaring demand will make it difficult to find any investment silver at any price this side of $100 an ounce.
February 19th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Well I think your imagination needs some exercising. You think 2007 was bad? It was just a warmup. The real carnage is yet to come.
February 19th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
I could move to the US under NAFTA but there’s one big problem - medical insurance - practically unobtainable at any reasonable price for someone in my age group (boomer). Anyone following the news knows that employers are bailing out of providing it to anyone other than the least risky.
Were that not a problem I’d be happy to live in Seattle, frankly I think it’s a nicer place than Vancouver now, better jobs, lower taxes, and cheaper housing.
February 19th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
February 19th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
February 19th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
I would miss the 6+ straight months of rain in Vancouver though
February 19th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
February 19th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
I see you realize you are running out of greater fools in the local market and testing the waters for Prince George.
The metrics do seem to pencil out, why don’t you buy it?
February 19th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
February 19th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
February 19th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Who are these people? Are they the same people who were going to make Miami’s prices skyrocket forever? How about California?
Anyone who has traveled anywhere in the world knows that no one knows where Vancouver is they think we live in Igloo’s in Canada.
I met people in Hawaii 15 years ago who believed me when I said we just got electricity in Canada, these people had no intention of ever visiting Canada, let alone move here.
February 19th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
No one could actually have been to London or New York and say something that dumb.
He probably has never left the province.
February 19th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Dude. Seriously. It’s NOT all about demand. “No one wants to live there” is, uh… bullshit plain and simple.
But your opinion is very helpful. It helps me understand the kind of thinking that locals used to drive Vancouver prices to unsustainable highs.
I mean dude… come on. You’re saying more people want to live in Vancouver than NYC? Or London? Seriously, that’s what you think is happening?
Wow… just…wow.
February 19th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
February 19th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Dosh That statement is the honest truth. I work with a whole bunch of Asian investors and residents. They are quite honest in saying they could not get into the US so Canada and Vancouver was the second (runnerup) choice. They are great people but given the opportunity to work in the US as opposed to here they would be gone in a flash. Anywhere in the US!
February 19th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Sure! Whatever you say. I’m sure the fact that their prices are down has NOTHING to do with the speculative bubble they’re coming down from. The one that drove prices above affordable fundamentals in a lot of cities, kind of like whats going on in a medium sized city on the west coast of Canada right now…
February 19th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
February 19th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
A LOT of immigrants use Canada as a spring bopard to the US. It’s only failing that they stay here. First choice is usually the US.
I personally would never live there but most people would chose the US over Canada.
You sure it’s Vancouver people want? Regina RE is up 69% in one year. No that’s not a typo. I guess Regina blows Vancouver out of the water?!?!?
February 19th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
February 19th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
February 19th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Warren, why does believing that even the worst of the street people or the young people that I refer to above aren’t “non-entities” make me an Olympic clock paint thrower?
Now only two months and counting until I escape from this hick infested backwater!
February 19th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
February 19th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Do you spend any time downtown? And I don’t mean throwing paint on the Olympic clock.
February 19th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Wow Strataman, with attitudes like that toward the less fortunate no wonder we have a world class problem with homelessness and poverty in Vancouver. Here’s hoping that you and yours never end up the shunned “non-entities”.
February 19th, 2008 at 11:55 am
February 19th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Well because the US is a foreign country and Canadians can’t just go and live in a foreign country because they feel like it, doofus.
It’s a lot harder to immigrate to the US than to Canada - they take way fewer legal immigrants per capita than we do. Very very few Canadians would qualify.
There are also some occupations where Canadians can get work visas under NAFTA, but again that’s a pretty small chunk of the populace.
February 19th, 2008 at 10:50 am
February 19th, 2008 at 9:51 am
Anyone know where there is info for Canadians thinking about buying in the US? A list state by state of thinks to consider as a foreign buyer and an update on current market conditions would be ideal.
very few of us have the option of living or working there anyway.
Why do you say that?
February 19th, 2008 at 9:42 am
I think there will be a once in a lifetime chance to pick up some US real estate perhaps near the end of 2008. The C$ is, for all purposes, at an all-time high against the US, and they are on their way down to an extreme low in RE. If you ever had thought of retiring in Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, etc., do your research and keep your eyes open.
All other things equal, we’ll probably see the C$ back to 80 cents in 5-10 years, plus a modest rebound in US RE.
February 19th, 2008 at 8:55 am
I thought the main message here is ‘new houses at 50% off’. There are some people here that don’t believe house prices in Vancouver will go down more than 5 or 10% because its ‘unthinkable’. Don’t you think people in southern California thought that a 50% price drop was ‘unthinkable’? Why would anyone have bought one of these houses two years ago if they thought they’d be selling at half the price today?
It goes to show it doesn’t matter what you paid, or what you think your house is worth. Its the buyer that sets the price.
February 19th, 2008 at 8:46 am
http://tinyurl.com/2qtwld
“Already powers are being abused and that is going to get worse because we will have more and more people having their homes broken into by bailiffs,” he warned. “This is happening as debt has increased to record levels.
February 18th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
http://tinyurl.com/2ok3xa
“If the Olympic bid wasn’t happening we would have to invent something.” Poole, chair of the 2010 Vancouver Bid Corp. and noted real estate developer, said in a most telling understatement.
It is hard to imagine any fantasy that fits better than the Olympics bid if you are into real estate development.”
February 18th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
patrioz “given very few of us have the option of living or working there anyway.” I agree risky business now days to buy there unless you are really flush. State government looking at extreme deficit…would be easy to pass something taxing foreign ownership more than now without losing any votes..I’d stay away unless I was open to losing it all.
February 18th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
February 18th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
instant bubble!
http://tinyurl.com/29oa2c
At the Minneapolis Grain Exchange, wheat fever pushed prices to $19.80 a bushel in trading Friday - nearly triple the record from 1996.
February 18th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
“British Columbia average price Jan, 2008 $453,648 Jan,2007 $396,132.up 14.5 per cents.”
Fits well with the bs you are peddling now
http://robchipman.net/blog/
February 18th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
I don’t think that’s true for California actually. Prop 13 discriminates against new buyers by basing taxes on the price at time of purchase rather than market price. It’s really a Ponzi scheme designed to load tax increases on to new buyers, and will collapse as property values fall.
The SOH scheme in Florida does discriminate against non-residents, and is one reason why the Florida RE market is headed for complete collapse as it is destroying marginal demand in a state where snowbirds drive a large part of the economy.
I must say I really don’t see the relevance of US RE pricing compared to Canada, given very few of us have the option of living or working there anyway. It’s not like the stock market where you can put your money anywhere you want. And US RE would have to get way, way, cheaper to make any sense as an absentee investment.
February 18th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
February 18th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
If you don’t feed the animals, they’ll eventually die.
February 18th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
“Anyway this side of border without water problem”.
Greater Vancouver-MLS Resale Homes Jan,2008-Jan 2007
Jan,2008 average price $588,183
Jan,2007 $530,695 change% 10.8
Active listing jan,08 9,998
Jan,07 10,015 change %-0.2
Residential Sales to Active Listing Jan,2008 18.6 %Jan,07 18.6 %
British Columbia average price Jan, 2008 $453,648 Jan,2007 $396,132.up 14.5 per cents.