The New Dream: Renting
Cashisking points out this article in the Wall Street Journal about the history of the North American dream of home ownership and how it’s changed over time.
Until the early 20th century, holding a mortgage came with a stigma. You were a debtor, and chronic indebtedness was a problem to be avoided like too much drinking or gambling. The four words “keep out of debt” or “pay as you go” appeared in countless advice books. As the YMCA told its young charges, “If you can’t pay, don’t buy. Go without. Keep on going without.” Because of that, many middle-class Americans—even those with a taste for single-family houses—rented. Home Sweet Home didn’t lose its sweetness because someone else held the title.
The article goes on to cover changes in government policy and lending, from the depression up to the recent housing boom and bust in the US.
Like the US, the Canadian government has policies to encourage home ownership (via the CMHC) based on the assumption that home ownership is good for society, but is it? Do you as an owner or renter feel that there is a fundamental difference between the two choices? Are owners more responsible and more involved in their community? On the flipside, are renters with a higher disposable income more beneficial to a local economy?
The WSJ article ends with an interesting note on the origins of the ‘American Dream’ quote:
RSS 2.0 comments feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.James Truslow Adams, the historian who coined the phrase “the American dream,” one that he defined as “a better, richer, and happier life for all our citizens of every rank” also offered a prescient commentary in the midst of the Great Depression. “That dream,” he wrote in 1933, “has always meant more than the accumulation of material goods.” Home should be a place to build a household and a life, a respite from the heartless world, not a pot of gold.
August 21st, 2009 at 11:53 am
Post 86, 87 and 88
Thanks for the info:
I had heard about these sort of benefits being acquired literally once they set foot in Canada.
I didn’t know it was that bad. This just encourages abuse of the system and is a free ride . Why is this allowed ?
I believe another game is played with the Education sytem, whereby if they simply get their Grade 12 Dogwood diploma in BC(as opposed to being here from grades K – 12), they have the same access to post secondary education(ie not deemed international student).
August 21st, 2009 at 7:04 am
89: Pancreatic cancer is as bad as it gets, with a 5% survival rate 5 years after diagnosis. It is likely no amount of treatment would have saved your advisor.
August 21st, 2009 at 1:23 am
NO -LYMPICS: NO. Like you, I’m just engaging in debate, and very willing to listen to all sides. I originally referred to realpaul’s false contention that the new health care legislation in the United States included “death panels.” It does not.
As for the rationing of medical care in British Columbia on the basis of age, I truly don’t know enough to have an informed opinion. I’ve only recently moved back to the province after a 15-year extended hiatus abroad.
Eerily enough, however, at almost the exact minute that I wrote my first post, my dissertation advisor passed away from the effects of pancreatic cancer. I just found out a couple of hours ago. He was 64.
August 20th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
I am Chinese and do agree about the free ride the Chinese immigrants, rich or poor are getting here. However would like to point out it’s just not the Chinese but also East Indians, Iranians, Phillipinos, all recent immigrants. All they do is inflate our RE and use our social services. It was not like this when I arrived in Canada 45 years ago.
August 20th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
#86 further, have 4 kids ($250 per child) = $1000 monthly. 2 grandparents 65+ (GIS, OAS, to about $1800 roughly?) so basically, monthly income already $2800 before 2 adults working. let say 1 adult works collecting min. wages to about $1800 monthly. A total of $4600/month $55200/year! NO paying taxes of course, NO MSP, get all the benefits you desire!
$4600 – $1500 rent = $3100 LEFT monthly to SPEND. Truly, not bad! May even quality for a fat mortgage with some tweaking.
August 20th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
NO -LYMPICS:
#79 NO, don’t forget that the CDN is perpetually in the toilet and that HK dollars , being tied the US buck, fetch a premium over the CDN peso. Hell of a way to treat the CDN’s who built the system on generations of taxes only to be shown the door when the LIBs decided to allow waves of unqualified immigrants in for a free ride on the social, medial and educational system.
The one I like the best are the grandfathers of large families who may have been an engineer in China ( not a professional designation recognized in a CDN work enviornment) retired in China for 20 years is qualified under the points system to immigrate , bring the entire family for the freebies and never intend to work or pay taxes , and due to his age immediately start collecting an old age pension. Nice going Canada. Give aways and freebies to people who have only one reason to come to this country, that is, to leach off the CDN taxpayer who is too stupid to realise whats going on.
In the Chinese community the free money the old ladies get is called ” gambling money’ because its been scammed away from the stupid Quai Lo.
August 20th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
http://cosmos-justice.blogspot.....y-and.html
BMO?? guess we’ll wait and see..
Interest rates go up, housing prices comes down, I’ve looked at all the other factors, this is the only thing that will ultimately change the vancouver market. They don’t have to move much and things will get messy. Buyers these days don’t plan for the future , so long as they can pay the mortgage at the end of the month, they figure they are a f#*king real estate guru. My wife and I have been renting and saving for 4 year watching people assume massive amount of debt. best wishes to all those that are not deep in debt and not highly leveraged.
August 20th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
#62, isn’t it too bad you don’t know how to avoid taxes like them. It will take you more years of living in Canada to understand how to evade taxes and move ahead in life. That HST will crush a lot of middle class and lower income people but for those collecting cash, it will be life as usual.
August 20th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
$375 / 1br – Very Mini-house Small 10×10 (richmond)
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.....21057.html
This mini-house was originally built as place to rest outside our house,,
It is solid and 2 years old with tile roof, stucco ecterior and baseboard heat, it is
10feet by 10feet and have a sink/shower/toilet/hotplate/microwae/tv in same room
very secure with its own enternace, would suite only 1 adult
with minimal belongings,, there is room tohang your clothes
but oviously no room for a sofa or any other furnituresmall bed only
hydro and cable are included and wireless internet
1 minute walk to busstop
August 20th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
seems that craigslist rental prices are dropping esp. in downtown or kits area. also, basement suits are a lot cheaper now. not to say LOTS and LOTS of choices around.
August 20th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
$3B shortfall challenges B.C. finance minister
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/briti.....ansen.html
As government revenues plunge, B.C. taxpayers should brace themselves for a “very, very difficult” budget in two weeks, Finance Minister Colin Hansen is warning.
The government is desperately trying to maintain key services, but a $3-billion shortfall is making that a real challenge, Hansen said.
“We are desperately trying to maintain the critical services in health care and education and the social services. So it’s definitely been a challenging summer,” the finance minister said Wednesday.
In the last three months, British Columbia has faced a financial whipsaw, he said, including:
Corporate income tax and personal income tax revenue — down by about $1 billion.
Projected revenue from natural gas — down by about $500 million.
Projected revenue from other natural resources — down by about $500 million.
Projected revenue from the social services tax — down by about $200 million.
Spending on forest fires and social services — up by about $500 million.
Addendum:
On News Hansen says Gov’t projections indicate deficit for at least 2 years. More indication the HST is a pay off meets cash grab.
Also: 1300 Auto workers called back to work whooppeeee !
August 20th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Post 78
Who pissed in your corn flakes?
What advantage is there in making this up? These are anecdotes. It’s not the first time I have heard of a fiscal means test for health care. Do you know first hand that it is BS ? I had an RN tell me this, (ie if granny has a million dollar home and seeks an old folks home, she better sell her home and use that to pay for it, the public won’t) and heard it from a couple of other parties.
I hope it is BS.
As I stated, the health care system will be increasingly on life support. It will be more costly and concurrently less universal. The front end of the baby boom is retiring.
Dentists are complaining they have 14% fewer patient visits and blaming the economy.
BTW: I’m glad your 90 year old Dad recovered.
August 20th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
77 X realpaul Says:
August 20th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Vancouverite:
#69 V, I think the number is $200,000 CDN ti immigrate to Canada under the business category.
=====
It was my understanding that when the BC’s Asian boom started in the 1980’s, investment (of around $200,000) was a requirement “to buy your way in”. It was not supposed to allow Real Estate as an eligible investment, certainly not residential RE.
However, my further understanding was that was waived,thus RE investment would be deemed an eligible investment , hence our massive B.C. RE bubble in the late 1980’s.
I can still recall pre Expo 86 that a house on a big lot on the West Side near 41st and Granville could be had for less than $250,000, or a Richmond home for just over $100,000. It doubled and tripled before 1990 rolled around.
I can’t recall any offshore investment that was new and created real middle class jobs such as manufacturing. All we got was a regurgitative ponzi scheme where we buy Hong Kong, then mainland Chinese products, then they come over here with their profits and buy our RE. These cheap Asian goods lured us into a false sense of fiscal security, (aka cost of living has gone down)as our RE was sold out via policy subsidization. Even ol’ Trudeau once had controls of foreign ownership.
As per usual our Gov’ts were lobbied by special interest groups(realturds and banksters) to sell us out. Perhaps the more recent bubble is a realization that the Asia tap has run out and we need to lure domestically born and bred greater fools.
August 20th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
#72 No-Olympics. WTF are you talking about? – “I have also heard stories from health care professionals that if the patient has assest such as a house, they will be forced to sell and pay their own health care, it is NOT universal.” I have many beefs with our system, but this statement is total BS. As for your family member with cancer, my 90 year old father was given extensive radiation treatment for his cancer because chemo and surgery tend to be TOO RISKY for eldery folks, especially when they are weakened by a serious illness such as cancer. He beat the cancer after a 14 week series of treatments.
Next person who thinks the “Death Panel” myth is real needs to be banned for being terminally stupid.
August 20th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Vancouverite:
#69 V, I think the number is $200,000 CDN ti immigrate to Canada under the business category. It is obviously impossible to set up any kind of business in Vancouver for that amount so in fact its just a scam. Ergo, a lot of so called immigrants with limited funds all driving rented cars and sharing clothes.
August 20th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
NO -LYMPICS:
#68 NO, that is my understanding as well. The’death panel’ doesn’t have the power to arbtrarily cancel granny’s surgery but it takes form insidiously wherein the facility and doctors begin to ’suggest’ that death is inevitable and resources are better allocated elesewhere. The idea is to save the expense of prolonging life unnessecarily through counselling the patient rather than treating them aggressivley.
August 20th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
NO -LYMPICS: NO_LYMPICS – depending on the type and grade of the tumor and the overall health of the patient, treatment can be worse than doing nothing.
August 20th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
atomicfrog:
#62 Don’t blame the Chinese for the underground economy. That market is definatley colour/creed free. The real problem in Canada is that people are over taxed and they are revolting. The government waste and corruption (Canadian style) is unconsionable. The real cost of living is so high that people can’t make a go of it after taxes so who can blame them for trying to shield a few dollars from the gov.
Don’t blame the tax cheats blame the system that cheats us all.
August 20th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
NO -LYMPICS:
“An MD once stated that the vast majority of health care per capita is spent in the last 2 years of one’s life.
That same fate could eventually await us all.”
Sounds like a great idea to me. Why in the world would the medical system start a chemotheraphy regime on a person who is 75yrs old??
August 20th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
oneangryslav
realpaul said:
” The ‘death Panels’ in the states will determine which people are terminal and who will no longer benefit from any type of procedure. here we are letting people who could be saved die, laying unattended in hallways and closets. Shame beyond shame”.
oneangryslav said
” This “death panel” garbage is absolute bullshit. No panel would determine whether “granny dies” or not.”
When our family member was in hospital recently , they discussed the “Will not resucitate” possibility. We had presumed they wanted us to sign a form. No, this was not a option on our part , it would be more of a given on the hospitals part if the situation got to that point. IMHO, That’s a death panel. (However, the patient is at home for the most part, and reasonably mobile).
BTW not attempting anything more than a debate. Unfortunately many of us will be part of the sandwich generation with elderly relatives that lived longer than their parents. Health care needs and subsequent costs will rise, with fewer taxpayers to fund it. I recall the ratio was once 10:1(of taxpayer to beneficiary)….now its down to 3:1 ? and getting worse ?
This type of age demographic bubble was forecast years ago. Call them what you will, but I foresee more and more “mortal” civil servants in health care will end up playing “God” and creating ever shifting demarcation points related to budgets.
I have also heard stories from health care professionals that if the patient has assest such as a house, they will be forced to sell and pay their own health care, it is NOT universal.
August 20th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Vancouverite: What is your evidence for the claims you make, Vancouverite? Have there been any surveys done about the attitudes of Chinese with respect to emigration?
Now you may know many people who want to emigrate to Canada (Vancouver), but extrapolating that to China’s population as a whole is an example of selection bias.
August 20th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
NO -LYMPICS: NO, the important part of your response is “give[n] their age they are not being given the same treatment protocol as someone younger.”
Without more knowledge about the specifics of the case, it’s difficult to assess whether your relative has been given what amounts to a death sentence by BC medical services. The larger point, however, is that one would expect the protocol for treating a disease to vary by age. Younger persons are, obviously, stronger and healthier generally than older persons, and medical intervention (paricularly chemotherapy) puts tremendous stress on the body. Once again, though, one would have to know a lot more of the specifics in the case of your relative.
The point that I tried to make in my previous post was to debunk the “death panels” myth vis-a-vis the health care debate in the US. Oh, and you’re correct about “death panels” existing in the United States. If you can’t afford health insurance, you get no health care. Period.
August 20th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
#61 All immigrant asians Rich?
I never said all immigrant asians are rich.
What I’m saying is that there are so many more asians than local home owner or wannabe local home owners that want to own a home & business in Vancouver.
If all immigrant asians were rich home prices would not be down from 2006-07.
However, it does take a lot of money to immigrate to Canada with no special skills.
Just the sheer # who want to come here.
My point is that there are many more asians coming our way to Vancouver, not all immigrating here, but still buying RE.
August 20th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
oneangryslav
Death panels (for lack of a better name) DO exist, and our family is going through that right now.
A family member in their 70’s has been diagnosed with cancer and give their age they are not being given the same treatment protocol as someone younger. No surgery, chemo just started this week. There was no immediate intervention as they bounce from doctor to doctor. The tumour has been allowed to grow 14 X’s its original size . WTF?
In essence, they ( the medical staff and whoever else has a say) are directing the resources as they see fit. Are they basing their treatment protocol using sound objective judgement? One hopes so.
However these people have lived through wars and paid taxes all their lives. I most certainly hope that they are not being viewed as having served a purpose and are now expendable / disposable.
An MD once stated that the vast majority of health care per capita is spent in the last 2 years of one’s life.
That same fate could eventually await us all.
August 20th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
“Dave Says:
August 19th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Investors Snapping Up Downtown Miami Condos
http://cbs4.com/local/miami.co…..33338.html
Are the good ‘old days of real estate back? It appears so in Downtown Miami.
In recent weeks developers have sold hundreds of condos, in a flurry of activity they haven’t seen since the peak of the housing market. Some builders are actually running out of inventory. The first building to sell out, Brickell on the River, happened quietly and quickly selling 120 units in just six weeks time.”
Sure, why not buy now if it makes sense (ratios), prices have dropped around 50% I believe according to the latest Case-Shiller.
Although I wonder how many option ARM mortgages were in Florida? I definitely would not buy in California yet, even with prices down the same amount or more, given there is going to be another wave of defaults over the next two years.
August 20th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Contentious ‘mega-homes’ return to Surrey agenda
http://www2.canada.com/theprov.....ae2e783ef2
QUOTE:
Council has accepted a staff recommendation to sound out the public about increasing the allowable floor area by about 25 per cent across the city.
The recommendation comes from a resident-driven initiative calling for maximum house sizes on 6,028-square-foot lots to jump from 3,550 square feet to 4,550.
=============
QUOTE:
“We’re trying to accommodate real needs for extended families, affordable housing and easy daycare,” said association vice-president Kalvinder Bassi.
“Density should be much higher within the city core. More people should be within easy reach of amenities,” he said.
The association’s proposal was also meant to address 278 stop- work orders issued against homeowners for unauthorized construction during a three-year period. Many of them were in Whalley and Newton.
=========
While this ain’t a done deal, its more in trial balloon mode I think this is stupid.
It seems certain groups want to build bigger in order to accomodate extended family. There are already too many McMansions out there, buy one of them. I can see this creating a lot of tension in neighbourhoods. Parking problems, noise, services overutilized etc.
I can see 3 phases of housing an a given block if this goes through..ie older homes, newer homes built to the current 3550 sf max, then those 4550 sf. Don’t realtors advise against such dicrepancies.ie build to the norm of the neighbourhood.ie fit in ?. What value is a 3550 sf home if 4550 sf home is now allowable?
Talk about pandering to a special interest group.
I see this as a capital gains scam involving new construction .(****realpaul remember our past discussion about “temple money” ? )
August 20th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
realpaul:
Do you really believe this? Realpaul, are you actually Sarah Palin?
This “death panel” garbage is absolute bullshit. No panel would determine whether “granny dies” or not. What idiots like Palin (and I really think that idiot doesn’t even begin to capture the combination of ignorance, stupidity, deception, and lack of any self-awareness that Mrs. Palin possesses) were referring to was a provision that allowed individuals to VOLUNTARILY seek end-of-life counseling and have that covered by the government. It was originally inserted into the health care reform on the insistence of a conservative Republican senator from Georgia (Isaakson) and is currently US law as it was part of the Medicare D package passed with the overwhelming support of the Republican Congress in 2004. So hypocrites like Charles Grassley actually voted for this completely innocuous provision in 2004 and are now claiming that Obama wants to kill grandma and grandpa.
August 20th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
The underground economy will get bigger when the HST is implimented. This HST will backfire on the Gov’t. I can foresee even “honest” people fed up and paying cash/under the table as a means of protest.(though I highly doubt there is anyone that hasn’t paid under the table at least once in their life) .
Combine this HST protest with a bad economy and everyone starts to undercut each other.
August 20th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
#60 realpaul:
re the HST
3 things have already indicted Campbell beyond repair:
(i) announcing the HST over the summer when people are generally away( historical dirty trick )and when the legislature isn’t sitting.
(ii) He lied to many of his own supporters when asked if he would impliment it. He said NO….not “maybe” or other weasel words. He has lost any remaining credibility.
(iii) One of his reasons is that we will recieve $1.6 Billion from Ottawa in return for harmonization( big deal its still tax $$$ from the taxpayer).
Campbell has seriously misjdged the public ie the consituents whose best and better interest he is supposed to look out for. However people are absolutley livid about this. Good on Michael Smyth for exposing this.
Campbell is showing how detached he has become from the public. IMHO, he has expose himself to be a pupett for the big business interests, and is now in his political kamikaze mode(aka doesn’t care anymore what the citizens think…sort of his own Hitler’s bunker). I agree with many pundits who predict he’s gone shortly after the Olympics. Between now and then he will impose all sorts of nasty BS upon the majority of BC citizens to fulfill various agendas. Then some other LIEberal will become leader and promise a new direction,lol. Campbell will be gone before the HST is implimented in JULY 2010.
As you state their LIEberal latest scam is to up the weekly on -line gambling limits form $120 to $10,000. 8300 % increase ! WTF ? On -line will flow directly to the BC Gov’ts as opposed to casinos which kick in a fixed % to the host Local Gov’t. Casinos and local gov’ts should feel double crossed. Can’t any game in a casino go on line? This is an unbeleivable cash grab.
Canpbell’s MLA’s are equally pathetic, parroting the party line…no testicular fortitude whatsoever to stand up for their constituents.
I am sure their is plenty more bad news to come.
August 20th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
You are right that maybe not all asian immigrants are rich; and a lot of them don’t even speak a word of English. However, I have seen so many of them getting rich by good old tax evasion. I know some Chinese mow lawn for other CHinese families for the last 10 yrs and he now owns 5 properties in the lower mainland. Ditto for Chinese diners or small groceries shop owner.
The underground economy in BC is a hugh one, I am not talking about grow-op or gang-related activities. I mean waiter tips, cash paid cleaning service, hairdresser, baby-sitter etc etc
Heck, the CHinese cleaning lady for my neighbour drove a better car than me. I am sure that she does not even speak one word of English nor does she have any business skill to find a real job (like an income-tax paying job!!!)
It really makes me feel sick of these people, I wish Revenue Canada catches all of them and put them to jail for good. Until then the local real estate market will be inflated, as the kids of these crooks start to buy up the houses with help from their CHinese parents
August 20th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Vancouverite:
#58 Where do you get the idea that all immigrant asians are rich? The vast majority are sleeping four to a room in multi family households without a pot to piss in. This fallacy about rich asians is bunk.
August 20th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
NO -LYMPICS:
#57. NO, I would also take every stat that is published by our governments ‘with a grain of salt’ as well. Thinking back on it, there are no numbers published which are no ‘revised’ when put under a spotlight. The government attempts to publish lies for political gain based on polling numbers.large numbers of people are sucked im by headline numbers and otherwise never seek the truth. They have no reason to, they are ineffective and powerless as individuals and display themselves to their friends and neighbours in whatever borrowed finery they think will show them as being ’sexy, manly, attractive or whatever. Facts don’t matter to the majority of brain witless and vacuous consumers.
Case in point, the introduction of the HST. Good for Micheal Smith for taking over this issue from the IQ challenged Bill Goood on CKNW. Mikes got a handle on how to expose the absolue bullshit that has been coming out of the Liberal Party – Ministry of Propaganda.
Olympic spending is up, but, hospital surgeries, schools, shelter for seniors, homeless, childrens programs, day camps for disabled persons etc etc etc is being cut to the bone. Now we find the government has spent it’s entire wad on the Olympics and people are going to die from a lack of simple surgeries like Thorasic and Bariatric cases who could be saved quite easily? Because the budget has been blown on the Olympics? Is anyone else a bit pissed off? peopel in the US have been shooting nad over the OBAMA death panel suggestion for the new health bill in the US. We have far surpassed them here and we are letting people die without any arbitration. The ‘death Panels’ in the states will determine which people are terminal and who will no longer benefit from any type of procedure. here we are letting people who could be saved die, laying unattended in hallways and closets. Shame beyond shame.
So whats the plan? Well we spin a new tax and call it ‘a good thing’, we belittle those who don’t agree’ we point out regimes with HST like tax because we know Canadians will alsways go ga-ga over anything from Europe as if its more enlightened and fashionable there.
http://www.vancouversun.com/bu.....story.html
What else, of yeah, we increase the limits on the lottery games so that the truly stupid and the addicted can further and faster ruin their lives by gambling away their childrens lunch money, good idea’s all. PUKE.
Believing the Liberal Party is like reaching into the toilet and taking out a piece of shit and calling it chocolate. You’re only fooling yourself.
The path to fiscal reality for the government should be to head towards rationalization of government spending on special intrest and less spending on government. I mean after all if the government has an extra thousand bureacrats to ‘loan’ to the Olympics with full pay, are those thousand bureacrats rally needed at all. And if the citizens don’t volunteer for the Olympics doesn’t that tell you something. Even the Olympic masters are setting up a diatribe for the failure of the games by stating recently the Vancoc has dropped the ball and that is why the Olympics are a bust.
Our brazen government needs to stop the fiscal carnage now and concentrate on what will happen post Olympics when the real chickens come home to roost. If we’re broke now and the bills haven’t been paid yet, what will it look like when we have to get down to it? Oh yeah, it will be ugly. This phony economy of borrowed spending will stop and BC is set for a historic crash.
August 20th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
B.C. Deficit THREE BILLION!!!!
Everything fine … Different here … move along … Keep buying RE!
August 20th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
SUPRA BOY I believe you have a good point!
What Vancouver or the Western World have no premise about is What is coming thier way!
The Asian population, wealth, nobody really knows, but, bet your ass they are coming here to VANCOUVER!
WHY, Education, Medicare, English, all translates into MONEY!
Good luck competing with thier buying power!
August 20th, 2009 at 11:51 am
Re China:
A while back people were discussing ghost buildings in China. Buildings that were built for the sake of building for appearances sake, likley to keep peole employed building them yet empty of any people.
Recently another economist discussed China’s bubble, that it has huge inventories of unsold products sitting in storage, which may be unleashed onto the world in the very near future. Thousands of factories closed soon after the bubble burst last fall, I doubt many if any of these have re-opened .
China’s can manipulate its economy any way it wants…it is far less transparent than those of its western trading partners. I would take any of their numbers with a grain of salt.
August 20th, 2009 at 11:31 am
supra boy
ok, another Q:
if the economy “sucks”, when why will China be ramping up production? who will be buying the plastic crap that they make with all that oil if the western economies “suck”?
August 20th, 2009 at 11:04 am
Just because they’re half the peak price doesn’t mean they’re “below cost”, it just means the market value of those condos are now half what they where at the peak.
August 20th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Miami condos on sale?
So how did Asion do it?
Price. They dropped it roughly a $100 thousand under their closest competition. The final prices were half of what units sold for at the peak of the market.
========
” Looking at sales it appears most are not being made to ‘bulk’ buyers. However Zalewski believes most are being made to foreign nationals, investors looking to flip once again in Miami real estate, and that could be a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand, investors may be bailing out downtown Miami, renting out their units and bringing life to the area. On the other they could be making another bad gamble which could lead to another wave of downtown foreclosures.”
====
It appears that these condos are being sold at 1/2 price…from $400 sf to $200 sf. So is it fair to say they are being sold below cost ?
In addition, anything will sell if one lowers the price that will attract enough buyers. However, does that mean that this is the ultimate lowest price or any sort of deal?.
For all we know, these prices may collapse further to say $100 sq.ft. Just because its a relative discount doesn’t mean it is a good buy.
August 20th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Garth’s site had a good thread going today. Yet what is interesting if you read the comments he is back peddling on real estate claiming he nevere said there will be a crash only a correction. That guy has got to stop the self promotion and back peddling. He has an otherwise good blog.
August 20th, 2009 at 9:48 am
47, oil will go higher due to production cuts, the USD rolling over, and China racking up more oil. It’s called hyperinflation. Economics 300 my friend.
August 20th, 2009 at 9:18 am
Speaking of Miami and the topic of renting: Florida actually saw rents drop when their housing bubble popped and house priced dropped.