tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post7195121601957532124..comments2023-12-02T00:38:46.467-08:00Comments on House Hunt Victoria: Turns out Victoria is differentHouseHuntVictoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07456914359088891317noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-25638546405359461292011-11-22T16:49:28.146-08:002011-11-22T16:49:28.146-08:00Bob,
Those legal fees and transfer tax may be cov...Bob,<br /><br />Those legal fees and transfer tax may be covered but there might be tax implications so you might not see as much benefit as you expect.<br /><br />If you are using CRA moving rules to lower your taxable income then you are only saving about half of what you claim (i.e. marginal tax rate x amount claimed).<br /><br />If your employer is reimbursing you it might be a taxable benefit and you will pay tax on whatever they give you (check with an accountant).<br /><br />BTW - how do you end up with 20K of property transfer tax and legal fees? You would have to spend about $1M to pay 18K in PTT. If you are buying in that price range there is bags of inventory and it is a real buyers market. Prices will drop faster on these high homes and 20K is not a big factor (one price reduction easily covers 20K)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-16259072647595637922011-11-21T17:22:37.112-08:002011-11-21T17:22:37.112-08:00"In our case, it would cost an additional $20..."In our case, it would cost an additional $20K to rent for two year "Er, you're saying it would cost $800/month MORE than ownership costs to rent the same property? Care to show us all the numbers?"<br /><br />The reason it is that high is that relocation benefits are on the table. I can have legal fees and transfer tax covered should we buy until Mar/12.Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17390397001529278663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-30991058714289931532011-11-21T14:27:27.069-08:002011-11-21T14:27:27.069-08:00"In our case, it would cost an additional $20..."In our case, it would cost an additional $20K to rent for two year "<br /><br />Er, you're saying it would cost $800/month MORE than ownership costs to rent the same property?<br /><br />Care to show us all the numbers?patriotzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11154064267408955762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-63637216700937966592011-11-21T10:12:32.540-08:002011-11-21T10:12:32.540-08:00From that "Mingles" article:
"Much...From that "Mingles" article:<br /><br />"Much of the desire for homeownership is driven by fear of being priced out of the market."<br /><br />Bubbles are driven by fear and greed, simple as that.Fiduciaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10657843466561214005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-71931852895760349132011-11-21T09:30:57.313-08:002011-11-21T09:30:57.313-08:00Monday, November 21, 2011 8:00am
MTD
November
2...Monday, November 21, 2011 8:00am<br /><br />MTD<br /> <br />November<br />2011 2010<br /><br />Net Unconditional Sales:<br /> <br />314 479<br /><br />New Listings:<br /> <br />570 722<br /><br />Active Listings:<br /> <br />4,218 3,723<br /><br />Please Note<br /> •Left Column: stats so far this month<br /> •Right Column: stats for the entire month from last yearMarkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08315282480144281935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-32898169738865559002011-11-21T09:03:21.428-08:002011-11-21T09:03:21.428-08:00Bob if you want to buy a home, just do it. A home...Bob if you want to buy a home, just do it. A home that you like in a neighborhood that you can grow with over the long term.<br /><br />It's your personal circumstance that's important, not what this blog says, rants or raves about.<br /><br />This blog informs you about the risk involved with buying real estate at today's prices and shows the trends and direction of real estate.<br /><br />To me, your question's is all about time. It sounds like you place more importance on buying a home in less than two years than worrying that the market prices will continue to decline. That's good, because there will be a lot more homes for sale this Spring and you should have a good selection to decide where you want to live. You just have to accept that people buying after you, in your neighborhood, will be paying less and less for housing and these same people while buying after you, will likely pay off their mortgage before you can. <br /><br />And that's what you are giving up in the future in order to buy today.Johnny-Dollarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12950799399842707067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-3895057471645218892011-11-20T20:03:26.855-08:002011-11-20T20:03:26.855-08:00Bob,
The answer to your question is not a simple ...Bob,<br /><br />The answer to your question is not a simple one. In the upper right hand side of this blog page is a link to download a Wait vs. Buy excel spreadsheet. Try it out....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-23471911527722400102011-11-20T18:03:42.160-08:002011-11-20T18:03:42.160-08:00Rent vs. Buy question. In our case, it would cost ...Rent vs. Buy question. In our case, it would cost an additional $20K to rent for two year compared to a mortgage we feel comfortable with (> $20% down).<br /><br />The question to this blog is, Should we rent? Part of me wants to rent, but it may take longer than 2 years for prices to correct significantly. Your thoughts?Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17390397001529278663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-73843472472143393882011-11-20T18:02:03.275-08:002011-11-20T18:02:03.275-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17390397001529278663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-58141264899233298952011-11-20T16:43:32.123-08:002011-11-20T16:43:32.123-08:00OMG! Just keep pushing and pushing and pushing th...OMG! Just keep pushing and pushing and pushing that market. <br /><br />I'm trying to teach my daughter to not fall for crap like the well, everyone else is doing it so you should too.<br /><br />Arrrrgh!<br /><br />S2Johnny-Dollarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12950799399842707067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-46982496504567596132011-11-20T15:44:55.469-08:002011-11-20T15:44:55.469-08:00I'm just amazed that there was not a single wo...I'm just amazed that there was not a single word lost on the risks of teaming up with your roommate to buy a place. Or the fact that if the only way to buy even a condo is by pooling money that might be a danger sign. Nope, it just makes "tremendous financial sense" and that's the end of it.Leo Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02951281972056927807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-53107061494595563322011-11-20T15:34:50.186-08:002011-11-20T15:34:50.186-08:00@Leo S,
That article confirms it: the mingles sto...@Leo S,<br /><br />That article confirms it: the mingles stopped buying in 2010. The next article will talk about Boomers buying investment properties for teenage Trump wannabes; it's time we teach our children about the quick-road to richness that is real estate investment in Canada.HouseHuntVictoriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07456914359088891317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-47034852446140202032011-11-20T15:21:55.531-08:002011-11-20T15:21:55.531-08:00Wow. Just speechless at this article.
Mingles mov...Wow. Just speechless at this article.<br /><a href="http://business.financialpost.com/2011/11/19/mingles-moving-housing-markets/" rel="nofollow">Mingles moving housing market</a><br /><br /><i>“They’re not getting married, so they should get on with their financial lives,” he says. “They have cash flow increasing and they can afford it, plus financially it makes tremendous sense.”</i>Leo Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02951281972056927807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-833343340958680652011-11-20T15:04:00.623-08:002011-11-20T15:04:00.623-08:00I'm expecting the upcoming BC Assessment on in...<i>I'm expecting the upcoming BC Assessment on individual properties will be lower than last years values.</i><br /><br />I wonder. In 2009 they stayed the same.. I suspect that it might be the same this year, and maybe even some increases for the higher end places. They are still selling consistently above assessment, so a couple percent raise would be justified. Isn't the snapshot in July?Leo Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02951281972056927807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-76084692534474983802011-11-20T13:23:51.132-08:002011-11-20T13:23:51.132-08:00I'm expecting the upcoming BC Assessment on in...I'm expecting the upcoming BC Assessment on individual properties will be lower than last years values.<br /><br />BC Assessment are for tax purposes and are fun to look at and give a general indication of what your property is worth. For most of us reading this blog we have other more valid ways of looking at value than what one overworked assessor with a portfolio of 20,000 separate properties to value each year thinks your home or any person's home is worth.<br /><br />But, for a lot of people - this is all they have to judge their wealth and self worth by. The psychological affect that their home is loosing value may be devastating to some. Incredible that it seems, in some parts of the USA, people are mad as hell with their lower property assessments. They feel that the lower assessment will bring lower prices.<br /><br />The lower assessments also cause a lot of problems with lenders too. Before, the assessments were used to set the low end of a loan. A bank would lend you 75% on your BC Assessed value, under the belief that market value is always greater than the assessed value.<br /><br />Today, it is becoming more common that the BC Assessment sets the higher value of the property. So if the lender is still lending on 75% of the assessed value, the lender may be lending at a much higher rate. If I were a shareholder of the bank, I'd want some changes made. That's irresponsible lending practices.Johnny-Dollarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12950799399842707067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-24704898013304791222011-11-20T12:47:57.545-08:002011-11-20T12:47:57.545-08:00But Patriotz, Seattle isn't the Best Place on ...But Patriotz, Seattle isn't the Best Place on Earth, it's just next door to it.HouseHuntVictoriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07456914359088891317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-10088102534167483972011-11-20T12:12:05.249-08:002011-11-20T12:12:05.249-08:00Last month the urban core districts of Esquimalt, ...Last month the urban core districts of Esquimalt, Victoria, Saanich East and West, Vic West, Oak Bay and View Royal comprised 64% of all the sales in Greater Victoria. The Western Communities came in at 23% and the Saanich Peninsula including Sidney had 13%.<br /><br />That's 2/3rds of all the sales were located within a 10 mile radius of downtown Victoria.<br /><br />And in those areas strata homes and single family homes were about 50/50 in sales. 210 strata homes versus 222 single family home sales.<br /><br />Saanich East and West lead the single family home sales with 137 or 53% or the total sales of detached homes, Victoria followed with 25% and for all of those who care Oak Bay had 9 percent.Johnny-Dollarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12950799399842707067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-7505691239306293742011-11-20T10:18:36.282-08:002011-11-20T10:18:36.282-08:00"Doesn't have any relevance to Vancouver ..."Doesn't have any relevance to Vancouver prices."<br /><br />The relevance is that household incomes and rents in the US are practically the same as in Canada.<br /><br />In particular, Seattle has comparable incomes to Vancouver and house prices that are 1/2 as high.<br /><br />But as Mish said, in Bizarro World it's different.patriotzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11154064267408955762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-25643300635614328132011-11-20T09:18:20.427-08:002011-11-20T09:18:20.427-08:00My brother in-law in Saskatchewan bought one house...My brother in-law in Saskatchewan bought one house in his hamlet for $2000 - needed a few renos, but was a solid house.<br /><br />He bought a second house for a studio from the hamlet for $2. This was 6 years ago, of course, so now it may command $2.50.a simple manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13054677016369304449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-23091287783126296672011-11-20T08:57:45.387-08:002011-11-20T08:57:45.387-08:00Not that I don't agree that there's a bubb...Not that I don't agree that there's a bubble, but Mish's article was very unconvincing. Some places in the US you can buy a house for $50k? So what, I'm sure you can find one in Canada for that too. Doesn't have any relevance to Vancouver prices.<br /><br />And 75% drop in Vancouver? I will eat my shorts if that ever happens.Leo Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02951281972056927807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-22142653414734211892011-11-20T08:43:16.706-08:002011-11-20T08:43:16.706-08:00See Mish: "Canadian housing bubble makes US h...See Mish: "<a href="http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/11/vancouver-real-estate-bubble-in.html" rel="nofollow">Canadian housing bubble makes US housing bubble look bush league.</a>"CShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03399620869685840906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-11341393158685282132011-11-20T08:03:07.508-08:002011-11-20T08:03:07.508-08:00Any thoughts on 50 Howe, now listed @725 and on th...Any thoughts on 50 Howe, now listed @725 and on the market for a long time with several price reductions?vawrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17588554412067862401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-65374895004237638482011-11-19T16:22:01.508-08:002011-11-19T16:22:01.508-08:00RE article... not sure how relevant to the west co...RE article... not sure how relevant to the west coast but thought I would pass it along<br /><br /><a href="http://tinyurl.com/6mo7dow" rel="nofollow">Will Canada's Real Estate Bubble Eventually Burst?</a>Mindsethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16898125754772581488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-15701571829215653892011-11-19T10:48:37.074-08:002011-11-19T10:48:37.074-08:00It seems that there has been a drop in the number ...It seems that there has been a drop in the number of recent sales of homes that were originally bought five or less years ago. My personal observation is that the majority of today's sales are of homes that were originally bought in the 1990's.<br /><br />Homes bought in the last five years may have sticky prices, but not today's sales. The sales of homes bought in the 1990's can trim more off their asking prices.<br /><br />Just a personal observation, that can be shown to be reversed next month. I don't know if it is a trend or not.<br /><br />Logically, it makes sense to me, as new construction has to compete with homes that are just a few years old. And by extension homes that are just a few years old have to follow the older home sales that have begun to set lower prices.<br /><br />Fascinating to watch the market moving in reverse from how it began in the early 2000's.<br /><br />I also think markets that had ballistic price increases over the last decade would also be the markets with the largest declines. There are a lot of potential sellers that bought pre boom and have a lot more ability to trim their price to make a sale happen. If prices had only been increasing a steady 5% every year, then this would not be the case.<br /><br />"the bigger they are - the harder they fall"Johnny-Dollarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12950799399842707067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123542260692860177.post-5292405198637452472011-11-18T19:03:40.063-08:002011-11-18T19:03:40.063-08:00thanks alexandra here - interesting sales.thanks alexandra here - interesting sales.a simple manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13054677016369304449noreply@blogger.com