5 ms·
In Asia, house value is like car value. People want to buy brand new ones, and the minute it's used, it's worthless. People can live in their old house as long
by fiblye 8y ago
In Asia, house value is like car value. People want to buy brand new ones, and the minute it's used, it's worthless. People can live in their old house as long as they want to, but young people would prefer a clean new house free of mold (humidity makes it inevitable) and other problems and they can get a new house relatively affordably.
It works very well. The fact house prices in America/many Western countries increase with time is an anomaly that applies to no other item as far as I know, barring the odd historical/valuable antiques. But nobody can predict their value 10 years from now.
- quickthrower2 8y agoWhat about an old mouldy home in a super desirable location? Also is brand new outweigh renovated?
- analog31 8y agoTear it down and build it over, especially if you're an investor and can buy a bunch of mouldy homes on a block. Example in the US is smaller suburban houses that happen to be located near commuter rail stations. They are torn down and replaced with new, bigger houses. The neighborhood across the tracks from my house is another example: Doctors and professors have bought and "renovated" all of the smaller houses. I notice something similar with hotels. My experience in a hotel is 100% proportional to the age of the hotel. The newer the better. Hotel owners rarely renovate unless they are in super prime downtown locations. They just let the hotel deteriorate while lowering their room rates while someone builds a new hotel next door.
- twblalock 8y agoIn Japan, it's common for the land to be worth a lot of money and the house on the land to be worth nothing. New buyers frequently tear down the house and build a new one. After a few decades of ownership, it is not unheard of for people to move out of their house, tear it down and replace it with a new one, and then move back in. I guess they rent a place to live while this is happening. In Japan particularly, this is a legacy of the poor quality of houses built in the early 20th century and the period after WWII when everything was slapped together as quickly as possible. They really were worthless after a decade or two because they were not built to last. This seriously damages the incentives for maintaining existing homes, because they are going to be worthless in 10 years, why bother?
- nitwit005 8y agoThe physical house itself generally isn't gaining in value. A newer house tends to be worth more, so age is still impacting the price. Many of the houses near me are torn down and replaced after being purchased, so the price is more reflective of the cost to acquire the land. The mold issue isn't unique to Asia. Parts of the southern US have a preference for new homes due to mold, termites and storm damage.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- baybal2 8y ago>In Asia, house value is like car value. People want to buy brand new ones, and the minute it's used, it's worthless. People can live in their old house as long as they want to, but young people would prefer a clean new house free of mold (humidity makes it inevitable) and other problems and they can get a new house relatively affordably. Moreover that, in China, there are close to no second hand cars. Second hand market is microscopic. The same is true witch apartments. It amazes me to see rich Chinese simply abandoning their old apartments when they move to new ones. Personally met a family with 4 apartments, who simply left each of their old apartments collecting dust.