2 ms·

right now is just about the worst time in the last 3 decades to invest in real estate Why, prices are down after all? Ofcourse one could wait for bottom out bu

by moe 18y ago

right now is just about the worst time in the last 3 decades to invest in real estate Why, prices are down after all? Ofcourse one could wait for bottom out but if you judge your object by market value instead of by common sense then you can pretty much wait and gamble on lower prices for ever. An interesting object may just not be available anymore when the market shows indication for recovery...

jacquesm 18y ago
It's amusing to see how you think that the bottom has already been reached. From what I can see the stream of bad news is far from ending, there will be a lot more unemployment before this is over and that means that real estate prices - including those in Canada, which were, especially around the bigger cities somewhat inflated - are going to fall further. The American auto industry is far from 'rescued', it remains to be seen if all of the big three are going to come through at all. This will have a tremendous impact in all the supplying industries, and quite a bit of that mess will trickle down to Canada. Another potential problem is that the US, Canada's biggest partner in trade has a tendency of using NAFTA to protect American interests in times of trouble, one more reason to be very careful where and when you invest your money. If you are putting your own money where your advice is, in other words you are right now borrowing every penny you can get to sink it in the Canadian real estate market then I still have two properties there that are pretty much unsellable that might interest you. Seriously, imho it's harsh and the bottom has not been reached by a long shot.
- noonespecial 18y ago
  "everybody that I know (including people in Canada) that are heavily into real estate are trying to unload." That would seem to me to be the textbook definition of "the right time to buy". I still have two properties there that are pretty much unsellable By unsellable you mean "priced too high"? Just remember that somewhere down there is the perfect time to do the opposite of everyone else and make a killing. I wouldn't run out and invest 100% of your assets in real estate because you think you've found the magic moment, but in a diversified investment strategy, don't ignore it altogether.
  - jacquesm 18y ago
    A falling market is not the textbook definition of the right time to buy, it is the right time to hold off on buying. No, I literally mean unsellable because the market in that area has dried up. I know the difference between 'priced too high' and 'unsellable'. It doesn't bother me much because I'm well-off enough that I don't actually need to sell, if the right buyer comes along it will move, until then it is no skin of my back. Keep in mind that you are giving somebody else advice on what to do with their money here, if you want to spend your own cash on real estate then of course you are free to do so. Real estate agents are going out of business for the first time in years, these are not normal market conditions. GM, Ford and Chrysler stock is down too, that does not mean you have to go out and rush to buy in because it is sure to rise again. This recession thingy could be long, it could be short. Right now most of the smart money says it's going to be fairly long, and that we probably have not reached the bottom yet. Anybody that claims otherwise is probably trying to sell you some stock they bought or a property they need to get rid of. When there has been a good solid month or two without any mass lay-offs, talk of rescue packages and major businesses folding that would be a good time to start thinking about this, right now it is much too early. Those who try to get in at the bottom invariably find that it wasn't the bottom yet. You could easily lose your shirt with an investment strategy like that.
    - noonespecial 18y ago
      I am taking my own advice as to real estate with my own money. Buying land right now seems a good thing to do. GM stock not so much. GM could disappear tomorrow. The land will still be there even if it reduces in value even further. I am not advocating any type of loan or leverage to "get into real estate". I just think that if you're looking to park any large amount of money, you shouldn't ignore outright owned real estate (especially the income generating variety) as part of the diversification strategy just because of the recent panic surrounding this one area. Around here "unsellable" real estate actually means "real estate that can't be sold for enough to pay off the mortgage debt from the previously inflated prices." I've made several rational offers that were turned down for this reason. I've even heard that term tossed around by the very agent that refused my offer. "We just can't seem to sell anything these days, no one is buying! This stuff is just unsellable." The people who lose the most shirts buy at the top when everything seems roses and sell at the bottom because "its not a good time to be in the market right now".

by moe 18y ago

jacquesm 18y ago

It's amusing to see how you think that the bottom has already been reached. From what I can see the stream of bad news is far from ending, there will be a lot more unemployment before this is over and that means that real estate prices - including those in Canada, which were, especially around the bigger cities somewhat inflated - are going to fall further. The American auto industry is far from 'rescued', it remains to be seen if all of the big three are going to come through at all. This will have a tremendous impact in all the supplying industries, and quite a bit of that mess will trickle down to Canada. Another potential problem is that the US, Canada's biggest partner in trade has a tendency of using NAFTA to protect American interests in times of trouble, one more reason to be very careful where and when you invest your money. If you are putting your own money where your advice is, in other words you are right now borrowing every penny you can get to sink it in the Canadian real estate market then I still have two properties there that are pretty much unsellable that might interest you. Seriously, imho it's harsh and the bottom has not been reached by a long shot.

noonespecial 18y ago
"everybody that I know (including people in Canada) that are heavily into real estate are trying to unload." That would seem to me to be the textbook definition of "the right time to buy". I still have two properties there that are pretty much unsellable By unsellable you mean "priced too high"? Just remember that somewhere down there is the perfect time to do the opposite of everyone else and make a killing. I wouldn't run out and invest 100% of your assets in real estate because you think you've found the magic moment, but in a diversified investment strategy, don't ignore it altogether.
- jacquesm 18y ago
  A falling market is not the textbook definition of the right time to buy, it is the right time to hold off on buying. No, I literally mean unsellable because the market in that area has dried up. I know the difference between 'priced too high' and 'unsellable'. It doesn't bother me much because I'm well-off enough that I don't actually need to sell, if the right buyer comes along it will move, until then it is no skin of my back. Keep in mind that you are giving somebody else advice on what to do with their money here, if you want to spend your own cash on real estate then of course you are free to do so. Real estate agents are going out of business for the first time in years, these are not normal market conditions. GM, Ford and Chrysler stock is down too, that does not mean you have to go out and rush to buy in because it is sure to rise again. This recession thingy could be long, it could be short. Right now most of the smart money says it's going to be fairly long, and that we probably have not reached the bottom yet. Anybody that claims otherwise is probably trying to sell you some stock they bought or a property they need to get rid of. When there has been a good solid month or two without any mass lay-offs, talk of rescue packages and major businesses folding that would be a good time to start thinking about this, right now it is much too early. Those who try to get in at the bottom invariably find that it wasn't the bottom yet. You could easily lose your shirt with an investment strategy like that.
  - noonespecial 18y ago
    I am taking my own advice as to real estate with my own money. Buying land right now seems a good thing to do. GM stock not so much. GM could disappear tomorrow. The land will still be there even if it reduces in value even further. I am not advocating any type of loan or leverage to "get into real estate". I just think that if you're looking to park any large amount of money, you shouldn't ignore outright owned real estate (especially the income generating variety) as part of the diversification strategy just because of the recent panic surrounding this one area. Around here "unsellable" real estate actually means "real estate that can't be sold for enough to pay off the mortgage debt from the previously inflated prices." I've made several rational offers that were turned down for this reason. I've even heard that term tossed around by the very agent that refused my offer. "We just can't seem to sell anything these days, no one is buying! This stuff is just unsellable." The people who lose the most shirts buy at the top when everything seems roses and sell at the bottom because "its not a good time to be in the market right now".