COVID and the housing market | Page 30 | GTAMotorcycle.com

COVID and the housing market

nobbie48 said:
Sounds like 10 or so years back for next door. Same owners for decades and nothing done in the way of updates. Parents passed away and kids sold to a flipper. He modernized the look and ticked all the boxes for fast stuff, making it sound like a new house, new windows, roof, furnace and obviously decor. Outside got a bling over and sod over grass landscape job.

The new owners got a money pit with water leaks and failing ceramic floors. Fortunately they had decent jobs and could cover the costs but it would bother me to do that to someone and find out that they couldn't handle it. Needless to say, the market has been kind to them lately.

I've been lucky not getting conned too often and not mortally wounded when it did happen. I've seen others get destroyed.
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Our previous owner were not at all flippers but had no clue and were taken by contractors. They put in a california knockdown ceiling in the entire basement without insulating the rim joist. Wtf. Fixing it would be a nightmare so I am stuck with larger utility bills forever.
 
GreyGhost said:
But what was the reasonable price? Over asking means absolutely zero.
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In my opinion the asking price was set artificially low to spark a bidding war - mission accomplished. Good job by the realtors involved and good for the seller.

SunnY S said:
it doesnt matter, its the final price of 801k that it head scratching. for a semi? in kitchener?
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I agree. The final price is absolutely ridiculous. The entire housing market is ridiculous! Even in 2009 when I bought my first house I thought it was crazy! If you’re not in it now, good luck....
 
Katatonic said:
In my opinion the asking price was set artificially low to spark a bidding war - mission accomplished. Good job by the realtors involved and good for the seller.



I agree. The final price is absolutely ridiculous. The entire housing market is ridiculous! Even in 2009 when I bought my first house I thought it was crazy! If you’re not in it now, good luck....
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The funny part is, when they take possession and the emotions die down and it dawns on them that they just blew 800k on nothing special

Wish I could be there..
 
SunnY S said:
The funny part is, when they take possession and the emotions die down and it dawns on them that they just blew 800k on a dump.

Wish I could be there..
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We bought another house in Dec 2019 after looking for a little over a year. We put offers in on 3 places that all had multiple offers, but we refused to get caught up in the game or let emotions take over. All our offers were fair market value and in all 3 cases we were outbid by 10’s of thousands of dollars, and with one house by about $100k.
The house we ended up with had an asking price over market value so we came in with a slightly lower than market value to get the ball rolling and the seller accepted. Win for us!
People just need to calm down and think about what they’re doing and the long-term effect it will have on their lives!
 
Katatonic said:
People just need to calm down and think about what they’re doing and the long-term effect it will have on their lives!
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That's the thing with many years of crazy appreciation. Some people will pay anything to get in "knowing" that the market will quickly catch up. Sure you may have overpaid by 100K, but in 18 months, the house price will catch up to what you paid and you are not sitting on the sidelines watching prices run away from you. At some point that train stops, but it is showing no signs so far.

A colleague sold his 5000+ sq ft house on a huge lot near bayview and sheppard in ~2005. He listed it for 1M and got 1.1M. He thought that house prices to income were vastly out of whack so he wanted to sell and rent until after the inevitable correction and then buy in again. Obviously that didn't work. That house has probably tripled in 16 years.
 
Katatonic said:
We bought another house in Dec 2019 after looking for a little over a year. We put offers in on 3 places that all had multiple offers, but we refused to get caught up in the game or let emotions take over. All our offers were fair market value and in all 3 cases we were outbid by 10’s of thousands of dollars, and with one house by about $100k.
The house we ended up with had an asking price over market value so we came in with a slightly lower than market value to get the ball rolling and the seller accepted. Win for us!
People just need to calm down and think about what they’re doing and the long-term effect it will have on their lives!
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You've obviously failed to notice the sky falling.

In reality they should list houses as "Selling at auction with a minimum bid of $XXX"
 
Market is crazy here lately for sure. I'm just glad I'm not in it. Not sure what the long game is here myself.
If one were thinking of retiring though and open to moving out of province, this might be a good time? I had some experience selling my Moms place last Oct. in the Saint John N.B. area. I was shocked at how low their house prices were.
Here's what $169K would buy you there right now: Not the Ritz but not a dump either. Modest bungalow on a large lot.
1613873646014.png
Most here would be able to do the transaction and pocket somewhere between 1/2 mil & 1 mil. That would fund 6 months in paradise every winter for a very long time. Easy drive to Nova Scotia & PEI plus, all amenities anyone would need. (way better riding roads too!)
Of course this wouldn't work for most, including me for various reasons but, for the right person it would be a great move!
 
GreyGhost said:
That's the thing with many years of crazy appreciation. Some people will pay anything to get in "knowing" that the market will quickly catch up. Sure you may have overpaid by 100K, but in 18 months, the house price will catch up to what you paid and you are not sitting on the sidelines watching prices run away from you. At some point that train stops, but it is showing no signs so far.

A colleague sold his 5000+ sq ft house on a huge lot near bayview and sheppard in ~2005. He listed it for 1M and got 1.1M. He thought that house prices to income were vastly out of whack so he wanted to sell and rent until after the inevitable correction and then buy in again. Obviously that didn't work. That house has probably tripled in 16 years.
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A client and I shared a thought. Wait for real estate prices to tank, buy a condo and rent it out. When prices recover and we want get out of the detached shack, sell it at recovered prices, tax gain free, and move into the condo.

Well, some condos have crashed in price but not necessarily the ones you'd want to live in during a pandemic. Renting one out is touchy economics. I don't know when condo covid concerns will ebb.

A friend sold his Rosedale house around the time China started being cautious with Covid facts. He moved into a condo but it has done quite well. It only has 27 units and there are two elevators. Crowding is not an issue. I do think he is crawling the walls.

I've only once had to share an elevator there with anyone. Going up in an elevator isn't as risky since the passenger list is pretty much set at the first floor so you either accept the company or not. Going down the car can pick up passengers. I could handle walking down eight floors but not up.
 
nobbie48 said:
A client and I shared a thought. Wait for real estate prices to tank, buy a condo and rent it out. When prices recover and we want get out of the detached shack, sell it at recovered prices, tax gain free, and move into the condo.

Well, some condos have crashed in price but not necessarily the ones you'd want to live in during a pandemic. Renting one out is touchy economics. I don't know when condo covid concerns will ebb.

A friend sold his Rosedale house around the time China started being cautious with Covid facts. He moved into a condo but it has done quite well. It only has 27 units and there are two elevators. Crowding is not an issue. I do think he is crawling the walls.

I've only once had to share an elevator there with anyone. Going up in an elevator isn't as risky since the passenger list is pretty much set at the first floor so you either accept the company or not. Going down the car can pick up passengers. I could handle walking down eight floors but not up.
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IIRC some building reprogrammed elevators for covid to solve that problem (but created interminable waits). In certain neighbourhoods, during the appropriate jewish holidays, the elevators continually travel up and down stopping at every floor so observant residents don't need to press the buttons.
 
SunnY S said:
The funny part is, when they take possession and the emotions die down and it dawns on them that they just blew 800k on nothing special

Wish I could be there..
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If they're planning on being there 5/10/15 or more years it's no big deal. If they buy, and for whatever reason they need to sell within 1-5 years...that could cause some serious issue if there's any type of stall in the market.

Was listening to 680 this morning while driving, and apparently gov't will be doing what it can to boost immigration as obviously it's taken a massive hit, and they need something like >50k/year to keep things running smooth (filling the CPP/EI numbers). If it's lower it starts to take it's toll long term.

So expect a boost/push for immigration into the country (mind you this was absentmindedly as I was trying to find a podcast to listen to).
 
Green Meenie said:
Market is crazy here lately for sure. I'm just glad I'm not in it. Not sure what the long game is here myself.
If one were thinking of retiring though and open to moving out of province, this might be a good time? I had some experience selling my Moms place last Oct. in the Saint John N.B. area. I was shocked at how low their house prices were.
Here's what $169K would buy you there right now: Not the Ritz but not a dump either. Modest bungalow on a large lot.
View attachment 47112
Most here would be able to do the transaction and pocket somewhere between 1/2 mil & 1 mil. That would fund 6 months in paradise every winter for a very long time. Easy drive to Nova Scotia & PEI plus, all amenities anyone would need. (way better riding roads too!)
Of course this wouldn't work for most, including me for various reasons but, for the right person it would be a great move!
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Outside of a few major cities most of the maritimes are similar. A friend from Cape Breton cautioned "Just don't get sick"

BTW Cheap insurance.

I wonder what renovations would be like when house prices are low. Does a person put a $50,000 kitchen into a $168,000 house?
 
nobbie48 said:
Outside of a few major cities most of the maritimes are similar. A friend from Cape Breton cautioned "Just don't get sick"

BTW Cheap insurance.

I wonder what renovations would be like when house prices are low. Does a person put a $50,000 kitchen into a $168,000 house?
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Someone from the GTA might. Rude awakening when you can only get 175,000 for it when you sell it though.
 
nobbie48 said:
Outside of a few major cities most of the maritimes are similar. A friend from Cape Breton cautioned "Just don't get sick"

BTW Cheap insurance.

I wonder what renovations would be like when house prices are low. Does a person put a $50,000 kitchen into a $168,000 house?
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I think right now the reason that it costs 50k to put in a kitchen, is because we're in the GTA and that's just the price of the labour. Lot of guys won't bother looking at anything smaller. Contractors have gone bananas with their pricing, and right now I'm regretting not paying the damn 25k for stucco as it's probably 40k right now. But we're leaning towards siding now, so it's not the end of the world.

My buddy just bought a house in London. Quotes for kitchens ranged from 50-110k. He said '**** this, I can do this myself.'

He did the entire house in CAD and 3D.
Did an Oculus 3D layout so his wife can see the entire kitchen and house and how it would look.
Found FREE used kitchen cabinets that fit his needs.
Spending weeknights and evenings doing the work, he's 6 weeks in and it's almost done....and looks great actually.

I can't wait to see it in person.
 
GreyGhost said:
But what was the reasonable price? Over asking means absolutely zero.
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A 1283 square foot townhome directly across the street from me, in Waterloo, just sold for $680. Asking was $599K. They were $135k new in 2000.
Is that reasonable? I'm flabbergasted....
 
BigEvilDoer said:
A 1283 square foot townhome directly across the street from me, in Waterloo, just sold for $680. Asking was $599K. They were $135k new in 2000.
Is that reasonable? I'm flabbergasted....
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We had a house a few blocks away ... listed at 800k, sold for 1.15. Side split nice home. Obviously setup for bidding war as comparables were going for 1.2-1.3 range.

A literal dump across the street from the 1.15 house was listed for 750k, and sold for 1.2M. Go figure. This one was a bungalow in need of 100% teardown to the studs, or even the foundation to make it livable.
 
BigEvilDoer said:
A 1283 square foot townhome directly across the street from me, in Waterloo, just sold for $680. Asking was $599K. They were $135k new in 2000.
Is that reasonable? I'm flabbergasted....
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Yeah, reasonable is tough. Are any greater GTA house prices reasonable with respect to incomes, hell no. Do I think it is reasonable to pay that much for a smallish house well outside of toronto, hell no. Have prices consistently risen and then been supported by the next sale that is even higher, yup.
 
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