COVID and the housing market | Page 268 | GTAMotorcycle.com

COVID and the housing market

Lots of houses relisting now at exactly the same price. I guess just to bump it to the top of the lists. RE agents are scrambling. They don't know wtf to do. Some are going up or down by six figures, some are going up or down by token amounts, some are sticking with the number and just reposting. For the houses that have been hanging around for a while, I haven't seen any changes to the house to help the sale (eg. paint, change furniture, etc).
 
GreyGhost said:
Lots of houses relisting now at exactly the same price. I guess just to bump it to the top of the lists. RE agents are scrambling. They don't know wtf to do. Some are going up or down by six figures, some are going up or down by token amounts, some are sticking with the number and just reposting. For the houses that have been hanging around for a while, I haven't seen any changes to the house to help the sale (eg. paint, change furniture, etc).
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Yup. My real estate agent says coke and BMW dealers are suffering this downturn -- RE agents aren't earning enough easy money.
 
GreyGhost said:
Lots of houses relisting now at exactly the same price. I guess just to bump it to the top of the lists. RE agents are scrambling. They don't know wtf to do. Some are going up or down by six figures, some are going up or down by token amounts, some are sticking with the number and just reposting. For the houses that have been hanging around for a while, I haven't seen any changes to the house to help the sale (eg. paint, change furniture, etc).
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Still selling in our neighbourhood but a week or two on the market. A little downward negotiation on price but nothing like the list / sell ratios of the bidding wars.
 
you dont need concrete to build a house
and you could buy a lot and put a trailer on it and build your own house over time.
and in 2006 in USA house prices were going to the moon in 2009 you couldn't give them away

so patience is a virtue and why not wait to see how economy plays out, you just never know.
 
chingo said:
you dont need concrete to build a house
and you could buy a lot and put a trailer on it and build your own house over time.
and in 2006 in USA house prices were going to the moon in 2009 you couldn't give them away

so patience is a virtue and why not wait to see how economy plays out, you just never know.
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Many municipalities wont allow a long term occupied trailer. Hell, many have a very short window to build if you buy a building lot.

Has concrete shortage affected block availability as well? Personally I prefer a poured foundation but block is used successfully by many.
 
I have friends that are living in a trailer and building like that in Port Perry right now.

Here is a no concrete build see screenshot
 

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chingo said:
I have friends that are living in a trailer and building like that in Port Perry right now.

Here is a no concrete build see screenshot
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Interesting, thanks. I've never seen a wood foundation like that. I wouldn't want it (high potential to become like UFFI and kill value of house as cost to repair exceeds six figures).
 
Once you wrap a house in blue skin or other treatment, it is like wood on the main floor.(which nobody has a problem with)
New ideas are hard for people to accept.
I am a certified Nudura ICF installer, which is another concept that people did not understand at first.
Also do hydronic heating, which has been done for ages in Europe, but in NA we use Force air (gas,propane, oil, electric)
Which is not as efficient and not as healthy.
There is also SIP panels that are in use.

All different methods that create a living enclosure.

As for UFFI, government did not test properly, gave a rebate to put it in, found out it caused issues, gave a rebate to take it out and made
Real Estate Lawyers include it as a disclosure in documents. Now they dont really care anymore and wont do a thing to help homeowner recourse.
Buyer beware, meanwhile there is no issue if you air tight seal your walls and put in an HRV system and its does not cost six figures.
Like Radon gas from basement.
Do people know if they insulated under basement slab, or even if they put 6mil vapor barrier? etc......

Bottom line educate yourself on products you want to use and verify testing by government agencies and if you seal walls on outside from moisture pentetration by a competent professional and do same with interior adding HRV to Forced Air or Hydronic system there will be no problems. You can use tires, straw, mud etc... look online its endless the creativity out there.

Find something that works for you.
 
chingo said:
Once you wrap a house in blue skin or other treatment, it is like wood on the main floor.(which nobody has a problem with)
New ideas are hard for people to accept.
I am a certified Nudura ICF installer, which is another concept that people did not understand at first.
Also do hydronic heating, which has been done for ages in Europe, but in NA we use Force air (gas,propane, oil, electric)
Which is not as efficient and not as healthy.
There is also SIP panels that are in use.

All different methods that create a living enclosure.

As for UFFI, government did not test properly, gave a rebate to put it in, found out it caused issues, gave a rebate to take it out and made
Real Estate Lawyers include it as a disclosure in documents. Now they dont really care anymore and wont do a thing to help homeowner recourse.
Buyer beware, meanwhile there is no issue if you air tight seal your walls and put in an HRV system and its does not cost six figures.
Like Radon gas from basement.
Do people know if they insulated under basement slab, or even if they put 6mil vapor barrier? etc......

Bottom line educate yourself on products you want to use and verify testing by government agencies and if you seal walls on outside from moisture pentetration by a competent professional and do same with interior adding HRV to Forced Air or Hydronic system there will be no problems. You can use tires, straw, mud etc... look online its endless the creativity out there.

Find something that works for you.
Click to expand...
I dont like the constant contact with earth nor the small amount of material that needs to go bad before complete failure but I get your point.
 
Wood foundations are (were) a big thing in the west , pressure treated material works well in dry soil . I don’t think i would do one in Ontario , but I would do the styrofoam Lego block foundation here .
Halton region gives you one calendar yr of trailer living on a site while a house is built , but not inside the “town boundaries “ . Every municipality has a different bylaw it seems .


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GreyGhost said:
Many municipalities wont allow a long term occupied trailer. Hell, many have a very short window to build if you buy a building lot.

Has concrete shortage affected block availability as well? Personally I prefer a poured foundation but block is used successfully by many.
Click to expand...
As kid in Manitoba I used to see people living in "Homes" that were basement only. The first floor was treated like a roof and a lean-to entry was access to the basement.

Post WWII I think it was a way for a person to get away from rent and put the money into the house. The problem was some got used to it and changes had to be made. Some parts of Manitoba are radon hot spots as well.

I did some work for a company in the Kawarthas that supplied trailers to people that had to move out of their homes due to repairs, fires etc. The trailers were on the home lot and it was a good idea. The kids went to the same schools and had the same friends. Again I'm sure there were time limitations.

A friend built a house near Huntsville and went with pressure treated foundations. I don't know if that would make others leery if he had to sell.

I raised the subject with an engineer and for longevity he suggested slabs of granite. Old stone foundation walls seem to work for the old castles but costs would be prohibitive in our disposable world.

Concrete (If blended properly) is good for generations but block is iffy, again depending on quality control. The owner of a waterproofing company told me that a lot of early 1900's homes built with block foundations are seeing serious deterioration of the block.
 
chingo said:
Once you wrap a house in blue skin or other treatment, it is like wood on the main floor.(which nobody has a problem with)
New ideas are hard for people to accept.
I am a certified Nudura ICF installer, which is another concept that people did not understand at first.
Also do hydronic heating, which has been done for ages in Europe, but in NA we use Force air (gas,propane, oil, electric)
Which is not as efficient and not as healthy.
There is also SIP panels that are in use.

All different methods that create a living enclosure.

As for UFFI, government did not test properly, gave a rebate to put it in, found out it caused issues, gave a rebate to take it out and made
Real Estate Lawyers include it as a disclosure in documents. Now they dont really care anymore and wont do a thing to help homeowner recourse.
Buyer beware, meanwhile there is no issue if you air tight seal your walls and put in an HRV system and its does not cost six figures.
Like Radon gas from basement.
Do people know if they insulated under basement slab, or even if they put 6mil vapor barrier? etc......

Bottom line educate yourself on products you want to use and verify testing by government agencies and if you seal walls on outside from moisture pentetration by a competent professional and do same with interior adding HRV to Forced Air or Hydronic system there will be no problems. You can use tires, straw, mud etc... look online its endless the creativity out there.

Find something that works for you.
Click to expand...
The acceptance problem is partly because a house is typically a person's biggest asset and "What if???"

The UFFI screw up can make people ask if another new technology is UFFI 102. A lot depends on how far down the road one looks. Glues and plastics degrade over time. It could take a century but plywood and OSB will degrade. A piece of 2X4 kept dry, away from fires and bugs will last for ???. There is a temple in Japan that is 1400 years old.

I've seen a lot of waterproofing systems on jobsites and my main concern is they depend on workmanship. If a slacker has a bad day the owner gets a worse day years later. I'm far from an expert on the subject but a lot of the needed cures sound like snake oil. There's a reason condo restoration is huge business. Water is incessant.

Are the new methods wrong?

No. We can't afford to build or maintain castles hewn from granite blocks and roofed with copper sheets.

I've always considered buildings as permanent structures but I see what I consider new buildings torn down on a regular basis. I wonder about how the demolition of today's townhouse complexes will be handled in 2122.
 
Another developer playing fast and loose with contracts. I'm surprised the big boys dont crush them as they do not want the heat and attention that these repeated extortion attempts bring.

Tl: DR buyers bought in stayner in 2019 for 600-800K with 2021 closings. Construction hasn't started yet and builder says their options are add 175K or walk away. Maybe occupancy 2023.

No great answer on how to fix this. Developer spun up a company for this site. If enough people (or govt) forces original contract amount to be honoured, they will declare bankruptcy or project non-viability and buyers are screwed. If they go with cancelling the project (or selling land to different in-house company), the same developer can sell again tomorrow at new prices. Theoretically, province could prevent principals from future construction but I suspect that would end up with straw principals in the future.


 
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Sales volume picking up near me. Lots of sold conditional happening, a few sold conditional escape clause and a few sold firm. It will be interesting to see where they are landing as some are resales less than 18 months later. Asking price is up ~20% from last sale price so they probably didn't lose money. Owning a house for 18 months or less and not losing your shirt is a win in my book. It's only a real win for RE agents and government but I would expect a loss on a dwelling with that short a timeframe in normal times.

My guess is buyers are trying to balance "falling" (if you compare to feb/march) prices with rising rates. You only know when the best combination was possible in hindsight.
 
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A lot of signs are staying on lawns here going on weeks now. Some may just be waiting for a sold sign , but I suspect quite a few are in limbo. My mortgage broker gal says her business now is rewrites and refinance, new mortgage business has slowed .



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The townhouse on the next street had it’s 4th Open House in the row on this weekend and still not sold, one more for sale popped up 2 weeks ago… Never happened in the last many years - our neighbourhood’s townhouses are the cheapest in the Town and were always sold in short few days for sure… Some of them changed hands 2-3 times just in few last years… (I don’t bring my welcome basket to my new neighbours anymore :( )
The houses what were bought a few months back on my street - both now have “For Lease” signs as well, so i’d guess there were “investment” purchases…
 
Sochi said:
The townhouse on the next street had it’s 4th Open House in the row on this weekend and still not sold, one more for sale popped up 2 weeks ago… Never happened in the last many years - our neighbourhood’s townhouses are the cheapest in the Town and were always sold in short few days for sure… Some of them changed hands 2-3 times just in few last years… (I don’t bring my welcome basket to my new neighbours anymore :( )
The houses what were bought a few months back on my street - both now have “For Lease” signs as well, so i’d guess there were “investment” purchases…
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Guess what? It's happened before.

42 years ago a house sold on our street, got a paint job and relisted at 30% more, just as the market went downhill. The owner chased the price curve downhill for six months before renting it out for a couple of years and then sold.

Interest rates were at 13% and climbing, eventually to 20-23%. Gotta hurt.
 
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