I'm not sure what's happening right now in the market, but you would assume (I know assuming bad) that in this type of economy, with a pandemic raging through, the market is going bananas! My friend has been looking for a house (semi/town/whatever) within the GTA for months and has been outbid on every property. One townhouse in Mississauga had 76 offers and went for about 180k over asking. Another house in Hamilton that he bid on...38 bids and 80k over. WTF! He ended up settling in Guelph for a 4 bed / 4 bath condo to use as an investment so he can buy in the GTA in the future while he rents to students (are schools even returning this year or next?).
What's happening. Are there so many more people with money than there are without a good financial backing?
A place a few blocks away from our house, 800k list price...sold for 1.25M! Total tear down! We saw them emptying the house right before it went on the market. Bin after bin after bin of junk/stuff.
Honestly I'm glad I'm not looking for a house, but I am curious what my house is worth with this insanity.
Buddies in construction are saying they've never been busier. Cottages are selling like hotcakes.
What is happening!?
It's a total crap fest. I was at an auction a while back and an unsuccessful bidder griped "It isn't worth it." The auctioneer replied very accurately "It's worth what I get for it."
If you have $300K plus your home equity and want to move you can sell your home and now you know what you have in your pocket. That doesn't guarantee that the house you want will still be available for what's in your pocket. You could end up with the same thing but with a bigger mortgage. Or you could be laughing.
You can buy first and hope but a cautious buyer would aim low in case their house didn't sell for 10% over or a sudden market correction kick in. If the caution wasn't justified you'll forever be kicking yourself for not getting the one with the three car garage or bigger lot.
The government seriously needs to look at the capital gains situation for flippers and investors.
I did service work on condos and good ones are fine but which ones are good? A condo is only as good as the owners. They elect the directors that run the place and pick the manager. Pettiness and misunderstandings are the norm. There is nothing worse than a director that is a retired VIP trying to relive his days of power by challenging every decision the property manager makes.
More than one property management company has undisclosed not-at-arms-length connections with service companies. Guess who gets the inflated contracts? It's easy to get ultra high quotes to make high quotes look reasonable.
IMO:
Never buy into a building that has rentals or at least more than a few.
The absentee owner doesn't want to pay for cleaning and maintenance but they don't have to live in the filth and decay. The renter doesn't have a say in the running of the building nor do they have to pay if they abuse stuff.
Maintenance costs go up with the height of the building.
Apparently hydraulic elevators are far cheaper to maintain than cable but hydraulics are limited to a few stories.
Underground parking has maintenance (Cost) and security issues. Condo fees are minimal with townhouses that have their own garages and you don't have to mow lawns, shovel snow or have money set aside for roofs or external painting. Freeholds may differ.
Just south of Cambridge my mother-in-law's detached house was appraised two years ago for about $450K. It sold two months ago for $580K and they got a bargain.
I've heard rumours of people having problems with getting insurance and mortgages for over priced properties in the boonies.
It will be interesting to look in the rear view mirror ten years down the road. WFH, EV's, internet communications, politics, covid stabilization, climate change etc.
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