Mad Mike
Well-known member
Hamilton has a zoo, it's at 36 Hunter Street East, Hamilton.
The nocturnal exhibits are really interesting.
COVID and the housing market
- Thread starter mimico_polak
- Start date
The nocturnal exhibits are really interesting.
Nothing like a bus station for drama. Train destinations are too fixed and airports have security. Where can I go for $43.25?
Ouch. 1251 Warden Ave.
11/12 Sold for $440
10/14 Sold for 561 (this owner made out like a bandit with about $100K tax-free per year on sub 500k investment)
03/23 Sold for 1.475M (pics have been purged, no mention of renovation)
05/24 Sold for 1M As is power of sale. Some light turd polishing like floors different than in 2014 but can't tell when they were done
Did the owner put money into it between 2023 and 2024? Lost 475k on price, 52k on LTT, 50K on RE fees and maybe some on "improvements". That's at least $580K loss in 14 months. Big ouch.
11/12 Sold for $440
10/14 Sold for 561 (this owner made out like a bandit with about $100K tax-free per year on sub 500k investment)
03/23 Sold for 1.475M (pics have been purged, no mention of renovation)
05/24 Sold for 1M As is power of sale. Some light turd polishing like floors different than in 2014 but can't tell when they were done
Did the owner put money into it between 2023 and 2024? Lost 475k on price, 52k on LTT, 50K on RE fees and maybe some on "improvements". That's at least $580K loss in 14 months. Big ouch.
After my latest move I'd kill myself if I had to live that close to people again... Or at that price for that place.. yuckOuch. 1251 Warden Ave.
11/12 Sold for $440
10/14 Sold for 561 (this owner made out like a bandit with about $100K tax-free per year on sub 500k investment)
03/23 Sold for 1.475M (pics have been purged, no mention of renovation)
05/24 Sold for 1M As is power of sale. Some light turd polishing like floors different than in 2014 but can't tell when they were done
Did the owner put money into it between 2023 and 2024? Lost 475k on price, 52k on LTT, 50K on RE fees and maybe some on "improvements". That's at least $580K loss in 14 months. Big ouch.
What I see... lots of those are power of sale...Ouch. 1251 Warden Ave.
11/12 Sold for $440
10/14 Sold for 561 (this owner made out like a bandit with about $100K tax-free per year on sub 500k investment)
03/23 Sold for 1.475M (pics have been purged, no mention of renovation)
05/24 Sold for 1M As is power of sale. Some light turd polishing like floors different than in 2014 but can't tell when they were done
Did the owner put money into it between 2023 and 2024? Lost 475k on price, 52k on LTT, 50K on RE fees and maybe some on "improvements". That's at least $580K loss in 14 months. Big ouch.
Lots of what are power of sale?
I didn't bother listing asking prices as they are meaningless. Your sold prices match the prices I posted.
What site shows you the closing dates?
Zoocasa is the site that lists the dates etc. That is what I use to see sold/terminated/suspended listings.
The terminated and suspended sales are all pretty much POS, same with one of the sold ones.... Asking on terminated and suspended ones are interesting as it shows what they could not get.
Funny how that works eh? Move to the countryside with little to no neighbours and it's really hard to go back. Some people can't handle the quiet and go back but I'd say that number is very low. I'll listen to the coyote's howling in the evening over neighbours cars/kids/dogs any day.
To me the advantage of city living is the ability to walk to pretty much everything you need. Out of milk, five minute walk. Want to go for a drink, five minute walk. Dinner, five minute walk... This disadvantage is of course being close to everyone. Sadly many places in the city are too far to walk anywhere (car for everything) and you still have people close by.
Priller
Well-known member
Different strokes, etc. We had a couple of acres just outside Vancouver past Maple Ridge for about five years, and liked it, but didn't love it. Part of the reason we moved to Hamilton specifically is we wanted a tighter-knit neighbourhood, walkable bars/coffee shops/restaurants/groceries, and more interesting places to walk out dogs.
The quiet was the best bit, and I liked the privacy to a certain extent, but the real dealbreaker was having to deal with an extended drive for almost anything away from the house. The closest convenience store was about 20 minutes driving, closest proper grocery store was another 10 minutes. This made any trip out of the house almost guaranteed to be longer than an hour. The neighbours were mostly nice, but also typically distant. People don't move onto acreages to be social. Dealing with a long turnaround gravel driveway was a total pain every time it snowed (which it did a lot where we were), and maintaining a couple of acres took a lot of time that I'd prefer to have spent working on bikes or even riding them!
In the end, I'm really glad we did it and got it out of our system, and there was a lot about it that I loved, but we're city folks at heart, and like having community and amenities close at hand. We like walking over for a coffee at the bakery in the morning and a beer at the bar at night. The stuff I really don't understand is living in a suburb where you still have to drive everywhere but also have close but unfriendly neighbours for the worst of both worlds. I should be careful though, as that seems to be the preferred option for many Canadians, so that's just, like, my opinion, man...
100% agree.
Wow…talk about gaming the system…
bc.ctvnews.ca
Takes a special kind to be this cunning.
Sellers still occupying home on Vancouver's west side that they sold for $3.9 million a year ago
The former owners of a home on Vancouver's west side have continued living in it despite selling it for nearly $4 million last June. Last week, they won a court case that will prevent the new owners from evicting them for at least a little while longer.
Takes a special kind to be this cunning.
I actually miss that when we lived at Islington and Lakeshore. Everything was a stones throw away. And I spent more at Albatross than I care to count.
We like our area here as we have a decent lot. But the only walking we do is taking the kids for a stroll. Hell erindale park is next door and we drive there as I’m not piggybacking 3 kids up a 100m rise.
I miss that. But love our lot.
Maybe once my parents pass we’ll consider moving further north / away from the city. But for now…4km to cousins, 5km to sister, and 10km to parents. And we’re right in the middle of the 3 of them.
I certainly see your point.
For us, we don't go out much to bars, restaurants etc.
Shopping is a 5-15 minute drive depending on what we need.
I agree with the driveway in the winter. Yuck...
I spend about 8-12 hours a week (summer) on property maintenance, I enjoy it, good physical activity etc.
Our old house was not desirable for a walking lifestyle the street went from kiss playing hockey to an extended parking lot over the 14 years we lived there, it lost its sense of community. So we made the change and while there is an adjustment we have no regrets in our decision.
A huge part of our housing cost is land and they don't have any cheap stuff in desirable areas. A parent's paid for house helps when they die but after a generation or two the money split is a thin slice of the pie.
In a century or less, home ownership could be as outdated as is, for most, growing your own food.
Many businesses are going the subscription way, another word for renting. A friend just got a Tesla S with all the bells and whistles for the first month or so. Then it's $100 a month for auto drive, $25 for internet etc.
We subscribe (Rent) land lines, hydro, heating fuel, taxes, cell phones, internet, insurance, water, etc so just add another payment.
There are couple of reasons for owning rather than renting a house.
Investment value if you can afford the initial price
Cost stability in today's market (Rent control isn't 100%)
Ability to modify to suit one's lifestyle.
Advantages to renting are
No need for a massive down payment, leaving investment opportunities
Ability to move for work
Your kids don't assume "It'll all be mine when mom and dad croak" and may get serious about life choices.
Divorces are simpler.
A future of "rent only" seems possible but reasonable costs are hard to pin down. Governments have proven to be incompetent and the private sector has proven to be greedy. Pick your nemesis.
Canada's weak spot has been the failure to develop the north. The USA has developed Alaska primarily with fish and oil, some mining and forestry. What can Canada do to lure people out of the GTA?
It's 100 year problem administered by people with four year foresight.
In a century or less, home ownership could be as outdated as is, for most, growing your own food.
Many businesses are going the subscription way, another word for renting. A friend just got a Tesla S with all the bells and whistles for the first month or so. Then it's $100 a month for auto drive, $25 for internet etc.
We subscribe (Rent) land lines, hydro, heating fuel, taxes, cell phones, internet, insurance, water, etc so just add another payment.
There are couple of reasons for owning rather than renting a house.
Investment value if you can afford the initial price
Cost stability in today's market (Rent control isn't 100%)
Ability to modify to suit one's lifestyle.
Advantages to renting are
No need for a massive down payment, leaving investment opportunities
Ability to move for work
Your kids don't assume "It'll all be mine when mom and dad croak" and may get serious about life choices.
Divorces are simpler.
A future of "rent only" seems possible but reasonable costs are hard to pin down. Governments have proven to be incompetent and the private sector has proven to be greedy. Pick your nemesis.
Canada's weak spot has been the failure to develop the north. The USA has developed Alaska primarily with fish and oil, some mining and forestry. What can Canada do to lure people out of the GTA?
It's 100 year problem administered by people with four year foresight.
Not too far from me vacant lots are going for $400-600k and 3000 sq ft houses in subdivision hell are close to $1.5M. I am outside of Barrie. That is nuts. There is very little employment that can pay off those loans. You either need to ride the property ponzi scheme to generate a huge downpayment or you need someone to give you many hundreds of thousands.
In a village not too far away, there was an application to divide a lot. All lots in the village were ~0.5 acres so there is room for at least two houses on every lot but the villagers got out their pitch forks. Not in the character of the neighbourhood, thin edge of the wedge, etc. If you can't beat them, join them. Any person that includes "not in the character of the neighbourhood" in their list of points should have their entire argument tossed. Not in character is exactly the goal. Enforcing status quo doesn't benefit anyone in the long run. FWIW, the guy won the severance but was driven out of the village.
I won't be surprised if we start seeing attempts to organize HOA's here to protect the character of the neighbourhood. While much of the US implements them from the beginning, there are many locations where HOA was created after the fact. I want nothing to do with them. Nobody can force me to sign and I will be a holdout if it happens.
Very GTHA concentric thinking...
Go to MLS and set the max price to $500K and the filters to single family homes, then scroll across the country looking at "cities" and towns. $500K too rich, try $300K, still too rich......... Still to rich yet, drop it more and include condos and townhomes... Canada has plenty of land. We have cities that actually need people AND have housing AND room to grow AND cheap land. The idea we need to tear up the GTHA because people only want to live here is stupid. Never mind that IF you look at what (little) is being built here none of it is below those prices above... shoebox tiny condo maybe.
The GTHA is also littered with approved buildings lots that for many reasons are not being built. Developers are either hoarding land, playing games, want to wit until they can make even more money... In my area alone, I count a few thousand units not being built.
www.toronto.ca
Not easy to navigate but see an empty building, lot, type the address in.
BTW, tent cities have almost nothing to do with the above... There are so many reasons it is all out of wack, most of it can be fixed without bulldozing the city.
Go to MLS and set the max price to $500K and the filters to single family homes, then scroll across the country looking at "cities" and towns. $500K too rich, try $300K, still too rich......... Still to rich yet, drop it more and include condos and townhomes... Canada has plenty of land. We have cities that actually need people AND have housing AND room to grow AND cheap land. The idea we need to tear up the GTHA because people only want to live here is stupid. Never mind that IF you look at what (little) is being built here none of it is below those prices above... shoebox tiny condo maybe.
The GTHA is also littered with approved buildings lots that for many reasons are not being built. Developers are either hoarding land, playing games, want to wit until they can make even more money... In my area alone, I count a few thousand units not being built.
Application Information Centre
The Application Information Centre (AIC) provides information on all development applications in Toronto.
www.toronto.ca
Not easy to navigate but see an empty building, lot, type the address in.
BTW, tent cities have almost nothing to do with the above... There are so many reasons it is all out of wack, most of it can be fixed without bulldozing the city.
While I agree with pretty much all you said...there's a reason that certain places outside of the GTHA / GVA is that there just aren't many jobs / businesses to support the growth.Very GTHA concentric thinking...
Go to MLS and set the max price to $500K and the filters to single family homes, then scroll across the country looking at "cities" and towns. $500K too rich, try $300K, still too rich......... Still to rich yet, drop it more and include condos and townhomes... Canada has plenty of land. We have cities that actually need people AND have housing AND room to grow AND cheap land. The idea we need to tear up the GTHA because people only want to live here is stupid. Never mind that IF you look at what (little) is being built here none of it is below those prices above... shoebox tiny condo maybe.
The GTHA is also littered with approved buildings lots that for many reasons are not being built. Developers are either hoarding land, playing games, want to wit until they can make even more money... In my area alone, I count a few thousand units not being built.
Application Information Centre
The Application Information Centre (AIC) provides information on all development applications in Toronto.
Not easy to navigate but see an empty building, lot, type the address in.
BTW, tent cities have almost nothing to do with the above... There are so many reasons it is all out of wack, most of it can be fixed without bulldozing the city.
It's a chicken and egg situation...do you invest first and hope people come...or do you bring people in and hope the jobs come to them?
Super simple...GTHA and GVA have the most amount of jobs, hence most people want to go there...and it continues on and on and on.
The job location thing is a problem for some professions where they are very concentric to GTHA and GVA (and GMA and GOA) but many are more portable and there are plenty of opportunities outside of those areas. Sure there may be hundreds of openings in Toronto and only a dozen in a specific smaller city outside of Ontario, and Toronto pays more BUT with the lower cost of housing the person will be further a head outside of Ontario--they just won't go.
Healthcare, Education, Accounting, IT, Law, all portable and in need across the country... Engineering and some others will depend on specialization. In general, there are shortages nation wide.
Unskilled jobs, portability increases even more.
Interesting enough, I work with a lot of Hamilton professional people that were always in the never Toronto crowd--to expensive.... that have now moved west or east.
