I wonder how long this insanity will last....

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They usually sell for nearly double in my area. Generally I'll see some crappy fixer upper semi detached listed for $300-350k. I email the Realtor to ask if it's still available. I usually get a response saying it sold today for $500-650k. I'm not even mad at that point since there's no way I can come up with that kind of money, anyway.

Then there's the crazies asking $1.2mil for the same thing. Seen a few of those pop up lately.
 
I've also always thought that 'how can I make extra money?' and over the last few months have come up with some valid solutions which are taking some time to get going but slowly are coming to fruition...

- freelance - we're all good at something (well most people are) find out what that is and see if you can bring in some clients or just help someone out for a few $. I've never freelanced before but now have a client that I'm doing small things for, and looking to expand our partnership

- are you handy? - I wasn't. But with time and a desire I learned how to do more and more on my own. I've worked for some family members, buddies, where they needed help with some work on an irregular basis and it's been very helpful. The few extra bucks is great, but the knowledge gained with each project is even better. Even if you don't make $ doing this, you'll save $ by being able to do it yourself instead of hiring someone else to do it for you.

- changing jobs isn't always an option - but picking up a few hours here and there are always helpful

I fully agree that it's definitely difficult to just go out 'and make more money' but I also thought so and I've expanded my thought process on it. A few of my buddies know how to wheel and deal with different avenues of income generation, I was always typical black and white work for someone else type of mind frame...I'm always reading, researching, checking out new avenues and generally expanding my knowledge base on my own.
 
mimico_polak said:
I've also always thought that 'how can I make extra money?' and over the last few months have come up with some valid solutions which are taking some time to get going but slowly are coming to fruition...

- freelance - we're all good at something (well most people are) find out what that is and see if you can bring in some clients or just help someone out for a few $. I've never freelanced before but now have a client that I'm doing small things for, and looking to expand our partnership

- are you handy? - I wasn't. But with time and a desire I learned how to do more and more on my own. I've worked for some family members, buddies, where they needed help with some work on an irregular basis and it's been very helpful. The few extra bucks is great, but the knowledge gained with each project is even better. Even if you don't make $ doing this, you'll save $ by being able to do it yourself instead of hiring someone else to do it for you.

- changing jobs isn't always an option - but picking up a few hours here and there are always helpful

I fully agree that it's definitely difficult to just go out 'and make more money' but I also thought so and I've expanded my thought process on it. A few of my buddies know how to wheel and deal with different avenues of income generation, I was always typical black and white work for someone else type of mind frame...I'm always reading, researching, checking out new avenues and generally expanding my knowledge base on my own.
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Ive realized that working for someone in this country will get you nowhere fast. You do all the work, take all the **** and they keep all the profit for themselves.

And to add insult to injury they'll constantly tell you how there's no money...
 
Paul1000RR said:
Ive realized that working for someone in this country will get you nowhere fast. You do all the work, take all the **** and they keep all the profit for themselves.

And to add insult to injury they'll constantly tell you how there's no money...
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On the bright side, if you own a business... there's a massive pool of minimum wagers, from cleaners to nuclear physicists. :(
 
daught said:
On the bright side, if you own a business... there's a massive pool of minimum wagers, from cleaners to nuclear physicists. :(
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And you get what you pay for.
When i employed people, i had to pay them what i would expect, because i felt too guilty giving them less if they were good workers.
I just had to trim the profits going into my pocket and hope for more volume.
 
AGAVE said:
And you get what you pay for.
When i employed people, i had to pay them what i would expect, because i felt too guilty giving them less if they were good workers.
I just had to trim the profits going into my pocket and hope for more volume.
Click to expand...

You're doing it wrong. You pay them as little as possible and then at every turn you criticize em, berate them and tell them that you're about to go bankrupt. Keeps em on edge and they work better this way :lmao:
 
Mongrel said:
Hmmm, looks like the Germans have a thing or two to say about our housing market: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...the-world-deutsche-bank-says/article15878166/
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"While many observers outside Canada have warned about a bubble, most Canadian economists say the market won't crash. The Bank of Canada, too, said recently it sees no housing bubble."

So everyone outside of canada see it for what it is, but the people in canada who own these things are still in denial
 
I wonder sometimes. Usually when someone wants to buy stock they scream that it's going to fail and to sell immediately and when they want to sell they say how wonderful a stock is and that you should definitely buy it.

Maybe the Germans want to buy our condos before they go up in price some more!

Lol.
 
As a stand-alone, the cost of credit is a decent enough reason to explain why Canada’s housing market stands where it does in the Deutsche Bank study. However, rates are low all over the world. Our housing market is not the only one benefitting from this dynamic. There must be something else going on.....*

Reason #2: The Availability of Credit
The world of lending (i.e., mortgages), in its simplest form, is populated by those who need money (borrowers) and those who have access to it (lenders). Borrowers go to lenders for loans. Loans are granted based on the borrower’s perceived ability to service that loan. In theory, would-be borrowers deemed unfit to service a loan are declined.*

In a system where lenders control the availability of credit, the risk is left in the hands of the lender. If they lend to unfit borrowers, they won’t be long for this world.*

The thing is, the availability of credit as it pertains to Canada’s housing market has not been left solely in the hands of the lenders. Meet the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporate – or the CMHC. This government entity has played a huge role in the run-up in Canadian house prices.*

The Basics
In the world described above, where only lenders and borrowers exist, a borrower seeking a mortgage for the purchase of a home is typically required to make a down payment. Historically, this down payment had to amount to 25% of the value of the home (way back it was actually much more). Now it’s 20%.*

The down payment is meant to protect the lender in the event of a borrower default. It provides a cushion that helps minimize the risk of a loss if the lender has to liquidate the property.*

The CMHC, however, alters this relationship by providing mortgage insurance. Though the lenders have maintained a 20% down payment threshold, thanks to the CMHC, the size of the required down payment has come down dramatically. In fact, it fell to just 5% in the early 1990s and in 2006 the Crown corporation actually introduced a no-down-payment insurance option.*

But, you ask, what about that nice cushion that is required by the lenders? Well, for any borrower that doesn’t have 20% to put down against a home, for the price of an insurance premium paid to the CMHC, they are able to make a down payment of essentially any amount they’d like. In exchange for this premium, the CMHC guarantees the loan – meaning, should it go into default, the bank will be repaid in full by the CMHC. The bank’s cushion remains.*

There’s more
It’s clear that demand for housing will go up if:

•** *You go from a system that prevents potential home buyers that don’t have a 20% down payment from getting a mortgage to a system that essentially allows all would-be home buyers, in exchange for a relatively small fee (that can be tacked onto the mortgage), to get in the game

Because of the CMHC’s involvement, the availability of credit has expanded, which is not necessarily a bad thing. After all, housing activity has a huge multiplier effect through the economy -- and heck, if it weren’t for the CMHC, I certainly wouldn’t have been able to pony up for my first house. There are many more of “me” out there.*

Though the principles may sound reasonable, the program has appeared to lose some degree of focus in recent years. For instance, increasing the maximum insured mortgage from $250,000 to $1,000,000, and extending allowable amortization periods three times between 2005 and 2006 (we’re now back to where we started) only helped provide a catalyst to a market that was already heating up due to the declining cost of credit. **

In addition, the government has greatly expanded the amount of insurance the CMHC is allowed to have underwritten at any given time. Currently, this limit sits at $600 billion, with $560 billion actually in force. In 2005, this figure sat at $273.7 billion, with a $300 billion limit in place.

The net result of this loss of focus and rapid expansion of the program in recent years: 75% of all Canadian mortgages are now insured by our federal government, up from just 30% in 1988 and 55% in 2003.*
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