$$$ homes for sale

C.B. has changed his house too much compared to when he bought it to compare prices.

Z

slainte39 wrote:The combination of buyers with USD being able to purchase or construct new homes here in the many new developments because of the favorable exchange rate and low inflation rates in Mexico plus the disincentive of mortgage pressure and low taxes and maintenance costs for sellers with existing properties, willing to sit on them, contributes to the slow movement of overpriced existing homes.
Mexicans and some foreigners, are buying in new developments, some very high end, all around the Metropolitan area.

Now, if only some of those people would stop complaining about the RE market while they wait.

Why???
That would only punch holes into the theory of the demise of "the old foreigners ghetto". that so many like to advance.

CanuckBob wrote:Yep, depending on the outcome we could get a nice spike in the RE values around here......jaja. All the people I was referring to were American's. I think the Canadian's are holding off due to the low loonie.

We may have a US Loonie in the White House in Jan 2017.

BILLBOGEY wrote:
We may have a US Loonie in the White House in Jan 2017.

No doubt..."sex of one and half a dozen of the other"...Hobson's choice.

Re Vancouver - it's weird. Every dirt homeowner is now worth north of $C 1 mil for the lot( more like $C 1 - 1.6 mil). Your property taxes will be at least $3800/yr. Mine, $8900.00. It's no mansion. There are a lot of seniors that just wish to age in place and can't. We could end up there. It's wrong.
USA citizens, the sleepers in this market. Those with big bucks are buying. Trump scared. Hollywood.
Condos ! That's where the "flipping" is going on. The developer sells prime units to friends at presale prices, then they market to the public when it's still a hole in the ground. They, public investors, buy and flip. The people who need the housing are at the end of the line. Sucks.
There is some sanity in good 8 - 15 yr. old condos, still looking at $C 750,000 plus for a 2 bdrm that is nice. Sure cheaper in the burbs. So. They're the burbs.
Hoping to see more meteorites tonight.

Vancouver just passed a 15% sales tax on foreign folks including US folks buying houses. Its creating a problem in the high tech industry which they want to grow. Many high level computer folks now don't want to move as they don't want to pay the foreigner tax on housing. So you sell in Seattle and now you can't afford in Vancouver. Not sure many of us could buy anymore tax or no tax.

Z

The intent is to scare off foreign (non resident) investors and cause the market to correct back to realistic levels. It was long overdue. I'm sure Toronto will be watching closely as many of these investors will head there instead.

http://etfdailynews.com/2016/08/03/vancouvers-new-15-property-tax-is-crushing-its-housing-market/

High tech industry has destroyed the rental market in the Bay Area. A friend can't afford to rent more than a bedroom in a house with several roommates due to the tech vermin (his term) who have made rents unaffordable except for people like them. Last place he lived was a small bedroom, sharing a bathroom with use of the kitchen for $1,200 a month. (That is dollars, not pesos.)

Ridiculous to blame a successful US industry for housing prices. The SF Bay area has always been expensive. It was when I lived there in the late 60's and the term "High Tech" hadn't even been invented. Neither had the computer chip!

Yes, it has always been expensive. This is just the latest incarnation. I believe when my brother moved there in the late 60s it was the aerospace industry driving up prices.

David wrote:Ridiculous to blame a successful US industry for housing prices.  The SF Bay area has always been expensive.  It was when I lived there in the late 60's and the term "High Tech" hadn't even been invented. Neither had the computer chip!

The industry isn't solely to blame.  Supply and demand dictates prices and landlords take full advantage of it.  Some get downright greedy. Granted, no landlord could charge as much as they're getting these days if there weren't highly paid workers who can come up with the cash.  A conundrum.

Thanks to the obscene escalation of prices in CA real estate within commuting distance of Silicon valley, we are happy expats to Mexico.   We sold out in 2004 before the previous bubble burst.  BTW, we're seeing more CA license plates lately around lakeside.  We shall be Californicated shortly unless the latest RE bubble up there bursts.

Thanks, Gringal. "No landlord could charge as much as they're getting these days if there weren't highly paid workers who can come up with the cash."

That's the good news!

In the oil patches in Northern Canada workers are paid exorbitant amounts of money and it usually destroys the economies in the local towns. When oil prices crash these towns get devastated.

Thanks and I don't think we over price anything unless we have made a mistake. I guess that is the reason we have such a great following.

CanuckBob wrote:In the oil patches in Northern Canada workers are paid exorbitant amounts of money and it usually destroys the economies in the local towns. When oil prices crash these towns get devastated.

That's understandable. In the S.F.Bay Area, those tech jobs are probably not going away any time soon.

gringal wrote:

David wrote:Ridiculous to blame a successful US industry for housing prices.  The SF Bay area has always been expensive.  It was when I lived there in the late 60's and the term "High Tech" hadn't even been invented. Neither had the computer chip!

The industry isn't solely to blame.  Supply and demand dictates prices and landlords take full advantage of it.  Some get downright greedy. Granted, no landlord could charge as much as they're getting these days if there weren't highly paid workers who can come up with the cash.  A conundrum.

Thanks to the obscene escalation of prices in CA real estate within commuting distance of Silicon valley, we are happy expats to Mexico.   We sold out in 2004 before the previous bubble burst.  BTW, we're seeing more CA license plates lately around lakeside.  We shall be Californicated shortly unless the latest RE bubble up there bursts.

Some parts of Lakeside look like California already, especially when you sit at the food court at the Centro Laguna mall and look out towards the mountains......the decor and the view just scream 'California'! And many of the gated communities with their cookie-cutter houses with only one or two 'approved' paint colours? BORING! This is Mexico...it should be vibrant! Not saying that we should allow colours that totally clash, but come on....let's brighten things up!

Canadians are not xenophobic. As to applying that tax here, it sounds like a good idea for the people of Mexico.

Playaboy wrote:

CanuckBob wrote:The intent is to scare off foreign (non resident) investors and cause the market to correct back to realistic levels. It was long overdue. I'm sure Toronto will be watching closely as many of these investors will head there instead.

http://etfdailynews.com/2016/08/03/vancouvers-new-15-property-tax-is-crushing-its-housing-market/

That is a disgusting tax.  If I owned real estate up there, I would be very angry.  I didn't know western Canada was so xenophobic.  That tax seems to say we don't want the Chinese people investing here.

How would any of you feel if Mexico would apply a tax like that in Chapala, SMA, and other expat areas where prices have been driven up by foreigners.

The tax says "we don't want foreign, non-resident investors buying several houses and leaving them vacant". It also says "we don't want Vancouver being used as a place to launder money". Do your research before making ridiculous statements Playa.......

Australia has the right idea. They don't allow foreign, nonresidents to even purchase a used home. They can only build new. This keeps them from driving up the market.

Playaboy wrote:

CanuckBob wrote:The intent is to scare off foreign (non resident) investors and cause the market to correct back to realistic levels. It was long overdue. I'm sure Toronto will be watching closely as many of these investors will head there instead.

http://etfdailynews.com/2016/08/03/vancouvers-new-15-property-tax-is-crushing-its-housing-market/

That is a disgusting tax.  If I owned real estate up there, I would be very angry.  I didn't know western Canada was so xenophobic.  That tax seems to say we don't want the Chinese people investing here.

How would any of you feel if Mexico would apply a tax like that in Chapala, SMA, and other expat areas where prices have been driven up by foreigners.

Don't go holier than thou on us Playaboy.

Many years ago Canada had a non-resident tax on foreign owned property that was removed about 25-30+ years ago. At that time foreign buyers mainly speculated on recreational properties which are taxable as capital gains for Canadians. Canadian lawyers are not required to collect federal taxes and almost almost all capital gain taxes have not been collected for many years because property transactions are Provincial and not Federal.

In recent years Canadian properties in certain locations have become the target of foreign speculators. Properties in mainly Vancouver and Toronto have been purchased by foreigners and flipped many times before being bought by a Canadian. Not one of these flips has resulted in capital gains taxes being paid.

Both Vancouver and Toronto have huge vacancy rates because of this speculative market and vacancy rates are at all time lows. The BC tax will slow down speculation and will go a long way to allowing Canadians to afford reasonably priced housing both rental and purchase. I only hope that the rest of Canada catches on.

I am sure that you Playaboy would have to pay taxes it you speculated in the USA real estate market as I am sure you pay taxes on the cars you buy here and sell in the US.

In Mexico sales of real estate are subject to Capital gains tax subject to certain conditions such as nationality, residency and visa status, They are also taxable in Canada. BUT those taxes have not been paid by speculators in the real estate market. BC just decided that they would collect the tax and slow down the market so that CANADIANS could afford housing and make the speculators pay some on the tax they owe.

Amen Dave. Nicely stated.

Also the first case is hitting the Canadian courts of a Chinese bank trying to repossess a property that was purchased with stolen funds. If successful, this will send many others scurrying to hide their money elsewhere.

You said it much better than I could have Dave.

I would like to add that in Canada, your principal residence is NOT taxed even if you've only lived in it for a year. In Mexico, as you stated, your principal residence IS taxed unless you meet stringent criteria.
It was stated by a real estate agent here that the stringent criteria have somewhat messed up what some people were previously doing... which is buy a dump, fix it up and sell it. Bye Bye to all the jobs that construction workers, plumbers and electricians were enjoying.

ferret wrote:You said it much better than I could have Dave.

I would like to add that in Canada, your principal residence is NOT taxed even if you've only lived in it for a year. In Mexico, as you stated, your principal residence IS taxed unless you meet stringent criteria.
It was stated by a real estate agent here that the stringent criteria have somewhat messed up what some people were previously doing... which is buy a dump, fix it up and sell it. Bye Bye to all the jobs that construction workers, plumbers and electricians were enjoying.

That brings up a question Ferret.

Any person who is carrying on a business of buying properties, restoring them and reselling them is supposed to be taxed at regular tax rates not at the reduced capital gain tax rates. The new tax will not make any difference to them. Many file as a capital gains but it hurts when you are caught.

I have seen many caught during my 20+ years doing tax returns in Canada