THE REAL DEAL

Anonymous asked: Just wanted to say I totally sympathize with you. I've been looking for 9 months now and the prices are so inflated and bidding wars so rampant that house-hunting, what should normally be an exciting and fun experience, has become a horribly stressful and frustrating endeavour. And much like you, I've lost out on some properties due to bidding wars pushing prices well beyond absurdity. It's comforting to know I'm not the only one in this boat; thanks for sharing your experiences. -Charlie

Hey Charlie, thanks for the message. Let’s hope things cool off a bit this year so home ownership becomes a possibility. Good luck!! R

And another thing

Was at a dinner party this weekend, with other creative professionals like myself. Out of three thirty something couples, only one owns a house, and she got it during the 2009 dip.

It made me wonder about the character of neighbourhoods to come. It’s a well known fact that money follows the artists. Creative types end up in a cheap hood, make something out of nothing, which is a creative talent, then Toronto Life breaks an exposé about this thriving up and coming neighbourhood…the next thing you know property values have doubled as the young and wildly competitive yupsters duke it out in bidding warfare to get a piece of the hot action.

I can’t help but wonder, now that most neighbourhoods in central Toronto are overpriced, where will the creative types go next? Will the future character of neighbourhoods be dictated by Debbie Travis’ latest trend colours or Home Depot specials? Don’t we need real creativity in cities? Why has greed priced us out?

Polluted market

Saw two places a few days ago.

Both 400k.

Both bidding wars.

Both on contaminated land. Let me explain.

House A, a sandwiched semi, super cute cottage vibe inside. We’d jump on it, if it wasn’t for the fact that it is across from a factory complex, and underneath high voltage electricity distribution lines. Oh, it’s also right beside the tracks.

House B, another semi, hasn’t been touched since the 50’s. Knob and tube everywhere, needs a new roof, furnace, windows, floors - gut job. Our agent also informed us the place is right beside an old factory lot that was contaminated with PCB’s for a long time. She recommended we don’t plant any vegetables in that back yard.

So this is what’s out there now for first time buyers willing to part with almost half a million.

I recently heard that wise virgins like us should wait 3 years before buying. Let the granite obsessed fools and trust funders snatch up these overpriced dumps in the meantime.

In A Perfect World

It’s been a while. I’ve lost steam with house hunting. There is nothing affordable out there, and the price hikes and bidding wars continue. We’ve been left behind.

A few weeks ago we were at a friend’s house for dinner, A super cute semi just below Dundas, near Trinity Bellwoods park. They snatched it up a few years ago (of course) for peanuts. Anyways, that’s not what this post is about, although yes, I’m of course jealous.

There was a lovely couple at the dinner from Guelph. They just bought a house for 260. When they saw my jaw drop they explained the story. Apparently they were renting the place next door, and loved the house. They simply asked the owners, who they were friendly with, if they would think of selling. They said no, and then a day later said yes. No agent involved.

They sat at a table, and the sellers handed over a piece of paper with a number on it. That number was well bellow what the buyers were expecting.

After the sale, they were talking with the previous owners (who they are stil friends with) and asked why they sold for so low. And this is the lesson of this post. Ready for it? They said that they bought the place for nothing, and even at that price they made enough money to be happy with. They weren’t looking to gauge a young couple trying to buy their first home.

Cut to Toronto where greed and lust have artificially inflated the housing market to the point where it’s unaffordable for most people. Maybe a move out of town is inevitable one day. Maybe the insanaity will stop in Toronto. I hope so.

*Sigh*

http://www.greaterfool.ca/2012/04/01/the-con/

Meh

Now that buying a house in a semi decent area of town is officially out of our means, I have been enjoying my income in other ways. For example, a trip to Sweden in the spring, a new pair of sunglasses I’ve wanted for a long time, an iPad for leisurely beach time reading this summer…the little treats and splurges that I’ve denied myself these past years, scrimping every dollar into my down payment fund. Well, no longer. Of course I’ll continue to save, but not to the extent as before. We will be renters for a while longer, and with no kids or car I figure I should enjoy some material pleasures a bit and obsess a little less about this out of control current Toronto real estate market which is exclusively for kids of rich boomers or financial sector professionals (or suckers.)

Have to run, going to look for a new pair of jeans, I want a seat on this coloured denim train.

Anonymous asked: Your situation is so exactly parallel to mine and my husbands. Thanks for sharing your experience - I was feeling especially bad this week after our parents berated us again for not buying a house. They don't understand what Toronto real estate is like right now. It's comforting to know that someone out there understands what we're going through. Thanks.

Hey there, thanks for your message. Don’t despair, there are lots of us in the same situation out there. One day we will have our turn. Take it easy, R.

Ridiculous!

Another bunch of stupidly overpriced listings this morning. Nothing livable below St.Clair for under 425k. Short-sighted riff raff to the north please, suckers and trust fund kids to the south.

Calm Before The Storm?

No listings again today. This is the second time in the past 2 weeks.

And the few listings around these days are dismal. As I mentioned previously, who the hell wants 400k bungalows near Eglington that need gut jobs? Not moi.

There has been more and more talk about market correction this past week, and I’m wondering (hoping) if it has begun. Quietly at first perhaps, but in the coming months maybe people will be forced to recognize that things have been out of whack for a while now.

The New Standard

These days it seems $400,000 bungalows north of St. Clair are all the rage. Don’t despair, sure it’s a crappy location for a tiny dark home, but it has pot lights!