Big corporations are buying up homes and “eroding the American dream of homeownership

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

All mortgages in Canada are 5 yr terms.

wait.

WHAT?


all home mortages in canada have to be paid off in just 5 years!?!?!?!

no 15 or 30 year fixed mortgages that are standard in the US?

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

wait.

WHAT?


all home mortages in canada have to be paid off in just 5 years!?!?!?!

no 15 or 30 year fixed mortgages that are standard in the US?

no, you renew every 5 years

[Steely Dan]

^ "renew"?

what does that mean?

you're literally forced to re-fi every 5 years?

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

^ "renew"?

what does that mean?

https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-c...-mortgage.html

[Steely Dan]

^ thanks.

and strange.

i love the stability of having the very low interest rate on our 30 year home loan locked in all the way until the end of the loan period, especially in these times of higher interest rates.

[TWAK]

Originally Posted by Wigs

https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-c...-mortgage.html

Yikes.
If you have an ARM you still have to renew every five years?
That's great if rates somehow manage to dip on a cycle lasting that long, but would truly suck if they are high at the renewal time.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

wait.

WHAT?


all home mortages in canada have to be paid off in just 5 years!?!?!?!

no 15 or 30 year fixed mortgages that are standard in the US?

Amortization up to 30 years. Rates reset every 5 years in general. 10 yr terms are available. But rates aren't very competitive. So the most common terms are 3-5 yrs.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

All mortgages in Canada are 5 yr terms. Even worse, a massive chunk of them are variable rate (ARMs) because a lot of buyers have been conditioned to believe that variable mortgages are cheaper than 5 yr fixed terms. That has led to record indebtedness. Far higher than what the US had in 2007.

But beyond that, we're a country that has record immigration. Canada, with a population of 39M grew by. 865k last year. This would be like the US growing by 7M in a single year. This has created massive pressure on the housing market, social and health services, etc.


Some of all this is naturally correcting with higher interest rates. But that population growth is pressuring rents.

Canada is probably more the global norm. Most Americans don't realize how unusual it is to have a 30-year fixed term loan. The only way this is possible is because of the federal government.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Canada is probably more the global norm. Most Americans don't realize how unusual it is to have a 30-year fixed term loan. The only way this is possible is because of the federal government.

Absolutely. Actually our 5 yr terms are even ahead of a lot of Western Europe where 2-3 year terms are common. Just look at the current crash in Sweden where 1-2 year terms are common. Basically their entire housing market is rolling over to high rates in the next 6-8 months.

Americans have no idea how lucky they are to get 25-30 yr fixed mortgages.

[chris08876]

^^^

I agree. Sitting at a 2.7% 30 year!

(awaits for bomb to arrive in mailbox from folks with over 6%+)

It's just crazy how much rates have risen in the last two years. But that's, at least with the U.S., how homes can be bought for a solid deal. Let's say this, in an area with low taxes and a low interest rate, it starts to become feasible for many folks but the problem is location and timing. Sometimes not favorable and there is a bit of luck.

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by Wigs

Well known to you, Crawford. Willing to bet many on this forum have no idea this illegal discrimination practice takes place.

Oh it happens. In fact, if you get the right Real Estate agent, and your cool with them, they will tell you what areas to avoid or streets.

Not allowed of course but it happens. Rampant in fact. Discrimination in housing is huge. And it should be no suprise, why certain areas look the way they do. Oh... there is a bit of selective nature to folks.

Especially when it comes to Co-Ops, like in NYC. You better have a good job, have the right last name to get the building boards to let you be part of the membership. I don't think its right but telling the reality of the situation.

Also with single family homes, if the owners are present during the house visits, you can sure bet something is going down. Again, should be no suprise why some newcomers or neighborhoods look the way they do.

[JManc]

I don't know about other countries but I remember my parents had double digit interest rates in the 80's. I could not imagine paying 10% on a $500k house.

[pdxtex]

Portland real estate activity is kind of flat but our rental vacancy rate is the lowest in the country. Thats weird. I don't know who all these extra renters are. There is tons of apartment construction and the city lost population. Are people downsizing?

[TWAK]

Originally Posted by pdxtex

Portland real estate activity is kind of flat but our rental vacancy rate is the lowest in the country. Thats weird. I don't know who all these extra renters are. There is tons of apartment construction and the city lost population. Are people downsizing?

It's quite possible that the population actually increased, given the official census happened during COVID.
Or that there never was enough apartments in the first place. California needs about 1 million new units, whatever the heck a "unit" actually means (apartment, room, house?).

[mhays]

Portland appears to be the #10 lowest apartment vacancy rate per current CoStar data, with construction in the pretty-good category.

Markets with at least 150,000 units, with vacancy rate and units UC:
--New York: 2.5%, 26,854
--Orange Co.: 3.7%, 8,165
--San Diego: 3.7%, 6,793
--Los Angeles: 4.1%, 28,504
--Northern NJ: 4.3%, 16,694
--Inland Empire, CA: 4.9%, 6,406
--Miami: 4.9%, 27,967
--Boston: 5.1%, 17,135
--Philadelphia: 5.1%, 21,084
--Chicago: 5.4%, 17,345
--Portland: 5.5%, 10,973
--San Jose: 5.7%, 10,505
--Seattle: 6.5%, 27,376
--Columbus: 6.5%, 8,042
--Detroit: 6.7%, 5,165
--Baltimore: 6.7%, 3,579

Vacancies top out in the 9s...Atlanta, Las Vegas, Austin, Phoenix, Houston, and San Antonio (SA being highest).

[badrunner]

There's just something unsettling and dystopian about faceless corporations buying up thousands of SFHs. It's exploitative, it's un-American. This is why we're supposed to have a congress represented by the people, but they're too busy taking bribes and doing god-knows-what right now.

[Kngkyle]

.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by JManc

I don't know about other countries but I remember my parents had double digit interest rates in the 80's. I could not imagine paying 10% on a $500k house.

Houses didn't cost $500k when rates were double digits.

In fact those high rates helped them. They kept prices low and helped when saving up for a downpayment.

[chris08876]

Houses have been on a decline. Was just for shit and giggles checking RE prices in NJ and some places I know were 100k more a year ago have dropped. Every other weeks looks like a 10k price chop with some places.

Eventually will be a buyers market if things keep up.

Now this of course is good for cash buyers or those with very high down payments but the interest rates have helped.

All those idiots that spent 60-100k more for a house during the time of the plague... will come back to bite them. Bidding war nonsense.

[TWAK]

^For folks who didn't buy in California, unless there is another state where if you buy a house it will increase hella?

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Houses didn't cost $500k when rates were double digits.

In fact those high rates helped them. They kept prices low and helped when saving up for a downpayment.

My parent's place was 80k on a 12% interest rate....
REAGAN!