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Non U.S. Gaf. Does the housing market suck?

OmegaSupreme

advanced basic bitch
Rent is going up everywhere here. My rent has gone up two years in a row now. Houses are impossible to find for a reasonable price. If you do find one you have to pay more than the asking price often to get it. Housing didn't use to be this expensive. I'm not even talking about the "good old days" I'm taking about even 7 or 8 years ago. Maybe even more recent than that. What's is like in your corner of the world?
 

Mikey Jr.

Member
I live in Canada.

It is fucking BRUTAL.

With a capital B.

But the thing is, these houses are fucking selling. But to WHO!?!? Who is affording this shit? Banks are giving these people mortgages. And they are making the payments.

So I have no fucking clue whats going on behind the scenes. Must be a bunch of secret millionaires.
 

SJRB

Gold Member
I live in the Netherlands and it's a catastrophe. Literally impossible to buy as a starter, forced to rent. Housing prices are insane and even though they're somewhat declining, mortgage interest rates are spiking making it even more unappealing to actually buy. Good luck buying a house for 500,000 euros that was worth barely 200,000 euros just 10 years ago. Suck my dick.

Add to that the carbon "crisis" making the building of new houses borderline impossible and the entire system grinds to a halt.

It is unbelievable how fucked the housing market has become and fuck everyone responsible. I fucking hate them all with every fibre of my being.
 

OmegaSupreme

advanced basic bitch
I live in the Netherlands and it's a catastrophe. Literally impossible to buy as a starter, forced to rent. Housing prices are insane and even though they're somewhat declining, mortgage interest rates are spiking making it even more unappealing to actually buy. Good luck buying a house for 500,000 euros that was worth barely 200,000 euros just 10 years ago. Suck my dick.

Add to that the carbon "crisis" making the building of new houses borderline impossible and the entire system grinds to a halt.

It is unbelievable how fucked the housing market has become and fuck everyone responsible. I fucking hate them all with every fibre of my being.
Word. It's insane. My parents didn't buy their first house till they were in their 40's That's just because my dad was in the military. When he got out, they bought their first house for 50k. This wasn't ancient history. This was the 90's. I'd nearly kill to find a good house for 50k.
 

K' Dash

Member
Costa Rica here.

Building your own home is a lot cheaper than buying one, but everything construction related have not been this expensive ever.

I'm in the middle of building mine, I asked the bank $10K more than I needed, in the end will need that money to finish the house completely, I don't know what I would have done without that extra money.

There are already small apartments/homes of 50m2 or less being sold by ridiculous prices 99% of the population can't afford.
 
I think western countries should look into UBI (Universal Basic Income), with automation being a part of the future and more than certainly many jobs will be lost, also factoring in outsourcing of jobs, rising costs of living, etc. It's going to be a massive shitshow in the next few years. The housing market and insane rates of inflation is just the beginning.
 
It is, my condo doubled its value in the last 3 years but so did homes, which pisses me off since I was supposed to sell it and move. I'll probably keep it, rent it and buy a house with my girlfriend. The rent is also crazy, I'll actually make a big profit by renting it
 
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Zathalus

Member
I live in the Netherlands and it's a catastrophe. Literally impossible to buy as a starter, forced to rent. Housing prices are insane and even though they're somewhat declining, mortgage interest rates are spiking making it even more unappealing to actually buy. Good luck buying a house for 500,000 euros that was worth barely 200,000 euros just 10 years ago. Suck my dick.

Add to that the carbon "crisis" making the building of new houses borderline impossible and the entire system grinds to a halt.

It is unbelievable how fucked the housing market has become and fuck everyone responsible. I fucking hate them all with every fibre of my being.
Yeah I immigrated to the Netherlands last year and fuck me rent and buying here is insane.
 

Fbh

Member
This is selling for nearly $900k
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thefool

Member
According to eurostat, almost 70% of EU population lives in households they own, so the price surge has been in fact a massive wealth transfer to the population and a protection of their assets against inflation. Younger generations will also inherit these houses, so its not even a long-term problem.

Is it bad for younger populations that want to leave their parents houses early, single, and live a cosmopolitan life? Yeah, probably. I don't really care about these.

Is it bad for people who have no other option and don't have access to inter-generational wealth? Absolutely, and these people most likely need some help to not be left behind.
 

Lord Panda

The Sea is Always Right
Australia. People like to talk about the snakes, roided kangaroos, spiders, natural calamities, and so forth but the real horror is our housing market.

A recent survey indicated that 2/3rds of young people have given up on owning their own homes, and are just doing what they can to find a place to rent/live. Beyond fucked up.
 
I'm in the US, and as such, we ignore social conventions like not being addressed in the OP. Therefore, I wanted to add that my single-story ranch home w/2000 square feet has more than doubled in value since I bought it in 2015--and that's using the lowest estimates on Zillow and Redfin.

I honestly feel bad for people who want a house and can't afford one. All I had over them was maybe being a few years older. Doesn't seem fair, really.
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
Mexico here.

Border States are steeply priced with interest added. Cities like Tijuana suffer many of the same inflation spikes as the neighboring San Diego just over the border. However, rent is lower for most apartments in Tij.

I live in South Central and it's insane. Houses are way over a reasonable market level. Real Estate companies are struggling too as most opt out of buying and simply rent. There are some massive houses here that have been sitting empty with U.S. realtors such as Century21 for 5 + years. Rent is high down here too as we're in more of an elite city. Yeah, you can rent or buy a cinderbrick built by night house for ~$20KUSD. But those things will turn to dust if we get another large earthquake like the one in 2017. Average rent here is about 13% higher than border states/cities. So...there are many homeless. Or houses with 3 families packed in one sardine can.
 

Doczu

Member
Poland here, housing prices are highest ever, renting is out of the question as you will pay as much as if not a little more than mortgage. I checked.

Mortgage rates are around 8-10%, but the rates are variable so they can go up and down. My mortgage almost doubled last year, happy that we were reasonable and didn't overshoot.
 

Celcius

°Temp. member
I'm in the US but of course it's crazy here. I guess it's crazy worldwide too which feels odd.
Unfortunately I'm now shopping for a house so I'm sure there are depressing times ahead...
 

Ellery

Member
I'm in the US but of course it's crazy here. I guess it's crazy worldwide too which feels odd.
Unfortunately I'm now shopping for a house so I'm sure there are depressing times ahead...

It is not odd at all. Basically all of the world's central banks printed money in such a huge quantity that it flooded the system which we felt as inflation and to combat the inflation the central banks have to reduce the money supply again which means letting bonds mature and increasing interest rates. Look at all of the central banks (especially of the western countries).

And then there is also globalization for the past I have no idea how many years and the global markets are heavily interconnected so a huge money supply increase in the US would be felt in all countries since the US imports more goods and pays higher prices.
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
Obligatory "I'm in the USA, but...". Thankfully, I was able to buy my house here in early 2020 before the prices went sky-high. I love my house, but:
  • I'm never going to be able to move. Even though the value of my house has gone up about $250k since I bought it, everything else here has gone up much, much more. My only (last resort) type option for getting a different house is to relocate to a different part of the county (or a different country all together). Not going to happen, as that would mean leaving my kids behind. Speaking of...
  • My kids will never be able to afford a house of their own. They both have good full time jobs, and side hustles that pay decently. Even together, and with their partners (who also work), these four people would not be able to afford a 2-bedroom apartment here, let alone a house. They've given up on even trying, so I imagine they'll be living with me in this house until I die, and then it will become theirs.
  • The cost of everything else here (gas, groceries, utilities) has skyrocketed in recent years. My pay, like most people's pay, is stagnant. This means less and less money for fun things, and a return to living paycheck to paycheck despite making six figures and reaching the top of my field after nearly 30 years in my career.
I don't live anywhere crazy like LA either... this is a rural town.
 
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Lasha

Member
The insanity of my local rental market finally pushed me into buying a place. I had been renting for a decade because my lease cost less than a mortgage. Luckily I had been frugal. I treated the savings a bill to myself so I had the cash to stomach the 20% down payment without any issue (houses start at a mil here). Many of my friends did not and are getting raked.
 

Azzurri

Member
Get ready, if you have good credit here in the US get ready to pay 1% more to help higher risk borrowers.

Gotta love it!
 

Nankatsu

Gold Member
Portugal here - it's horrible.

Good luck trying to rent a house for a decent price.

And people who bought a house recently are pretty much fucked.

For example, I have a friend that bought one a couple of months back and got his rent bumped up 500€ more this month.
 
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NecrosaroIII

Ask me about my terrible takes on Star Trek characters
I live in Orange County, CA.

My rent for a 1 bedroom is 2400. It was 1900 when I moved in about 3 years ago. It's been steadily going up. If I were to rent a 1 bedroom now fresh I think they're starting at 2715 for my floor plan.

Houses in the area are fucked. My wife and I have been looking for condos. We're looking at the next town over because the area is probably 200k cheaper than the town we're in now. Studios there are starting in the 600k range. 2 bedroom houses are in the 900k, and they're not that nice TBH.
 
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Lasha

Member
Get ready, if you have good credit here in the US get ready to pay 1% more to help higher risk borrowers.

Gotta love it!

Fair since the risk of a FHA loan is being backed by the US government. A minor increase in mortgage insurance is pretty fair considering how much of the risk is being held by society. Good credit borrowers can get private mortgages and put 20% down to avoid mortgage insurance entirely.
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
Get ready, if you have good credit here in the US get ready to pay 1% more to help higher risk borrowers.

Gotta love it!
Gladly. See my reply above, about how my kids will never be able to move out and get a place of their own - a big part of this is that even if they're able to save up enough for a down payment, most banks would consider the mortgage risky because a) they're in their 20s, b) only have 6-7 years of work history, and more importantly c) their debt-to-income ratio would be way off because a mortgage would easily be 60% or more of their take home pay.

My parents' generation absolutely fucked me (and my kids) out of having any sort of long term financial security. No offense, but your comment sounds exactly like the type of bullshit I've heard them say for years. At some point we will have to fix this problem, and it's not going to get fixed if we all have the same "fuck you, I got mine" mindset that my parents had. It's going to either take reform, regulation, or revolution - but none of these things will even get off the ground if we all just keep perpetuating the status quo.
 

Batiman

Banned
Here in Canada it’s horrible right now. I’m thankful I was able to buy a place before the market turned to shit. There’s gonna be a lot of people living in their parents house for years. Maybe forever.
 

Atrus

Gold Member
I live in Canada, built a house for half-mil in 2012 and almost have it paid off so I feel somewhat free of this problem. Overall, Calgary is still cheap to live in.
 

Lasha

Member
Gladly. See my reply above, about how my kids will never be able to move out and get a place of their own - a big part of this is that even if they're able to save up enough for a down payment, most banks would consider the mortgage risky because a) they're in their 20s, b) only have 6-7 years of work history, and more importantly c) their debt-to-income ratio would be way off because a mortgage would easily be 60% or more of their take home pay.

My parents' generation absolutely fucked me (and my kids) out of having any sort of long term financial security. No offense, but your comment sounds exactly like the type of bullshit I've heard them say for years. At some point we will have to fix this problem, and it's not going to get fixed if we all have the same "fuck you, I got mine" mindset that my parents had. It's going to either take reform, regulation, or revolution - but none of these things will even get off the ground if we all just keep perpetuating the status quo.

The increase also only affects you if you are using an FHA loan which is a federally backed loan. Complaining about an increase in funding the system while using the same system.
 

AJUMP23

Member
Now that I know what countries you all our in, I’m coming for you, and I have a particular set of skills to accomplish what I want.
 

Gp1

Member
You guys are worried now?
Wait until the interest rates begin to fall...
 
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K' Dash

Member
I'm amazed you haven't mentioned the insane amount of insects coming out of the ass and how you have to deal with them. Costa Rica is essentially the world's encyclopaedia of insects and biodiversity.

It depends very much in the area where you live, I have zero problems with insects.
 

th4tguy

Member
I live in Canada.

It is fucking BRUTAL.

With a capital B.

But the thing is, these houses are fucking selling. But to WHO!?!? Who is affording this shit? Banks are giving these people mortgages. And they are making the payments.

So I have no fucking clue whats going on behind the scenes. Must be a bunch of secret millionaires.
In the US a lot of rental companies are buying the homes. They then rent them out to people like those complaining of high rent in this thread.
 

Mikey Jr.

Member
I live in Canada, built a house for half-mil in 2012 and almost have it paid off so I feel somewhat free of this problem. Overall, Calgary is still cheap to live in.

Thats my only option at this point to be honest.

GTA is a lost cause. And Canada is pretty much opening the floodgates to new immigrants. And you know sure as shit they ain't moving to Winnipeg.

So south Ontario is just gonna be super super fucked. 5 people living in a basement will be the norm. Fuck this.

Do you live in Calgary? I was looking at that or Edmonton.
 

Atrus

Gold Member
Thats my only option at this point to be honest.

GTA is a lost cause. And Canada is pretty much opening the floodgates to new immigrants. And you know sure as shit they ain't moving to Winnipeg.

So south Ontario is just gonna be super super fucked. 5 people living in a basement will be the norm. Fuck this.

Do you live in Calgary? I was looking at that or Edmonton.

Yes, lived here for a long while. Overall, Calgary is a bit more expensive than Edmonton but Calgary is better overall when it comes to amenities and things that make it a modern city. I could easily move to Edmonton for faster promotions since that’s where my HQ is for work but as a lot of Calgarians will say, that also means you’re in Edmonton.

There’s a stark rivalry between the cities and a lot of things are the same but Calgary demonstrably has more capital thrown at it both publicly and privately to the point we have more modern buildings and fewer seas of surface level parking.

Alberta has a lot of liveable options outside the two major cities as well but depending on your career they may not be as viable however definitely don’t overlook them.
 

Puscifer

Member
I bought houses in California and New York over the past 6 years and I have to say you aren't wrong, even with my good paying job (Cybersecurity) and making above low-6 figures (110K) I've realized there's no freaking way I'm leaving anywhere anymore, golden handcuffs from the interest rates mean that the fixer upper I brought up to great standards means that I can't afford to leave anywhere right now even if I hate it. Short of going to the DEEP DEEP country, buying a plot of land and a pre cut house with the sale of this property I have no idea what to do/where to go without bankrupting myself.

I'm worried about this, I can't even imagine what the average person is doing for themselves anymore.
 
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Celcius

°Temp. member
The crazy thing is that in 2020 people were saying just wait, next year things will get better. Then they said the same thing in 2021, and 2022, and now 2023. And it doesn't seem like the end is anywhere in sight - there just aren't enough houses period. If prices go down, people who have been priced out will jump in. If prices go up, people still buy them anyway. It's madness.
 

Mikey Jr.

Member
Yes, lived here for a long while. Overall, Calgary is a bit more expensive than Edmonton but Calgary is better overall when it comes to amenities and things that make it a modern city. I could easily move to Edmonton for faster promotions since that’s where my HQ is for work but as a lot of Calgarians will say, that also means you’re in Edmonton.

There’s a stark rivalry between the cities and a lot of things are the same but Calgary demonstrably has more capital thrown at it both publicly and privately to the point we have more modern buildings and fewer seas of surface level parking.

Alberta has a lot of liveable options outside the two major cities as well but depending on your career they may not be as viable however definitely don’t overlook them.

Haha, I was looking at Edmonton tbh. Specifically because houses were a bit cheaper. But yeah, the crime rate there kinda worries, especially for my wife. I can handle that shit. But I dont want her to deal with that. Not sure how big of a deal that is or just an exaggeration.

Thanks though. Not moving for a year anyways so I have time to research. Right now its all about saving for a down payment.
 

Sleepwalker

Member
I live in Canada.

It is fucking BRUTAL.

With a capital B.

But the thing is, these houses are fucking selling. But to WHO!?!? Who is affording this shit? Banks are giving these people mortgages. And they are making the payments.

So I have no fucking clue whats going on behind the scenes. Must be a bunch of secret millionaires.
Isn't it the chinese and asians (that live abroad) in general the people buying the canadian real estate? I've heard that repeated over and over but never bothered to check.
 

bitbydeath

Member
Australia. People like to talk about the snakes, roided kangaroos, spiders, natural calamities, and so forth but the real horror is our housing market.

A recent survey indicated that 2/3rds of young people have given up on owning their own homes, and are just doing what they can to find a place to rent/live. Beyond fucked up.
It’s been bad for a long time here (20 years maybe?), and only getting worse. Sounds like the rest of the world is just catching up.
 

Hoddi

Member
It seems to suck everywhere in the West. If I were to rent out my apartment then I'd probably be asking 2500-3000USD for it if I wanted to follow market prices.

I don't live in the US myself but I benefited greatly from the inflation that followed the banking crash of 2008. I don't know anything about US banking but if you can manage fixed interests and expect your wages to increase in the current inflation then now might be the right time to consider investing if you can. My mortgage seemed fairly steep at ~200k USD when I bought my apartment back in 2014 but the inflation increased my wages enough that I've managed to pay it off in just 9 years.
 
The housing market in the US is hilarious right now. Homes haven't budged from their pandemic pricing because no one is selling, and the whole market is also crashing because no one in their right mind is buying and paying the stupid interest rates right now. So no one's selling and no one's buying, it's like the market has just largely ceased to exist. Unless you are literally being forced to move because your job is making you relocate or something similarly involuntary, you are not going anywhere.
 
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