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Originally posted by febpreet

BP,

I am not looking to invest and risk, but need to upgrade for a house and place to live for a long period (barring any contingencies, i.e. job loss, etc.) of time. Sort of permanent home right through into my retirement.

For investment, I agree with you though - US is a better choice.

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Feb: if you buying for you own use then don't think too much ... anyday buying house is always worth than renting it

- Just buy in the area where you think you like to spend your future - I'm firm believer that buying house for your own can not be considered as investment - just go for it and buy it based on your needs and budget .

House is hidden saving account - which we will realize after keeping it for long time...

If budget permit Don't go for freehold/condo - go with with 3-4 bedroom decent family house ( in your prefer area - don't worry about paying little extra for good area and security)

NOW WHY FAMILY HOUSE ?? - STAY IN IT TILL YOU RETIRED - YOU WILL PAY OFF HOUSE BY the time YOU GET TO RETIREMENT AGE - Then downgrade to CONDO ( YOU WILL HAVE EXTRA MONEY LEFT by selling your house that profit will be your secure saving at that time )

dont worry about bubble and crap - cause if house bubbles means economy is also fucked up , everyone is fucked up, SO WHY WORRY ??

owning house is hidden secure saving account which will definitely help you in old age...

For investment purpose is different breed which i consider it all based on your risk level. - but definitely not CANADA

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Originally posted by febpreet

On a side note, do the experts on this forum know the state of Canada's Real Estate (GTA and Metro Van) in the coming few months? I am on a verge of buying a house. Also, with all the News of Chinese Stock Market and Greece crisis that don't sound too promising. TD and Bank of America already echoed that we are in recession.

What do you think? is it a good time to jump on a bandwagon? I am not planning to sell it for the next 10-15 years, unless in case of any contingency. Also, for a comfortable cushion, I am going all the way and paying a decent amount as a down payment in order to keep the mortgage below 500k. Just want some expert opinions. Of-course, the end decision will be mine. I goofed up once, and need to tread really cautiously this time.

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Ten years before "the handover" or 'the return' was to take place in Hong Kong, there was a lot of uncertainty that existed there and people from Hong Kong were looking for safe havens. U.S. was a very difficult place to get into and so Canada became the 'Silk Route'. People were selling their little cubby holes for Quarter of a Million Dollars and of course Canada will let anyone with that kind of money to get in, like the royalty. With that came all of the 'Hunt for Homes' by the RE agents here.

You don't read Chinese, Cantonese or the Mandarin and would not know the sales pitch these agents were promoting, as a few of them were taken on a guided BUS tour of Vancouver with description of those properties that were on the market then, with a price list and pictures and they were vine and dined and pampered in B.C., like no one has ever been done before. That was the start of the R.E.Market's precipitous climb in Vancouver and the suburbs.

There were plane loads arriving with prospective buyers and they had half a dozen tours each day, with bus loads of arrivals, viewing these properties all over Vancouver, there. Then the flipping started. For every flip you can easily add 10% plus the Broker's take. Added to that, currently the very low interest rates fueled the take off to the skies. Then entered the scarcity of good properties in the rich neighborhoods, because it permitted them to rub their shoulders and they hailed from the same neighborhoods and of course they had the 'Chaddi Dosthi' to reminisce with. That is where you are now and you have been seeing this all along till some one points it out to you.

Starting with the loss of jobs in Microsoft now, and the Oil patch drying up, you will think that people would sell and down size themselves, don't you? Well it takes time to sink in. Take a look at the sinking feeling the Albertans and Saskie's have today and ask yourself a question here in Ontario? That is the way the ball bounces and as one Politician said, the budget balances itself. WOW! How can I balance my budget? In a single income family, it becomes tough to imagine where it is heading. Based upon these factors I will think twice before I venture into anything that calls for investment decisions and high finance. Hope all of us can maintain a status quo and move on from here till everything pans out. This is for those who want to venture into a territory and move into some thing big.

About THREE Trillions have been wiped out in the last week or ten days in the stock market all over the world, and all THREE Trillions there are out of China. We haven't seen nothing yet.The Corporations and the Governments have been Fking their own population to manage their life styles and the Reserve Bank cuts a quarter, you only get half of that trickling down into the Prime. Looks like there is a priest in between you and the God. Why is it that we never see the highway to the heavens? The Petroleum Corporations, the Banks, The taxman and the Governments all want their share first. Then comes you. That leaves you in a very high position, but DRY. Hey, this is Democracy, not Communism for God's sake.

As long as we all can hold our heads up and balance our books, we will be in lala land. That will also help all the cogs greased up in the Financial world. But when the job markets hit the skids, the people who tighten up their wallets will spend a lot less. That is called CONSUMER CONFIDENCE, the big box stores, the builders, the turnover of cash at the big Banks and the index that the Government and the Statscan watches, which is the MFI Index (Money Flow Index) speaks volumes to those who monitor them. These are the hiccups that they want to avoid. All of what I am telling you is the summation of the tiny bits that each one contributes or holds back each and every day and it all shows as the down trend every where.

That does not mean that everything 'tanks'. The guys at the lower and the middle end gets left behind but the ones that are at the higher end, whether it be in a job or owning a property has better means to swing things in their favour, because the deck has been stacked and rigged that way. Those at the high end will always come up winning. As they say "The cream always floats to the top"!

Just for your information there are only 1% of people who are rich here in Canada. They make well above $160,000/annum. And, as I write this their salaries have doubled in the past Three Years. Do you hear me, if you do, then please place yourself where you really ought to fit in. Then make your decisions based upon your status in the society.

That is called a position you hold. And always hold that status, it should not matter which way the world turns the next morning. That is happiness.

FH.

The Canadian Economy is just on the border line as I write this. They say we might hit a 1.5% rise in our GDP at the end of 2015, compared to what it was last year. Looks like we have a long way to go. fh.