Toronto’s Epic Housing Bubble Turns to Bust: Prices of detached houses plunge C$207,000 from a year ago as sales collapse.

Toronto’s Epic Housing Bubble Turns to Bust:

Prices of detached houses plunge C$207,000 from a year ago as sales collapse.

After having ballooned for 18 years with barely a dip during the Financial Crisis, Toronto’s housing market, Canada’s largest, and among the most inflated in the world, is heading south with a vengeance, both in terms of sales volume and prices, particularly at the high end.

Home sales in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) plunged 39.5% in March compared to a year ago, to 7,228 homes, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), the local real estate lobbying group. This was spread across all types of homes, even the formerly red-hot condo sector:

  • Detached houses -46.3%
  • Semi-detached houses -30.6%
  • Townhouses -34.2%
  • Condos -32.7%.

While new listings of homes for sale fell 12.4% year-over-year, at 14,866, they’d surged 41% from the prior month, and added to the listings of homes already on the market. The total number of active listings – new listings plus the listings from prior months that hadn’t sold or been pulled without having sold – more than doubled year-over-year to 15,971 homes, and were up 20% from February.

Read moreToronto’s Epic Housing Bubble Turns to Bust: Prices of detached houses plunge C$207,000 from a year ago as sales collapse.

London House Prices Falling Sharply – UK’s Much Needed Wake-Up Call

London House Prices Falling Sharply – UK’s Much Needed Wake-Up Call:

– London house prices falling at fastest pace since 2009
– Values fell by 2.6% in year through January
– London house prices likely to be weakest in UK over next five years 
– Inflated prices make London property more exposed to economic and political shocks
– Worries over house prices are having a knock-on effect in wider economy
– Physical gold to act as much needed hedge against falling property prices

A new study by Acadata as covered by Bloomberg has found house prices in London are falling at their fastest pace since 2009. In the year through to January, London house prices have fallen by 2.6%. In the Greater London area they are down 0.8% in the last month alone.

Excluding London and the South West, annual house prices for the UK grew 2.5%. For estate agents this is a sign that the market is moving to meet the demands of buyers. For outsiders it may well look like the calm before the storm.

London feeling the pinch

Source: ONS

London is the capital of the UK and has experienced significantly higher inflation than other areas when it comes to property prices. This means it is bound to be more vulnerable to both political and economic factors. But, these same factors will still apply to areas outside of London, the ripples just haven’t spread that far.

Demand in London has been dampened initially thanks to increased stamp duty, a tax change for landlords and loan limits in Singapore. But it is increased interest rates and the Brexit-effect that are having the greatest impact and will continue to do so over the long-run. This is particularly the case for Brexit, for as long as the outcome remains uncertain.

The UK’s obsession with house prices puts home owners in jeopardy when it comes to changes in both monetary and political. They are extremely exposed to the housing market which was worth a record £6.8trillion (3.7 times more than the country’s GDP) at the start of 2017. In 2001, the housing stock was worth just 1.6 times more than GDP.

Whilst the house price crunch is reportedly only happening in London and the outskirts, in the UK the repercussions are being felt everywhere. A report by Visa has found that last month consumer spending, fell for the ninth month in the last 10. This suggests that Brits are worried about a collapse in house prices.

We’re very proud of our house values here in the UK. There comes a huge ‘wealth effect’ from owning property; as property values rise so does spending and ultimately GDP. The impact of a declining wealth effect could be disastrous for the economy.

This seems strange given an increase in house prices is really quite meaningless when one thinks about it. You might be overjoyed that your family house has gone up 300% but what can you do about it? Increase the mortgage? Ok, so now you’re in more debt. Sell the house? Ok, but where will you live that hasn’t experienced a similar climb?

This is the myth that so many Brits fall for. The London data and spending figures suggests that soon many will be waking up to the scam they’ve all fallen for, realising the ‘wealth effect’ means very little when a major economic downturn is on its way.

The house price myth

Britons have been sold a big bottle of snake oil when it comes to property markets. Unlike our European contemporaries we are brought up from a very early age that owning our own home is a badge of honour, the seal of adulthood if you will.

This hasn’t always been the case. At the turn of the 20th Century just 23% of Brits owned their own home, fast forward over one hundred years and only 35% of us rent. This is in significant contrast to the likes of France where rental conditions mean many do not feel the need to do a deal with the devil that is a life time of debt.  It is not surprising then to learn that Britons are amongst the most indebted in Europe, so sure are we that agreeing to many hundreds of thousands of pounds in debt is the right thing to do.

We are, according to Wolf Richter, the eighth most indebted country in the world when it comes to household debt. As Richter points out, all of those in the top ten are ‘The countries with highly indebted households, so the top of the list, are mostly countries were central-bank policy rates are very low or even negative, and where mortgage rates are super low.’

A 2017 report by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research found that our obsession with owning our own property is costing us our future wealth security. It concluded that mortgage holders should expect their private pension income to be around 15% per year lower than it should be.

Given the increase in housing stock value relative to GDP it is clear the reliance the British economy and public have on the property market. The wealth effect generated from higher house prices is something that is pumped up by politicians, incredibly irresponsibly.

The fall in London house prices is likely a warning shot before prices begin to fall elsewhere. Policy makers and the government should pay close attention. This will prove to be a lesson in how pumped up asset prices and low interest rates are no way to support a growing economy.

How can you hedge your own home?

Reading this is should do more than just provide you with good fodder for the next dinner party conversation. It should be making you realise how exposed the British economy is to falling house prices.

A fall in prices does not just mean that property is finally affordable. It means thousands of people will face negative equity, industries such as home builders will collapse and consumer spending will fall. All this against a backdrop of increased interest rates, rising inflation and uncertainty over Brexit.

Usually one might consider selling a depreciating asset but that’s impossible when it’s your home. And don’t think you’re in the clear if you rent or have other arrangements. Exposure to a potential property crisis does not just come about if you own or rent a property.

All investors, savers and consumers are exposed, as we all have dependencies on the UK banking, financial and economic systems. All of which will be vulnerable as prices fall.

Luckily, gold will likely act as a hedge against falling asset prices. It’s lack of correlation to other assets and counter cyclical nature, should see it again act as a good hedge in a downturn or indeed a much-dreaded property crash.

This won’t happen tomorrow, so you have time to diversify and decide on a reasonable allocation to gold bullion. When choosing to invest in bullion choose to own physical gold coins and bars held in allocated and segregated storage in safer, less economically uncertain jurisdictions. The tax treatment of different types of gold investment should also be considered as certain formats can be capital gains tax (CGT) free, making them much more attractive to companies, investors and pension owners.

H/t reader squodgy:

“Reality check or a sign of something we predicted?”

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Rothschilds Sell Austrian Hunting Estate (5,400 Hectares) in a ‘Historic’ Deal

All those speculations why those Rothschilds have sold their hunting estate are, in my opinion, just that… speculations.

However, this is important news!

See more information down below the following article.

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A hunting lodge sits on Langau Hunting Estate in Gaming, Austria

Rothschilds Sell Austrian Hunting Estate in a ‘Historic’ Deal:

The Rothschild family sold an Austrian forestry- and hunting estate including a stately lodge and power plants in what the broker called a “historic transaction” in continental Europe.

At 5,400 hectares (13,000 acres), the grounds about two hours west of Vienna are 16 times as big as New York’s Central Park. They were sold by Rothschild heirs Nancy Clarice Tilghman and Geoffrey R. Hoguet, real estate broker Klaus Bischof said in an interview.


The Langau Hunting Estate in Gaming

“This type of transaction happens once in a century in a family like the Rothschilds,” he said. “We saw big interest from entrepreneurs from Germany, Switzerland and Austria.”

The owners, both living in the U.S., decided to sell the Langau Estate near the town of Gaming to the Austrian Prinzhorn family because the buyers promised to keep and develop the forestry in the Lower Austria province. The family of entrepreneurs Cord and Thomas Prinzhorn has a net worth of 1.1 billion euros ($1.37 billion), according to 2016 estimates by Austria’s Trend magazine. 

Read moreRothschilds Sell Austrian Hunting Estate (5,400 Hectares) in a ‘Historic’ Deal

Mieten-Explosion wegen Grundsteuerreform – Immobilieneigentümern droht 30-fache Grundsteuer-Erhöhung

Mieten-Explosion wegen Grundsteuerreform

Neue Formel: Immobilieneigentümern droht 30-fache Grundsteuer-Erhöhung:

Der Eigentümerverband Haus & Grund warnt vor erheblichen Belastungen für Hausbesitzer und Mieter durch die geplante Grundsteuerreform und fordert die Bundesregierung auf, die Reform zu stoppen.

Wie FOCUS berichtet, hat der Verband für 500 Immobilien in verschiedenen Städten die Grundsteuer nach der neuen Formel berechnet und eine Erhöhung um durchschnittlich das 30-fache ermittelt. In Einzelfällen müssten Eigentümer sogar eine Erhöhung um das 50-fache des jetzigen Betrags hinnehmen.

Der Präsident von Haus & Grund, Kai Warnecke, forderte angesichts der Berechnungen gegenüber FOCUS, die neue Bundesregierung müsse „die Pläne der Länder stoppen. Der Staat darf die Kosten des Wohnens nicht weiter in die Höhe treiben.“

Read moreMieten-Explosion wegen Grundsteuerreform – Immobilieneigentümern droht 30-fache Grundsteuer-Erhöhung

What Bubble? Silicon Valley Homes Going For Nearly $2 Million Over Asking Price

What Bubble? Silicon Valley Homes Going For Nearly $2 Million Over Asking Price:

“Another home on Anacapa Drive in the Los Altos hills listed for $2.8 million, but sold for $4.5 million. That is $1.67 million over asking.  Finally, there is this home on University Avenue in Los Altos that listed at $7.9 million, but sold for $1.8 million over asking.”

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Saudi Crown Prince Is Mystery Buyer Of “Most Expensive Home Ever Sold”

And it will turn out to be one of the worst investments ever…

The Prophecies Of Alois Irlmaier – The Roadmap To WW3 – The 3 Days Of Darkness (Worse Than WW3)

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Saudi Crown Prince Is Mystery Buyer Of “Most Expensive Home Ever Sold”:

Austerity at home, opulence abroad…

That appears to be the House of Saud’s new motto in an era when Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman has successfully consolidated power, ensuring his Saudi Vision 2030 plan to diversify the kingdom’s energy-dependent economy will proceed unchallenged.

But while the kingdom was cutting back on gas subsidies, government jobs, and other components of the state’s largesse – one of the KSA’s most valuable tools in preventing domestic unrest that could lead restive elements in Saudi society to challenge the King’s authority – MbS was purchasing the world’s most expensive home.

According to the New York Times, when it was purchased for $300 million two years ago, the Chateau Louis XIV, a mansion located just outside Paris, was billed as the most expensive home ever sold.

Here’s how Town & Country described it at the time of the sale.

Read moreSaudi Crown Prince Is Mystery Buyer Of “Most Expensive Home Ever Sold”

China’s Government Is Expected To Buy 24% Of All Residential Real Estate For Sale In 2017

China’s Government Is Expected To Buy 24% Of All Residential Real Estate For Sale In 2017:

Of all the residential floor space sold in China last year, 18% was purchased by the government. The share could reach 24% this year – an unprecedented government bailout scheme – which is taking place even as Chinese property sales posted their first decline since March 2015.

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Bitcoin: Now Accepted As Down Payment For UK Houses

If I would own real estate in London, or even live there, I would sell everything immediately and leave.

London is destined to be destroyed during WW3 and during the ‘3 Days of Darkness’.

Also I would not want to live there after the coming financial collapse and civil war.

Bitcoin: Now Accepted As Down Payment For UK Houses: 

A UK co-living company has announced that it will begin accepting down payments made in bitcoin, according to CoinTelegraph, making it that much easier for traders hooked on effortless, outstanding returns to speculate in another bubble-prone market: UK housing.

Co-living pioneer The Collective announced the decision on Tuesday, saying it’s the first developer that will accept payments in cryptocurrency. The company added that it’s exploring how to accept rental payments in bitcoin, which it hopes to implement later in the year. It said that its decision to accept bitcoin was related to demand from international clients.

The company has pledged to perform a “spot conversion” of users’ deposits – a fancy way of saying it intends to hedge its position – so that it bears any financial risk while holding the deposit.

Read moreBitcoin: Now Accepted As Down Payment For UK Houses

Southern California Median Home Price Doubles In Five Years

Southern California Median Home Price Doubles In Five Years:

The US government likes to pretend that the rising cost of living is under control. People in Southern California know better. According to a new report in the Los Angeles Times, median house prices in Southern California have doubled in the last five years.

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For sale: Luxury Shard apartments representing everything wrong with world

For sale: Luxury Shard apartments representing everything wrong with world:

THIS is your chance to live in a massive steel penis like something out of a depressing science fiction film.

Following a lack of popular demand, we are proud to re-offer these soulless megaluxe dwellings that would suit truly the worst people on earth.

Read moreFor sale: Luxury Shard apartments representing everything wrong with world

Tenants shun Shard – leaving Europe’s first vertical city up in the air

Tenants shun Shard – leaving Europe’s first vertical city up in the air: 

London skyline’s £1.5bn addition remains all but empty year on from opening, with flats designed to pull in super-rich unsold

Soaring 310 metres (1,016ft) high and with 72 storeys, everything about the Shard is dramatic.

The London Bridge skyscraper – the capital’s newest landmark, with views stretching 40 miles and which is visible to drivers crawling around the M25 – bills itself as “Europe’s first vertical city”.c

H/t reader squodgy.

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