Chris Crawford wrote
>
> OMG that tiny little house is over $350,000 ?!?! In Fort Wayne it would be
> about $90,000. Housing prices were insane like that in Santa Fe and most
> people didn;t make enough to pay for them; I always wondered how they did
> it.
>
> I grew up in a house that is TWICE the size of the house you're buying and
> its only worth $150,000 and my parents house is in a very nice middle
> class neighborhood.
It's all relative.
Real estate prices in NZ rose 300%, YES 300%, from 2002 to 2008; due to
the crazy money that was available from banks and lenders. Due to that and
that people here need somewhere safe to invest their money. Financial
houses, stocks and shares, industry; everthing else here has proven to be
totally unsafe during the last 20 years. Inept management, corrupt
management, careless risk-taking - you name it. And this competition has
made it harder and harder for the person who wants a home to LIVE IN as
compared with somebody who wants it as an investment, to buy one. Plus,
Brits, 'Murricans and others come over here and settle with lots of $$$ in
their pockets and the locals don't have a chance.
Until the last week that is, when the Prime Minister announced that this Real
Estate caper is likely to be taxed for Capital Gains. Buying has faded away
already ....
After the financial crash they have come down a little but not much. I just
discovered that it was listed in Sept for something closer to $NZ 400,000
and didn't sell so they dropped the asking price.
Dollar conversions at the moment (from XE.ucc)
350 000 NZ = 246,027 USD
400 000 NZ = 281,287 USD
Two things stand in the way of us getting it:
a) that my bank will approve giving us bridging finance of $NZ 220,000.
(I have the remainder - just). Interest is 5.95% p.a.
b) that the sole prior offer to buy can or can not come up with their offer
(contracted) price in CASH within 3 days after our offer is approved by my
bank.
We should know a) tomorrow, and b) on Monday
I made an offer of 400,000, 30,000 over asking.
That house is much bigger than we need, long term, but has nearly all of the
features that were on my 'must have' list. I'll look again if the dam height
might be a problem. No concrete dam in NZ has given way yet AFAIK, but a
smaller earth dam did in the last 10 years due to the overflow failing to
cope..
There was no way I could get a house like that in Christchurch on a plot that
size (it's nearly 1/4 acre), for under $600,000 - $700,000NZ. But I'll miss my
city and friends and such :-( I've lived here 30 years. Nearly all 1/4
acre
plots in Chch have been subdivided for the capital gain ...
Relative ; the son of a friend ( the smiley friend in the pics) was paying in
New York $1,200 a month for a room ( bad memory here) 18 x 9 feet or
less. Then he lost his job ... He has just started a USA first; making
absinthe, until recently it was banned in the USA, but not now.
Cheers, Brian (not holding his breath - but you've got to have a go)
--
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