Financial rant!!

[DCCougar]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

Seems no-one wants money at present.
Is there a parallel in the USA? Canada? Australia?

Yeah, money's cheap. Interest rates are at historic lows. I wish someone would take that into account and buy my house that's on the market.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by DCCougar

Yeah, money's cheap. Interest rates are at historic lows. I wish someone would take that into account and buy my house that's on the market.

Here, houses are going so fast (at all prices)you would think we lived in paradise. We live in a nice neighborhood with prices in the $225 to $275K range. Nothing offered for sale has remained on the market for more than a week and some sold in a day or two. Where I live is a small midwestern town with nothing extraordinary going on. Maybe that’s why.

[AX17609]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

Here, houses are going so fast (at all prices)you would think we lived in paradise. We live in a nice neighborhood with prices in the $225 to $275K range. Nothing offered for sale has remained on the market for more than a week and some sold in a day or two. Where I live is a small midwestern town with nothing extraordinary going on. Maybe that’s why.

Suburban DC...same deal here, even houses with ridiculous price tags. I get the feeling people are taking advantage of low rates to exit the city.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by AX17609

Suburban DC...same deal here, even houses with ridiculous price tags. I get the feeling people are taking advantage of low rates to exit the city.

I get the feeling you are correct. City living has become unbearable in many instances and for a wealth of reasons we cannot discuss on the forum. Personally, I wouldn’t live in any large city but then I’m old and cynical.
‘Nuff said.

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

I get the feeling you are correct. City living has become unbearable in many instances and for a wealth of reasons we cannot discuss on the forum. Personally, I wouldn’t live in any large city but then I’m old and cynical.
‘Nuff said.

Where we are people are moving to the city and I don't think there's anything controversial about discussing it. I know overall people move to or towards cities but same here where we are un upper Midwest. There are two clear patterns in my area. Work opportunity is a major factor but so is many realizing how bad sprawl is. Realizing the quality of life and even health issues with commute time.

More scary than any crime is all the recent listings within a few blocks of us have been just under $500,000 - near $600,000 and that's a lot of money for upper Midwest USA. There's a clear trend where some know crime is similar in the region and commuting is horrible. What you get for a $8000+ property tax bill is way more luxurious, good for the soul or first class than what the airlines or car dealers offer. Way old fashioned neighborly is part of why people move here instead of out.

The only down side that really stands out for being inside the ring that defines our metro area is we have two stall garage where the McMansions in Sprawlsville would have 3. The houses with real wood and stone plus mature yards need more care.

[fumei]

Originally Posted by Kerbie

Wow... 13.75%. That was a 30-year treasury bond. The bills have shorter durations. That's excellent timing... they topped out in that era around 14.5%, so you were sitting pretty for years and smiling all the way to the bank.

My girlfriend at the time (1985) convinced me to buy Canada Savings Bonds. The interest rate was 17%. Years later when I cashed it in at maturity the tellers jaw dropped at what I was getting.

But there is a down side to high interest rates. I went to New Zealand in 1986 to photograph Comet Halley. Talking to people there the interest rate of 22% (!!!!) had different effects. Older people who thought of investments were happy, but business people were bad hurt. Most businesses need some borrowing to function. That 22% was killing them.

[Kerbie]

Originally Posted by fumei

But there is a down side to high interest rates. I went to New Zealand in 1986 to photograph Comet Halley. Talking to people there the interest rate of 22% (!!!!) had different effects. Older people who thought of investments were happy, but business people were bad hurt. Most businesses need some borrowing to function. That 22% was killing them.

Absolutely. There is an undeniable relationship between interest rates and inflation. There is a little good and a little bad in both.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by imwjl

Where we are people are moving to the city and I don't think there's anything controversial about discussing it. I know overall people move to or towards cities but same here where we are un upper Midwest. There are two clear patterns in my area. Work opportunity is a major factor but so is many realizing how bad sprawl is. Realizing the quality of life and even health issues with commute time.

More scary than any crime is all the recent listings within a few blocks of us have been just under $500,000 - near $600,000 and that's a lot of money for upper Midwest USA. There's a clear trend where some know crime is similar in the region and commuting is horrible. What you get for a $8000+ property tax bill is way more luxurious, good for the soul or first class than what the airlines or car dealers offer. Way old fashioned neighborly is part of why people move here instead of out.

The only down side that really stands out for being inside the ring that defines our metro area is we have two stall garage where the McMansions in Sprawlsville would have 3. The houses with real wood and stone plus mature yards need more care.

It would be interesting to know what city you are referring to.
I don’t think too many people are moving to Detroit...could be wrong.
Where we are, we can partake of five good-sized cities benefits and get there in an hour or less. We don’t live in a sprawl.
Some of those folks can’t get into their city jobs from the sprawl any faster than we can from the hinterland because of traffic.
We are minutes from the Interstate and once you’re on that ...zoom,zoom!

[Mr. Jelly]

Originally Posted by fumei

But there is a down side to high interest rates.

Very true. In the late seventies and early eighties it helped me allot. I was working under a contract that was created when no one imagined inflation. So raises where connected to inflation and they kept going up and up. My house payment and my car payment didn't, so we got ahead on things. I had a FHA loan on my house at a fair interest rate and made a deal with a realter where he took over the loan so that he could sell the house on contract and charge higher interest. I got his services of buying and selling house free. There are opportunities in the cracks. I can't find any in todays circumstances though.