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Canadians Snap Up U.S. Properties

Rickson9

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[quote user="ThomasBeyer"]Is was indeed wise to buy US properties with a strong Can$ when US housing prices were very low, in 2009-2010.[/quote]

That's not what posters said at the beginning of this thread.

Reviewing this thread is educational. And entertaining. At least for me.

[quote user="ThomasBeyer"]The question now is, is it time to SELL US properties as a Canadian ? [/quote]

Only speaking for myself, I don't see any reason to sell.

[quote user="ThomasBeyer"]
Does it make more sense to invest Can$s today at 80, soon 75 cents US in the US which has already higher interest rates and higher income taxes ?[/quote]

Obviously my U.S. property portfolio generates USD. If I found an interesting U.S. property today, I wouldn't need to use the pathetic 77 cent Can$. At this point, when it comes to the U.S., I wouldn't need to use Can$ ever.

If you didn't buy dirt cheap U.S. property when the Can$ was at parity with the USD, you missed the boat. No excuses make any sense. It was a giant multi-year window.
 

Thomas Beyer

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[quote user="Rickson9"] It was a giant multi-year window. [/quote]

I get that. We own a large Texas based asset that has done very very well.

But past is past. The question TODAY is, as a Canadian, at 77 cents per Can $ does it make MORE sense to buy in the US ?
 

Rickson9

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[quote user="ThomasBeyer"]The question TODAY is, as a Canadian, at 77 cents per Can $ does it make MORE sense to buy in the US ?

[/quote]

Depends.

[quote user="ThomasBeyer"]
Given that Texas, for example, population-wise is as big as Canada...one cannot give a "US" or even TX or even Dallas
opinion
. It has to be far more specialized.

[/quote]
 

Thomas Beyer

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Th US will outperform Canada for the next few years due to low oil and our socialist debt driven federal policies. Anyone investing in the US the last 5-6 years should have done really really well .. and will continue to do well ..
 

Rickson9

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It was a good time. Until banks loosen up a bit more, I would imagine that it's a good time for U.S. private lenders that know their local market.
 

Rickson9

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This article reminded me of the beginning of this thread.

"The REIT, the largest in the country with market capitalization of $7.8 billion, made its move stateside in 2010 when the loonie was close to par with the U.S. dollar, one of the reasons along with a depressed U.S. real estate market that RioCan started looking for the acquisition."
http://business.financialpost.com/n...9-american-shopping-malls-to-blackstone-group

Reading the currency articles on page 10-11 of this thread... From parity to a 39% increase in CAD-terms on the value of USD-denominated real estate and USD-denominated rent. I think most investors of US property are surprised. If the CADUSD stays here, it will definitely be easier to get into a Canadian real estate market should an opportunity present itself.
 
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Rickson9

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U.S. Jobs Smashes Expectations
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-scores-big-with-292000-new-jobs-in-december-2016-01-08

Reading this thread brings back great memories. Here are some of my favourite posters in this thread:

http://myreinspace.com/members/redlinebrett.2206/
http://myreinspace.com/members/chrisdavies.3853/
http://myreinspace.com/members/gwasser.2159/
http://myreinspace.com/members/smitty.821/
http://myreinspace.com/members/wealthyboomer.4179/

I miss their contributions in this thread. I wish them all health and wealth!
 
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Thomas Beyer

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Yes the US was a great place to invest in 2009-2010 with can $ at par or better.

The question is of course is NOW with US $ at Can$1.40 and significantly higher real estate prices in almost every decent US city still a good, or better place to invest as a Canadian ?

And if so, which markets do you prefer ( and why ) and where do you see those values and the Can$ in 5 years or perhaps in ten ?
 

Rickson9

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US opportunity has been done for awhile. Lots of effort to find today what was available everywhere in 2010.

All wait and see. Doing nothing is something. Hoarding USD. Don't know where currencies or markets will be in the future. I'm not pessimistic/optimistic/realistic. I'm opportunistic. I will take any deal the market decides to give me.

Alberta market moving in the right direction. Double digit months of inventory for a median home would be a good time to start. Like this:

http://www.arizonaexperiencerealty.com/phoenix-area-months-of-inventory-october-2009/
 
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Rickson9

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Reflecting on US. In 2010 when C class sold for 3-4x gross, B class sold for 5-6x, and A sold for 7+ but rarely over 9x. Short sales and foreclosure everywhere.

2007 v 2010. 2/2 B class unit rented for $700/month or $8400/year. 2007 price for 2/2 was $174,000 or 20x gross. 2010 price was $40k or 5x gross. Few outside of US believed. But those who did (RioCan), spent as much as they could. Buying all day. But still too much inventory. Hedge funds came with blank cheques. Shoved individuals out. Too bad.

In US at 20x gross people were more 'comfortable'. Leveraged up. Line ups. Cross-border investment trips. Nobody cashed out at the top. Nobody leaves the party. Ever. At 5x gross everyone thrown out. Nobody wanted to buy. Couldn't give away property. People are strange.

Know Canadians who are paying 20x gross. Maybe more? Leveraged up. Line up to buy. Want to say they own X doors or $X million in real estate. Good luck to them.
 
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Rickson9

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I enjoy watching Million Dollar Listing and recently and saw an episode where an investor disclosed to the realtor that his top line was "$6k per month in rent for every $1m in price". This investor was buying homes that typically rent for $30k/mo and up. In this particular scene the investor was telling the realtor that his best-and-final for this property was $5m. What I found most interesting is that this amount of rent was had for $1.8m only half a decade earlier. Obviously I'm ignoring property type here, but putting that aside for now, and considering that the episode was likely filmed in 2014, it's interesting how far gross yields have fallen since the U.S. real estate implosion
 
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Matt Crowley

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Really solid in-depth report on US real estate markets from ULI and PWC (Source: http://uli.org/wp-content/uploads/U...Real-Estate-United-States-and-Canada-2016.pdf)

US_mkts.png
 

Rickson9

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Opportunities aplenty in a huge market with a1% population growth and huge oil production, now #1 in the world ahead of Russia and Saudi Arabia .. Beats socialist, union-friendly and debt ridden BC, Ontario or Quebec .. But not AB or SK for investing in many sub-markets .. We have done very well in the Dallas area but there are many other areas with enormous upside

What huge market was this?
 
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