QUOTE (EdRenkema @ Mar 6 2009, 05:04 AM)
Currency devaluation is exactly what inflation is to my knowledge.
With the amount of liquidity that will be injected by the US gov't there will be currency devaluation = inflation.
indeed .. PLUS the previous post:
QUOTE
Maybe some more money under the mattress is in order!!!!
indeed .. more cash as a reserve is required in bad times .. plus more cash-to-close is required.
W-Canada and Alberta is doing far better than other parts of the world .. yes we have a recession too .. and yes, it is not over ..
and yes, you should not buy overpriced homes that are not designed as a long term rental houses, i.e. you should buy a cheap house that has a higher probability to be rented than one for $400,000. Any house over approx. $350,000 is not an investment for real estate holding. It is purely speculative .. did Don and REIN not point this out ?
Real estate, much like the stock market, is not a 1-2 year investment either. It is a 5+ year investment .. better 10 years. Did Don + REIN not preach that numerous times ?
We were all just fooled by the 1995 to 2007 up up up curve which of course has to correct ! Who told you 2008 is higher ? Who told you 2009 will be higher ?
2020 will be higher .. I am convinced .. but 2010, 2001 will likely still be lower than 2007 .. 2012 or 2013 will likely be at par with 2007 again .. more or less .. so a 6 year peak-to-peak adjustment .. if you can't hold that long then you bought the wrong property ..
see here a Calgary 50 Year house price view:
http://myreinspace.com/rein_members_only/Members-Only_Discussion/81-6621-50_Year_Calgary_House_Price_View.html
Perhaps you heard only what you wanted to hear .. namely "up" .. what you may not have heard .. but what was said was "it will take time" .. "it is not a straight line" .. "look at fundamentals" .. "think long term" .. "don't over pay" .. "use a 10% .. and later an 8-9% filter" .. "many homes are too expensive to be rental properties for a 5+ year hold" .. "it is harder in big cities .. not impossible .. but harder" .. "treat it as a business" .. "it is not easy .. it is hard work" .. "don't flip" .. "be a smart landlord" .. "have some reserves" .. "buy in growth markets" .. "do your due diligence" .. "do not buy in too small a town with one industry only" .. "use our systems such as: gold mine score card, pro-active landlording techniques ..." ..
I can guarantee you that
a) $s under the mattress will erode in value
b) any hard asset, such as gold, oil and real estate in inflationary times will go up in value
c) we will have tenants next year, 5 years and 50 years from now
d) we have loads of kids of baby boomers (echo boomers) in the late teen's to late 20's renting as it makes more sense due to mobility, lower cost/month than buying and lack of guaranteed/speculative equity gains
e) we will have cheap money for many years to stimulate the economies worldwide
f) there are bargains to be had now and next year
g) not all real estate makes a great investment (such as higher priced homes, retail, raw land, vacation condos ..) with cash-flow and equity upside .. and certainly not at every price .. hence REIN's focus on older/used smaller homes in growth locations, with long-term cash-flow and equity upside
h) some parts of the world with in-migration, natural resources, low debt and stable governments make a better investment location than others (W-Canada, for example .. some US, E-Canada, Asian and S-America pockets too)
i) 6 years from now you will say "I am such a fool .. I should have bought some real estate in 2009"