Quote: (04-07-2014 06:17 PM)cardguy Wrote:
We are living in very weird times at the moment. For instance - I don't think London's property bubble can last much longer. And it will be very interesting to see what happens when house prices crash.
I know that rich Russians and Arabs are buying up streets in London and leaving them empty. So - it may seem that prices will continue to rise forever - as more and more rich foreigners stash their wealth by buying up houses in London. But the thing about any bubble - is that there is always some reason why "this time it is different". And it never is - all bubbles end the same way.
At the same time - across the rest of the country - average house prices are shooting ahead of average wages - and as such, owning your own house, is becoming an unachievable dream for many people.
And on top of this - you have the politicians and the media (ie rich middle class types already on the property ladder) praying that the property boom continues forever.
On top of all this - you have old fashioned writers like Henry George and modern writers like Fred Harrison who analyse the economics surrounding housing and land - and come to startling conclusions about the nature of power in the modern world. And who is really profiting from the gains produced by economic progress.
Well, here in New York City, it has become more difficult to buy property in particular. Overseas Chinese, Russians, and people from the Middle East are showing up at real estate sales and outbidding people who actually live here, and they pay in cash, up front. Then they rent it out to the people who work here and make a profit over the long run.
It used to be that your landlord was someone whom you knew and saw on a daily basis. Now, he lives overseas, or is never around. Try getting him to fix your broken radiator.
New York has become much safer in the past 20 years, which has led to an increase in demand for property as this world city has become much more livable. The wealthy send their kids to private schools (latchkey kids) while their parents are away.
I wasn't here when this city was more dangerous but cheaper - maybe it was better. I don't know. What I do know is that I, an educated, safe, hard-working and intelligent young bloke, will find it really difficult to buy a house in even a neighborhood that's half an hour from downtown (Manhattan).
That said, this city is full of beautiful women who are pretty easy to game once you know your way around.