What about 40 oz gold for an apartment in Germany? The UK listed bank has agreed to sell its huge portfolio of apartments in north and eastern Germany to a local real estate firm. Who knew its property empire was so extensive? Well there are around 23,500 flats and the provisional value is 1.2bn, making them worth a bargain 51,000 each, roughly. If that seems low, it must be taken into account that Germany has a surplus of homes and a declining and ageing population, especially in the eastern half of the country. Though that begs the question, what was Barclays doing with them on its books in the first place.
I suppose that the "better parts of country" cost more - 40oz is the averaged price across the portfolio. Still - wouldn't mind owning a RE in Germany. Would be a good alternate location. Problem is I don't know Arabic good enough.. or is it Turkish that I need to learn ?
should you be plotting this as a line graph ? so that it is easier to see ups and down (or trend ?) just a thought
Since I started this Grand Adventure of Stacking three or so months ago I've noticed that my thought process has changed a bit. Now, instead of thinking in $, I think in ounces. As in, "damn, the wife wants dinner out AGAIN?" That's going to cost me a couple ounces... But I love her and so far she puts up with my new found addiction, so all is good.
[imgz=http://forums.silverstackers.com/uploads/554_assets-pms-jul2012.jpg][/imgz] [imgz=http://forums.silverstackers.com/uploads/554_assets-pms-jul2012-gold_vs_re.jpg][/imgz] [imgz=http://forums.silverstackers.com/uploads/554_assets-pms-jul2012-silver_vs_consumables.jpg][/imgz] As per request above I put some (most interesting?) numbers on charts. I'm doing it for 18 months or thereabouts - can't say I see any macro trends yet. RE gone down tiny bit and stays mostly flat. Some stuff in silver is going up. Both silver and gold are fairly down and don't move much since. Also AUD/USD plays a role here. This is not yet what I'm looking for - these are not major moves. I am waiting .
This is the thread I give to any of my friends if they want to see how commodities would work in a barter economy. When they get interested, I like to rock their world by telling them that their fiat used to be silver and gold, which was traded, and that was less than 100 years ago... Most people usually end up converted as a stacker after that. Thanks for this thread s1lv3r - its a work of genius! Were I wearing one, I'd take my hat off to you.
Although not as detailed as s1lv3r's spreadsheet, I thought others may find interesting some graphs I knocked up a few months ago using some historical CPI data from Melbourne. First is the index of the A$ cost of a range of basic foods: Next, the same but in ounces of gold: And finally, in ounces of silver (the impact of the Hunt brothers trading is really evident):
According to my (pretty bad) notes on the spreadsheet it says "silverside, topside or blade polar roast" - $10.71 in 2011.
Interesting how beef and eggs, being the most expensive items on the list (I guess rightly so), came down with the other items below. Good stuff, thanks for that. Apologies for being late a bit this month. [imgz=http://forums.silverstackers.com/uploads/554_sep2012prices.jpg][/imgz] [imgz=http://forums.silverstackers.com/uploads/554_sep2012goldprices.jpg][/imgz] [imgz=http://forums.silverstackers.com/uploads/554_sep2012silverprices.jpg][/imgz]
[imgz=http://forums.silverstackers.com/uploads/554_pm-forum-oct2012.jpg][/imgz] [imgz=http://forums.silverstackers.com/uploads/554_pm-forum-oct2012-gold.jpg][/imgz] [imgz=http://forums.silverstackers.com/uploads/554_pm-forum-oct2012-silver.jpg][/imgz]
Thanks again s1lv3r for your work, love it. Not much change really do you agree. I think most of us 12 months ago would've been expecting a vastly different line graph by now. Rent is the big mover really, makes you question the validity of the don't buy RE buy PM's (especially silver), especially as rates are historically low.
Yes, I agree, not much chance - guess we thought the major inflation will kick in sooner.. and also no one knows when the silver+gold price will land on the moon The rates are low, yes, but this is only one of the many components. They are low now as RBA is trying to support the vast banks RE portfolio and avoid price collapse. Ask yourself will you be able to sustain jump in rates when the inflation kicks in? Also are you sure your property will gain in price (and in rent!) as you think others would? And did you get it because of the potential cap gain, or because of the yield, or both? Or just because you're homeless and sick of renting? Diff people will have it different ways... For the gain/yield crowd RE is about the particular market and location in the country. That's why I don't do averages across the country or state. I think it's meaningless - like an average temperature across a hospital patients. "It's really around 36 degrees, so we don't have any issues..." - "well, what about those two who died?" - "ah these are just statistical deviations, don't worry about them" - "but one of them is my uncle!" ... I believe having a property is a good idea as long as understood what do you expect from it and what may happen in the current and future timeframe. Yes, PM seems to be positioned for a better gain in the near future, than the RE due to the current economic climate. I wouldn't want to be in the position where I can't pay my mortgage because the rates jumped, or I'm out of work since there's no work and companies are closing shops. However if my property has easily serviceable debt and/or don't cost me anything (=cashflow positive or positively geared), then it's a great asset. I remember reading somewhere that during the Great Depression multiple families were renting the same appt to cut down the costs... so you never know
Thank you for your effort slvr. Your last point reminds me of the often heard but not verified tale of extended Chinese families living in one house, paying it off jointly, before purchasing another and doing the same thing and so on. Also last week there was something n tv about unscrupulous owners cramming 6-10 overseas students into 1-2 bedroom apartments.
