Correct , i do not live there. I am in NZ. Was just an example and from what you say that would have been a nice return
Property has bankrupted more people I've known than anything else especially if mixed with divorce(which tends to arrive 12 months after a market crash for some unlucky guys). I hear you and understand you but to my old ears you sound like everyone else going through their first property bubble. If it all goes wrong (see Japan, UK, Sweden 2007 US/Ireland etc etc) you will be clinging to the PMs and thanking the stars you stuck a bit away from prying eyes..... Market local forces like newspapers making 50% revenue from property advertising, tradesmen getting stupid money for fitting kitchens, mortgage brokers playing 'glen garry glen ross', etc etc mean that caution *always* gets drowned out and huge numbers of people miss the top and enter hell via negative equity. Hopefully you will do well and get loaded but putting 100% in property on debt is as dumb as putting 100% in PMs or individual stocks if it all goes wrong a 10% stash of gold and a sprinkle of silver is a lot better than a cardboard box and a social security cheque....and unlike stocks, property etc no one has to know you have it........it's the asset you hope you never need but has no substitute when you do.
They were worth a mortgage application and someone stupid enough to sign for 25 years interest at unknown future interest rates on a million. How many cash buyers are there for million plus properties?
In the US, quite a lot. I would wager a significant portion of houses over a million dollars are cash. -bw
Interesting thank you. Sounds like US real estate is very robust. I would have expected a range of 20%-70% (either deposit at the low end or from selling a lower grade property at the high end) for cash but I can see how current interest rates would create the scenario you describe. The vast majority of sales in the UK for example are on mortgages at that level as would be the case in the Eurozone. Still quite surprised. Just out of curiosity do you work in real estate or where do you get your opinion from?
Those who rode the last boom in a growth area and worked hard to pay off their house and then down-marketed. But yeah, not a huge percentage. from: http://www.ahuri.edu.au/themes/home_ownership
