Its been an interesting year for stories about how hot capital moves through the "globalized" world. It seems that there's been an uptick in these types of stories. Is there a connection with this uptick and the release of the Mossack Fonseca "Panama Papers" or is it simply getting harder and harder for obscene amounts of money to be discreet?
Even the Rich Are Being Priced Out of Central London
121–130 of 216 posts
Re: Even the Rich Are Being Priced Out of Central London
#122Earlier quoted context omitted.
What happens until the bubble pops I think is the question. To quote the OA... "In the evenings an eerie stillness settles on [the area]. That’s because these new owners are so rich in both money and global property that their London addresses frequently sit empty, functioning more as dust-sheeted deposit boxes rather than actual homes." This is not why we have cities. We have cities to allow interaction. Look where…
I see similar comments on all of these articles and I am really curious which UK/USA/Canada cities that artists and musicians and the like go to. I'm going to throw out Nashville as a thought for musicians, and maybe Pittsburgh for tinkerers.
UK artists are heading to Berlin, Paris, Barcelona and Warsaw - at least they were, until Brexit.
Now there's some interest in the cheaper seaside towns - Margate, even Bournemouth.
Brighton used to be on that list but it's almost as expensive as London now. Likewise Bath and Bristol. (Not seaside towns, but a big arts scene in the 60s and 70s, now very much gentrified.)
I suspect if people can't get out they'll head West and North. Parts of the West Country are almost affordable. Parts of the North are very affordable, but they're still in the dilapidation phase and don't seem to be in danger of becoming cool yet.
Re: Even the Rich Are Being Priced Out of Central London
#123In DC, there's a big glut in foreign capital flowing in from foreign oligarchs and elites, particularly from Russia and China. Residential properties in so-called "safe cities" are both a form of investment and a potential life-raft should the political situation change in their nations.In addition to the artificially low supply created by extreme height limitations, this has caused prices to skyrocket. The apartment…
The same thing's happening in Philadelphia, so no doubt New York and DC are running out of places to snatch up. It's insane. I landed a pretty sweet deal on an old building close to the Delaware River for ~$265,000. A vacant lot near us sold for about the same a couple of years before that. This year, the lot behind us went on the market for $600,000 - a number I thought was pretty absurd. But two days after it had b…
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Re: Even the Rich Are Being Priced Out of Central London
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, I rented a flat in Rome right near the Trevi fountain, in a beautiful old stone two storey building with a lovely courtyard. There would have been somewhere between 20 and 40 apartments there. There was a software / techical business of some sort in one corner, but I don't think I saw anyone else. (Thank you AirBNB)
Did you rent the flat from AirBnB then? I'm not understanding your comment.
Why the down vote? seriously? I am asking for clarification because I am interested if you were speaking about the upside or the downside? Its not at all clear.
Re: Even the Rich Are Being Priced Out of Central London
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
It does. Should Vancouver not act to protect its own citizens to the best of its ability, then?
The same logic works for all Protectionist legislation. Yet free trade has lowered the costs of nearly every good in our lives.
Free trade maximizes GDP at the cost of further wealth inequality within the closed system of a nation.
There's a tipping point coming fairly soon where voters will logically prefer the short term benefits of protectionism vs additional inequality.
If capitalists want to continue down the path of free trade, they better be prepared to redistribute the additional wealth generated. That or find a way to disenfranchise a whole lot of pissed off citizens.
Re: Even the Rich Are Being Priced Out of Central London
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
There is. It's full. (Most of the towns in the southeast of England are dominated by commuters to London)
What about the other directions? How many people commute from Birmingham, for example? It's only 126 miles away? That's a 30 commute sometime this century. It's really just a question of when.
I have actually done that commute. The company I was working for relocated to London from Birmingham, I moved with them. However there was a few months when I was still in 'Brum' and having to get stuff setup in London.
I did have options to stay with friends in the Brixton area. However the walk to the bus, the wait for the bus, the bus journey to the Brixton tube, the tube journey to Green Park, the walk from one platform to another, then the connecting tube journey followed by the final walk to the office took longer door-to-door than my commute up/down to Birmingham. I could walk to Euston, hop on the train and get a taxi at the other end. The time on the train was 'productive' rather than noisy and stressful (compared to going south of the river). Fortunately my employers were paying my train and taxi fares, had they not done that then I would not have had an economically viable commute.
Top tip for anyone needing to work in London - don't go by public transport and live somewhere without a tube station. Get a bicycle - it is quicker - or an electric scooter.
Although these central London properties might look like amazing places to live, bear in mind that the air in central London could kill you...
Re: Even the Rich Are Being Priced Out of Central London
#127Earlier quoted context omitted.
People who can afford to buy overseas property for cash "just in case" are probably not worried about making an extra $3k/month, not if it adds the headache of being a landlord.
Note that £20-45k/month (US$25-60k/month) is more like the going rate for these properties. http://www.nestoria.co.uk/mayfair/property/rent/2?price_min=... But either the owner isn't interested in the money/hassle/attention, or occasionally uses the property — it's difficult to show off your fancy London apartment if people are living in it, and you can't casually lend it to friends or relatives.
I reckon people with $25-60/month to rent out these properties would already have enough money to buy their own homes slightly away from the city center
Re: Even the Rich Are Being Priced Out of Central London
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah thats oddly dystopian. Can you elaborate on the Vancouver tax change? I have not heard about this.
"Foreigners [not permanent residents] who buy residential property in the Vancouver area will have to pay an extra 15-per-cent tax as part of a B.C. government plan to slow the foreign speculation that many blame for making the region’s homes the most unaffordable in Canada." http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/bc-to-t... The tax is new and was enacted just before August so the impacts are still unce…
Is there a reason they didn't tax non-use? The "foreigner exclusion" sounds like fighting a symptom.
Simply require proof of residency in the property (or an active lease agreement / market listing) to qualify for a tax break. Otherwise, if you're parking-and-holding-without-using, you get slapped with a higher tax rate.
Re: Even the Rich Are Being Priced Out of Central London
#129Earlier quoted context omitted.
I see similar comments on all of these articles and I am really curious which UK/USA/Canada cities that artists and musicians and the like go to. I'm going to throw out Nashville as a thought for musicians, and maybe Pittsburgh for tinkerers.
UK artists are heading to Berlin, Paris, Barcelona and Warsaw - at least they were, until Brexit. Now there's some interest in the cheaper seaside towns - Margate, even Bournemouth. Brighton used to be on that list but it's almost as expensive as London now. Likewise Bath and Bristol. (Not seaside towns, but a big arts scene in the 60s and 70s, now very much gentrified.) I suspect if people can't get out they'll head…
It's tough to figure what pulls a place out of the dilapidation phase. I've heard people say a microbrewery is a good harbinger. I have this unformed suspicion that a hipstery cheap-fancy restaurant can do it, or the "right" art gallery
Re: Even the Rich Are Being Priced Out of Central London
#130It's absurd that private citizens can own land now. What was the crown thinking?