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‘America will become a renter nation’: Grant Cardone warns the US could see 100-year mortgages — says we might

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With elevated interest rates and persistently high home prices, American homebuyers have felt firsthand the squeeze on their budgets.

According to real estate mogul Grant Cardone, the necessity for substantially longer mortgage terms is on the horizon.

“The savior of America will not be lower prices, it will be longer mortgages,” he said in a recent TikTok video. “In your lifetime, you will see mortgages go from 30 to 40, 50 and maybe even 60 years. You could, if you live long enough, see a 100-year mortgage in America.”

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Despite this, Cardone expresses skepticism about the role of mortgages in achieving true home ownership.

“A mortgage is just a fancy way to say you own some sh-t that you don’t own,” he explained.

Looking ahead, Cardone anticipates a significant shift in lifestyle and consumption patterns. He sees a future where renting becomes the norm across various aspects of life.

“America will become a renter nation,” he predicted. “You will rent your cars, you will rent where you live, you might even rent your clothes in the future.”

But what if you’re still keen on investing in real estate, considering its reputation as a hedge against inflation, a source of passive income and a way to diversify your portfolio?

Well, despite the current economic challenges, there are indeed strategies to invest in real estate that don’t involve taking on substantial debt. Here’s a look at three of them.

Invest in publicly traded REITs

Real estate investment trusts, or REITs, are companies that own income-producing real estate like apartment buildings, shopping centers and office towers.

You can think of a REIT as a giant landlord: It owns a large number of properties, collects rent from tenants, and passes that rent to shareholders in the form of regular dividend payments.

To qualify as a REIT, a company must pay out at least 90% of its taxable income to shareholders as dividends each year. In exchange, REITs pay little to no income tax at the corporate level.

It’s easy to invest in REITs because many are publicly traded.

Unlike buying a house — where transactions can take weeks and even months to close — you can buy or sell shares in a REIT anytime you want throughout the trading day. That makes them one of the most liquid real estate investment options available.

Also, your investment can be as little or as large as you want — be it $100 or $100,000. While buying a house usually requires a hefty down payment and a mortgage, you can invest in a REIT with as little as the price of a single share and brokerage fees.

Invest on a crowdfunding platform

Crowdfunding has become a buzzword in recent years. It refers to the practice of funding a project by raising small amounts of money from a large number of people.

These days, many crowdfunding investing platforms allow you to own a percentage of physical real estate — from rental properties and commercial buildings to parcels of land.

Read more: Worried about the economy? Here are the best shock-proof assets for your portfolio. (They’re all outside of the stock market.)

Because of the greater risks involved in real estate crowdfunding, some platforms are targeted at accredited investors, sometimes with minimum investments that can reach into the tens of thousands of dollars. To be an accredited investor, you need to have a net worth of over $1 million or an earned income that exceeded $200,000 (or $300,000 together with a spouse) in each of the past two years.

If you are not an accredited investor, many platforms let you invest small sums if you like — even $100.

Such platforms make real estate investing more accessible to the general public by simplifying the process and lowering the barriers to entry.

Crowdfunding platforms and sponsors of real estate deals usually charge investors some fees.

Invest in ETFs

Picking the right REIT or crowdfunded deal requires plenty of due diligence on your part. If you are looking for an easier, more diversified way to invest in real estate, consider exchange-traded funds.

You can think of an ETF as a portfolio of stocks. And as the name suggests, ETFs trade on major exchanges, making them convenient to buy and sell.

Investors use ETFs to gain access to a diversified portfolio. You don’t need to worry about which stocks to buy and sell. Some ETFs passively track an index, while others are actively managed. They all charge a fee — referred to as the management expense ratio — in exchange for managing the fund.

The Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ), for example, provides investors with broad exposure to U.S. REITs. The fund holds 160 stocks and has total net assets of $54 billion. Over the past 10 years, VNQ has delivered an average annual return of 6.4%. Its management expense ratio is 0.12%.

You can also check out the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE), which aims to replicate the real estate sector of the S&P 500 Index. It currently has 31 holdings and has an expense ratio of 0.10%. Since the fund’s inception in October 2015, it has delivered an average annual return of 6.2%.

 

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Greater Toronto home sales jump in October after Bank of Canada rate cuts: board

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TORONTO – The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says home sales in October surged as buyers continued moving off the sidelines amid lower interest rates.

The board said 6,658 homes changed hands last month in the Greater Toronto Area, up 44.4 per cent compared with 4,611 in the same month last year. Sales were up 14 per cent from September on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The average selling price was up 1.1 per cent compared with a year earlier at $1,135,215. The composite benchmark price, meant to represent the typical home, was down 3.3 per cent year-over-year.

“While we are still early in the Bank of Canada’s rate cutting cycle, it definitely does appear that an increasing number of buyers moved off the sidelines and back into the marketplace in October,” said TRREB president Jennifer Pearce in a news release.

“The positive affordability picture brought about by lower borrowing costs and relatively flat home prices prompted this improvement in market activity.”

The Bank of Canada has slashed its key interest rate four times since June, including a half-percentage point cut on Oct. 23. The rate now stands at 3.75 per cent, down from the high of five per cent that deterred many would-be buyers from the housing market.

New listings last month totalled 15,328, up 4.3 per cent from a year earlier.

In the City of Toronto, there were 2,509 sales last month, a 37.6 per cent jump from October 2023. Throughout the rest of the GTA, home sales rose 48.9 per cent to 4,149.

The sales uptick is encouraging, said Cameron Forbes, general manager and broker for Re/Max Realtron Realty Inc., who added the figures for October were stronger than he anticipated.

“I thought they’d be up for sure, but not necessarily that much,” said Forbes.

“Obviously, the 50 basis points was certainly a great move in the right direction. I just thought it would take more to get things going.”

He said it shows confidence in the market is returning faster than expected, especially among existing homeowners looking for a new property.

“The average consumer who’s employed and may have been able to get some increases in their wages over the last little bit to make up some ground with inflation, I think they’re confident, so they’re looking in the market.

“The conditions are nice because you’ve got a little more time, you’ve got more choice, you’ve got fewer other buyers to compete against.”

All property types saw more sales in October compared with a year ago throughout the GTA.

Townhouses led the surge with 56.8 per cent more sales, followed by detached homes at 46.6 per cent and semi-detached homes at 44 per cent. There were 33.4 per cent more condos that changed hands year-over-year.

“Market conditions did tighten in October, but there is still a lot of inventory and therefore choice for homebuyers,” said TRREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer.

“This choice will keep home price growth moderate over the next few months. However, as inventory is absorbed and home construction continues to lag population growth, selling price growth will accelerate, likely as we move through the spring of 2025.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Homelessness: Tiny home village to open next week in Halifax suburb

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HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.

Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.

Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.

The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.

Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.

They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.

The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Here are some facts about British Columbia’s housing market

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Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.

Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.

Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500

Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438

Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103

Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359

Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent

How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

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