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All hail Mainland Chinese CASH buyers. Toronto real estate crash? Yea right.

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  • Apr 12th, 2012 10:40 pm
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Deal Expert
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Nov 2, 2003
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GTA

All hail Mainland Chinese CASH buyers. Toronto real estate crash? Yea right.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/hom ... icle+Links

This is proof of what I've been saying. There are still tons of mainland Chinese wanting to come buy property in Canada. Vancouver and Toronto are the main spots.

But even this is a little more than I expected.
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Deal Guru
Dec 11, 2008
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I live in this area and the prices are ridiculous
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actng wrote: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/hom ... icle+Links

This is proof of what I've been saying. There are still tons of mainland Chinese wanting to come buy property in Canada. Vancouver and Toronto are the main spots.

But even this is a little more than I expected.

more money coming to Canada, I'm happy.

although you'd think with US's housing, they'd get a better bargain going south of the border.
Deal Guru
Dec 11, 2008
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kingofwale wrote: more money coming to Canada, I'm happy.

although you'd think with US's housing, they'd get a better bargain going south of the border.

They are not looking for a deal. This purchase is their ticket into the country.
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Jan 10, 2007
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If I had this kind of money I'd be down in Cali, besides the schools south of the border are much better too. I'm guessing it's still way easier to buy your way into Canada than to the US at this point in time. Regardless it's good that foreigners are helping out, after the recent jobs report we need all the help we can get.
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speedyforme wrote: They are not looking for a deal. This purchase is their ticket into the country.

home ownership = immigration paper??
Deal Fanatic
Mar 24, 2008
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chrome_dout wrote: If I had this kind of money I'd be down in Cali, besides the schools south of the border are much better too. I'm guessing it's still way easier to buy your way into Canada than to the US at this point in time.

+1

Better deals + better weather.
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Mar 4, 2009
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chrome_dout wrote: If I had this kind of money I'd be down in Cali, besides the schools south of the border are much better too. I'm guessing it's still way easier to buy your way into Canada than to the US at this point in time. Regardless it's good that foreigners are helping out, after the recent jobs report we need all the help we can get.
Public school system (K-12) is better in Ontario than most if not all states.
Deal Guru
Sep 9, 2003
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If they're able to drop 1 mill cash, private school fees are a drop in the bucket
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DearSummer wrote: Public school system (K-12) is better in Ontario than most if not all states.

by far...

and also, much cheaper university education.
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Mar 6, 2004
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crimsona wrote: If they're able to drop 1 mill cash, private school fees are a drop in the bucket

Why are you comparing private schools (Cali) to public schools (Canada)?

Are you saying there are no comparable private schools in Canada?
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Mar 4, 2009
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crimsona wrote: If they're able to drop 1 mill cash, private school fees are a drop in the bucket

True, but private school is not for everybody. As well, US citizenship can be me problematic than Canadian for a variety of reasons.
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kingofwale wrote: more money coming to Canada, I'm happy.

although you'd think with US's housing, they'd get a better bargain going south of the border.

the US is not a good place to be right now. housing-wise they are dirt cheap but outside of that, what else do they have to offer? healthcare? nope. lack of racism/ignorance? nope
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Sep 16, 2009
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kingofwale wrote: home ownership = immigration paper??

no relationship between immigration and home ownership in Canada.. no idea what the other guy is talking about ticket to the country... on the contrary, in the us you can actually put in 500 K and get green card if you invest in certain areas.

Even if that was true, what would you rather buy? US green card or Canadian PR?
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Jun 9, 2003
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the 421k overprices is def'n misleading. It was "under" valued to create a bidding war. The prices in the area were def'n around that price so technically the story is sensationalizing the real estate market.
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May 31, 2009
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kingofwale wrote: home ownership = immigration paper??

Universities in China and Hong Kong are better than Canada. But it's ultra competitive.
Then if they dont get in there, they apply to London, England (Oxford, etc.).
Then they apply to U.S. and then Canada (as last choice).


With regards to investments, China recently implemented in the past year or two a rule that allowed people in China to only own 1 house. This helped reduce the dramatic rise in prices they were seeing. 300% gain in like 5 years.

As evidence of their housing investment being successful, they feel real estate is a solid investment. So they purchase houses in Canada under their kids who come here for school. This helps them with taxes, as kid's have no income; don't have to pay rent to live in the house (while renting out the rest), and they benefit from the appreciation in value.
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thelefteyeguy wrote: the 421k overprices is def'n misleading. It was "under" valued to create a bidding war. The prices in the area were def'n around that price so technically the story is sensationalizing the real estate market.

+1

no different than my $.99 start bid of my PS3 during launch, sold it for 900 dollars. You don't see me coming here yelling, I sold it for 90000%
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oasis2002 wrote: no relationship between immigration and home ownership in Canada.. no idea what the other guy is talking about ticket to the country... on the contrary, in the us you can actually put in 500 K and get green card if you invest in certain areas.

Even if that was true, what would you rather buy? US green card or Canadian PR?
Why someone will buy a US green card - so you will have to declare your worldwide income and pay taxes on it. And US education is expensive even for the residents/citizens.

On the other hand if you buy Canadian PR you can get a cheaper education, later you can claim financial hardship and then possibly get educational grants, government loans, welfare..... One day you will become a citizen and then the unobstructed access to the USA and the whole world is there. And CRA is toothless.

Two way to "buy" the Canadian PR:
1. If you are outright rich - "investor" program where you provide interest free $800,000 loan to the government for 5 years. However the government smelled the outright fraud going there and the number of these applications has been cut significantly.
2. Well to do - you send a kid to a Canadian university. After the kid graduates he will be given a work permit and then if he finds work he can apply for PR. Owning a house perhaps will help with the PR application greatly, never mind the saving on rent and then the potential never ending appreciation in the Canadian real estate prices. Once the kid gets his PR he can sponsor his family and they will also became a citizens one day. It just takes longer but at lower cost. Too bad the government closed this avenue too (sponsoring parent) for now.
Member
Mar 1, 2009
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Ontario
How did part of this thread become an CDN vs US education war?

"In this case the successful bidder is a university student originally from China with family money behind her, says Mr. Adelson. She assured the agents there would be no problem in closing the deal."

"As hard as it's becoming to shock jaded Torontonians with bidding war antics, one young woman managed it last week when she beat out 17 rivals for a house in Willowdale."

Yes, there was a comment about the School district in the article - "Earl Haig Secondary School district, which is popular with parents." However, considering the bidder is a university student I doubt the near by Secondary school played any part in the decision.

I agree with the PS3 comparison, considering there were 4 bids over $1,000,000. I'd say the house sold for 18% over market expectations. Great way for the real estate agent to create free press! "Hi home owners, I know we will get over $1,000,000 for this house so lets start low and get some great free press out of it".
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bcbgboy13 wrote: Why someone will buy a US green card - so you will have to declare your worldwide income and pay taxes on it. And US education is expensive even for the residents/citizens.

On the other hand if you buy Canadian PR you can get a cheaper education, later you can claim financial hardship and then possibly get educational grants, government loans, welfare..... One day you will become a citizen and then the unobstructed access to the USA and the whole world is there. And CRA is toothless.

Two way to "buy" the Canadian PR:
1. If you are outright rich - "investor" program where you provide interest free $800,000 loan to the government for 5 years. However the government smelled the outright fraud going there and the number of these applications has been cut significantly.
2. Well to do - you send a kid to a Canadian university. After the kid graduates he will be given a work permit and then if he finds work he can apply for PR. Owning a house perhaps will help with the PR application greatly, never mind the saving on rent and then the potential never ending appreciation in the Canadian real estate prices. Once the kid gets his PR he can sponsor his family and they will also became a citizens one day. It just takes longer but at lower cost. Too bad the government closed this avenue too (sponsoring parent) for now.

or... just claim refugee status.

after all. with almost 9 million Canadians, we need bigger population

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