MovieChat Forums > Property Brothers (2011) Discussion > These dumps they fix up sure are expensi...

These dumps they fix up sure are expensive.

posted 13 years ago by holchie
5 replies | jump to latest

I live out in the boondocks,and I know it's "location, location, location," but when I watch this show - and many other home-buying type shows - I am astonished that people are paying $600,000 for these old, beat up houses. The buyers seem like regular, middle-class people. How much are these people earning that they can afford homes priced that high? Where I live - rural Ohio -you could have a huge, brand new mansion on acreage for $600,000. I have also lived and worked in a very large city nearby, and the average decent house is nowhere near that amount. I would love an explanation.

[–] naladog77 13 years ago

It's Canadian real estate. Apparently the whole country is overvalued and hasn't had the drop that the US has.

Amanda

"She was drunk or he was crazy."

[–] Jelly-4 13 years ago

That's what I think when I see that show. If it's all shot in Canada, then that makes sense. SO much of that country is uninhabitable so I guess getting a nice area in a good metropolitan area like Montreal, Vancouver or Toronto is pretty tough.

[–] phoe-phoe 13 years ago

You have to remember that wages have been stagnant in the US for the last 30 years whereas Canadian wages have risen about 15% in the last 5 years alone.

Their average wage isn't too far off from ours, but it's more equitably spread among the people instead of being concentrated in the lands of a few. For example, there's a difference between me earning $20,000 a year and my boss earning $200,000 averaging out to $110,000 for each of us and me earning $60,000 and my boss earning $160,000, averaging out to $110,000 a year. You can look at each country's place in the GINI index to see how equitably wealth is spread among a nation - in America we're one of the worst.

Then there's the healthcare, a major expense for all Americans at some time or another in their lifetime which isn't a big worry for most Canadians.

I'm sure there are other factors involved (like everybody on this specific program apparently being born into at least middle class families) but those are the major factors I think.

[–] egujwrrxftoxm 13 years ago

"location, location, location,"

You say you know this, yet you're still questioning?

Location can mean anything and everything to people. Even at different stages of one's life, location can mean proximity to a job, to family, to friends, to schools, to nightlife, to restaurants, to culture and activities, etc. Think about it.

------------------------------

I respect people based on how they respect others.

[–] redtizzy 12 years ago

Where I've lived in the US (DC, suburban MD, Boston, Western Mass) these houses all seem reasonable or like a steal. It's all location, location, location. People in these areas do put a much higher % of their income towards housing but they also live near a lot of amenities, have better bets for resale and lower rates of unemployment.