Franky I'm of the opinion that most of our problems could be solved by having fewer people. The earth is not getting any larger, there is no new land left to discover, and most people desire to live in a small handful of particularly nice areas. Resources are also limited and the more people there are, the thinner the resources get spread. If the population stopped growing housing would catch up.
Oh, don't worry...population will certainly decrease when the environmental situation really hits the fan. I suspect a significant fraction of the world population will be lost in the next 100 years.
If someone can't hold complex advice in their head, or if any spare money is likely to turn into cars, big TVs, and vacations, paying down the mortgage early is fantastic advice. If someone has a fixed rate mortgage at around half the risk-free rate, the optimal advice becomes more nuanced.
I advised everyone on Twitter to lock in a home loan rate at 2% early in the year. I hope some took my advice.
Indeed. If you locked in one of those insanely low fixed 30 year rates, it's a different equation.
We don't have that here in Australia, 2-3 years fixed is most common, 5 years tops. No such thing as a 20-30yr fixed rate. I advised everyone on Twitter to lock in a home loan rate at 2% early in the year. I hope some took my advice.
Indeed. If you locked in one of those insanely low fixed 30 year rates, it's a different equation.
We don't have that here in Australia, 2-3 years fixed is most common, 5 years tops. No such thing as a 20-30yr fixed rate. I advised everyone on Twitter to lock in a home loan rate at 2% early in the year. I hope some took my advice.
Seems like a similar arrangement to the UK, most of our mortgages are ARMs.
This has caught some people out, a family member with a very expensive house looking at going from 1.6% to 6.4% next year.
I would love to secure 30 year loan at 3.2% like the Americans seem to manage (though I understand new rates are closer to 5-6%). But all the 30 year products here are 6%+. Perhaps in the near future if bank base rates return to normal 5% or so levels -- they may look more attractive.
[The yanks get 30 year fixed terms because their lenders are government own and backed (Freddie/Fanny) at government bond rates. No such thing here.
Franky I'm of the opinion that most of our problems could be solved by having fewer people. The earth is not getting any larger, there is no new land left to discover, and most people desire to live in a small handful of particularly nice areas. Resources are also limited and the more people there are, the thinner the resources get spread. If the population stopped growing housing would catch up.
Oh, don't worry...population will certainly decrease when the environmental situation really hits the fan. I suspect a significant fraction of the world population will be lost in the next 100 years.
In 100 years, 99.99% of those alive today will be dead, unless we get a lot better at living past age 100. So you are probably correct.
Also, I recall reading somewhere, that the entire world population could be accommodated in Texas, with room to spare!!
We had an odd period in the UK mortgage market where 2, 5 and 10 year fixed terms were all priced around 3%. (Spread of only 0.5% between them all.) I guess we'll see if fixing at 3% for 5yr from June this year will turn out to be a good idea. Typically a 2 year mortgage would be around 1.5% with sufficient equity; 5 years around 2.5%; and 10yrs at 3%+ going by 2018-2021 rates. Relatively few companies offer the 10yr, and AFAIK only one or two offer beyond that up to full term mortgages.
I thought being a first time buyer with relatively low equity in the property 5yrs was financially prudent as it reduced the chance of being in an equity trap - another side effect of our mortgage fixes short being your house value had better stay up or you will end up trapped in an unfavourable rate. Since this usually correlates with an economic downturn, it is the worst time for such effects to correlate.
Seems like a similar arrangement to the UK, most of our mortgages are ARMs.
This has caught some people out, a family member with a very expensive house looking at going from 1.6% to 6.4% next year.
I would love to secure 30 year loan at 3.2% like the Americans seem to manage (though I understand new rates are closer to 5-6%). But all the 30 year products here are 6%+. Perhaps in the near future if bank base rates return to normal 5% or so levels -- they may look more attractive.
Actually, most of the worlds land is unpopulated, the problem with lack of space is down to amenities outside large cities. If there is no employment, utilities, roads, support facilities, in a given area, it cannot populate.
Also, I recall reading somewhere, that the entire world population could be accommodated in Texas, with room to spare!!That would put the entire state of Texas at a density roughly 10% more than New York City (around 30K/mi2 needed, vs around 27K/mi2 for NYC).
Finding a way to feed and water all of a Texas-sized denser-than-NYC would be a challenge, of course.
Actually, most of the worlds land is unpopulated, the problem with lack of space is down to amenities outside large cities. If there is no employment, utilities, roads, support facilities, in a given area, it cannot populate.
That's a very big if. The roads in my region are clogged, often at all hours of the day, there are houses everywhere and they keep squeezing in more and it is becoming unbearable. This was a nice quiet rural area and now it's a city and I hate what it has become, I absolutely loathe urban environments and crowding, it causes me stress just thinking about being packed in with so many other people. They can't expand the roads because there is no space for it, everything is already built out. The population in this region has grown by leaps and bounds and it just keeps on growing. Personally I wish they would simply stop allowing any new housing to be built, it's full, and it's impossible to build your way out of a housing shortage. If they build more houses it simply draws in more people.
Most people want to live in nice areas that are in close proximity to jobs and nice scenery, bodies of water and such.
This has caught some people out, a family member with a very expensive house looking at going from 1.6% to 6.4% next year.
I have no idea why people pay so much extra to live in the crowded areas, all while complaining about the cost and while there are tons of great places to live near by.
It is common for variable rate mortgages to have fixed payments so when bank of Canada raises interest rates and your interest payment goes up, your principal payment goes down. Lots of people are now getting "triggered" and having a 'surprise' payment increase
I have no idea why people pay so much extra to live in the crowded areas, all while complaining about the cost and while there are tons of great places to live near by.
"Crowded" areas are better places to live. They are more efficient and have more things to do. I used to live in the suburbs...It was awful. You have to drive to *everything* and all the good stuff is far away. I live in the city now and I walk, bike, or bus to nearly everything. See "Not Just Bikes" video (videos?) about cities versus suburbs. Suburbs suck money and aren't sustainable in the long term. A long term sustainable future cannot possibly include every human having an automobile and living spread apart.
It is common for variable rate mortgages to have fixed payments so when bank of Canada raises interest rates and your interest payment goes up, your principal payment goes down. Lots of people are now getting "triggered" and having a 'surprise' payment increaseVariable rate is a gamble...That is why I never took a variable rate mortgage at renewals. Fixed rate is a bit higher but in a few months you stop noticing it and you can plan your finances and have no surprises.
bought my USA home in April 2021: 15years, 2.1%.