Real Estate Today with Asif Khan: An Open Letter to Joe Castaldo

Dear Mr. Castaldo:

Having just read your interesting article, I would like to identify a few faults in your findings. You state that “just over a year ago, existing home sales fell 40% and prices 12% from their peaks in late 2007”. Sales were down, you are correct, however your numbers are incorrect. The sales fell 17.1% and not 40% according to actual numbers from the Canadian Real Estate Association. When comparing apples to apples, the price of a home compared to a similar home did not fall 12%. The National Average was -0.7% (less than 1%). The average price in Ontario, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association actually increased by 0.9%. Your numbers are skewed to give credence to the title of your article “Why Buying A House Is A Bad Investment”. Mr. Castaldo, you, as well as everyone else, knows that a house is as solid an investment one can make in their lifetime.

To clarify, the steps taken by the government are not to “cool off the market”, it is to prevent the problems that occurred in the United States. You may not be aware that Canada’s banking system is rated #1 in the world. The steps the government is taking will further establish our banking system as the leader and one which the world banks are trying to copy. By having people qualify on a five year level, it ensures affordability in the long run. Banks such as TD Canada Trust have always been qualifying on a three year level anyway, so this is not as drastic as you make it sound. It is actually great news to Canadian homeowners and financial institutions.

You also state “what’s ironic is that real estate price gains can be somewhat of an illusion when inflation is taken into account. “People get fooled by nominal numbers, long term returns in real terms are less than spectacular.” You state that returns in more than 300 metropolitan areas in the U.S. between 1970 and 2000 found prices increased on average only 1.7% annually. I’m not sure if you just do not understand, or if you really believe that by mixing two different economies, nations, and financial systems, that your readers will side with your interpretation. IF you are speaking about the Canadian market, as the early part of the article made it seem, then let us look at CANADIAN numbers for price appreciation. In 1980, the average price for a home in Canada was $67,000. At the end of 2008, that same home was now worth $300,000. This translates into an increase 300%. Now, if you take the figure you quoted at the beginning of your article, that the average Canadian home is now worth $328,537, a grade one math student will realize that this is a $28,000 increase. To put it clearly for you to understand, this is about a 9% increase since last year, and this is quite consistent over the long term.

If this was not enough for one to stop reading your article and question your state of mind, your reference to high unemployment going hand in hand with home ownership certainly did it. You stated that “The Netherlands and Switzerland had lower unemployment and a lower rate of unemployment. While homeowners are often stuck with their property through tough labour markets, renters can more easily relocate to find work which lessens structural unemployment”. “Everyone needs financial security during those uncertain times but for homeowners, their greatest asset won’t necessarily deliver”. You also state that “a society of renters is also more mobile”. Mr. Castaldo, do you really believe that higher percentages of home ownership are directly responsible for high unemployment, and that if renters are more mobile, this contributes to higher employment rates. I’m disappointed in Canadian Business for even giving you an opportunity to present your verbal diarrhea in print form. Your comparison to a house not being as diversified as stocks is totally crazy. You state that “if you can buy a home with a bedroom in Toronto, the kitchen in Vancouver, and another bedroom in South America, then this would be a diversified house”. You quoted Milevsky in saying buying a home was not a smart way to allocate money. I’m looking all through your article for “lol” and can’t seem to find any. Did your spell check program accidently remove these from your article?

I certainly hope this article was printed a month early by mistake. The headline “Why Buying A House Is A Bad Investment” is certainly more suited for an April Fool’s article, than an informative read. I invite you to contact me at your convenience so that I can educate you properly on the state of the Canadian Housing Market.

Regards,

Asif Khan

Asif Khan, Realtor

Re/Max All-Stars Realty Inc.

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