Generation Stupid -- Yep, it is as it appears to be...

[Jason]

Wow. That's rock bottom alright. Out here houses usually come with land (private land being a limited commodity round here), you can get a little house with 500 acres, usually half of it is forest, for something in the neighbourhood of $2,000,000. The only property I know of that's for sale with only 15 acres is going for $350,000. Where I came from (SE Ontario), you could get a town house with a 200sq ft shared lawn for about $250,000.

[laklak]

Much easier here than in the UK, mrjonno. Property values are low due to the crash and if banks aren't lending then private mortgage companies are, albeit at a higher interest rate. A young couple moved into our neighborhood about 6 months ago, got a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home on 1/3 acre for $69,000, about 43000 GBP. The house was livable but needed upgrading, they've been putting a lot of sweat equity in and it's probably worth 140,000 or so now. Not a bad deal, wish I'd bought the place when it came on the market. They had to come up with 10,000 down, but that's certainly doable on two salaries with a bit of self discipline. As for job security, that's never existed and never will, not here or in the UK. They'll find a way to get rid of you if they want to, it just takes a bit longer over there.

[Coito ergo sum]

Wow. That's rock bottom alright. Out here houses usually come with land (private land being a limited commodity round here), you can get a little house with 500 acres, usually half of it is forest, for something in the neighbourhood of $2,000,000. The only property I know of that's for sale with only 15 acres is going for $350,000. Where I came from (SE Ontario), you could get a town house with a 200sq ft shared lawn for about $250,000.

Well, obviously, properties with that kind of acreage means you're going to pay more. Here, houses usually come with like a 1/4 or 1/2 acre. Townhouses here, well, last year, could easily be found in decent neighborhoods, gated communities, for $75,000 to $100,000 -- 1100 sq. feet and such.

[MrJonno]

I've heard of term acres, The Queen is so rich she might actually have a whole acre.
A few 10's of Square feet or metres is the unit of choice over here

[MrJonno]

Much easier here than in the UK, mrjonno. Property values are low due to the crash and if banks aren't lending then private mortgage companies are, albeit at a higher interest rate. A young couple moved into our neighborhood about 6 months ago, got a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home on 1/3 acre for $69,000, about 43000 GBP. The house was livable but needed upgrading, they've been putting a lot of sweat equity in and it's probably worth 140,000 or so now. Not a bad deal, wish I'd bought the place when it came on the market. They had to come up with 10,000 down, but that's certainly doable on two salaries with a bit of self discipline. As for job security, that's never existed and never will, not here or in the UK. They'll find a way to get rid of you if they want to, it just takes a bit longer over there.

Confused financial crash due to dodgy loans so why are banks still lending that easily?

[Jason]

In Canada we officially use the hectare (100m2), but most people still use the acre as a measurement. An acre is 10chains2 or roughly 0.75 the area of a football (soccer) field.

[Coito ergo sum]

Much easier here than in the UK, mrjonno. Property values are low due to the crash and if banks aren't lending then private mortgage companies are, albeit at a higher interest rate. A young couple moved into our neighborhood about 6 months ago, got a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home on 1/3 acre for $69,000, about 43000 GBP. The house was livable but needed upgrading, they've been putting a lot of sweat equity in and it's probably worth 140,000 or so now. Not a bad deal, wish I'd bought the place when it came on the market. They had to come up with 10,000 down, but that's certainly doable on two salaries with a bit of self discipline. As for job security, that's never existed and never will, not here or in the UK. They'll find a way to get rid of you if they want to, it just takes a bit longer over there.

Confused financial crash due to dodgy loans so why are banks still lending that easily?

Who shouldn't the banks be lending to? The poor?

[Jason]

I've heard of term acres, The Queen is so rich she might actually have a whole acre.
A few 10's of Square feet or metres is the unit of choice over here

Actually, the English used the acre officially until just 2010. The queen also owns 49,000 acres (that's 65,000+ football fields) at Balmoral alone.

[Jason]

Much easier here than in the UK, mrjonno. Property values are low due to the crash and if banks aren't lending then private mortgage companies are, albeit at a higher interest rate. A young couple moved into our neighborhood about 6 months ago, got a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home on 1/3 acre for $69,000, about 43000 GBP. The house was livable but needed upgrading, they've been putting a lot of sweat equity in and it's probably worth 140,000 or so now. Not a bad deal, wish I'd bought the place when it came on the market. They had to come up with 10,000 down, but that's certainly doable on two salaries with a bit of self discipline. As for job security, that's never existed and never will, not here or in the UK. They'll find a way to get rid of you if they want to, it just takes a bit longer over there.

Confused financial crash due to dodgy loans so why are banks still lending that easily?

Who shouldn't the banks be lending to? The poor?

If it takes money to make money should you have to have money to borrow money?

[Coito ergo sum]

In Canada we officially use the hectare (100m2), but most people still use the acre as a measurement. An acre is 10chains2 or roughly 0.75 the area of a football (soccer) field.

I like Canada -- very welcoming wymynz you have up there -- I've been welcomed enthusiastically in Windsor, Toronto, Hamilton, and Ottawa.... oh, and Hull. Your wymynz seem to like 'merkins...

[Jason]

And yer wimmin seem to like Canadians.

My brother's wife is from Michigan.

[Coito ergo sum]

Much easier here than in the UK, mrjonno. Property values are low due to the crash and if banks aren't lending then private mortgage companies are, albeit at a higher interest rate. A young couple moved into our neighborhood about 6 months ago, got a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home on 1/3 acre for $69,000, about 43000 GBP. The house was livable but needed upgrading, they've been putting a lot of sweat equity in and it's probably worth 140,000 or so now. Not a bad deal, wish I'd bought the place when it came on the market. They had to come up with 10,000 down, but that's certainly doable on two salaries with a bit of self discipline. As for job security, that's never existed and never will, not here or in the UK. They'll find a way to get rid of you if they want to, it just takes a bit longer over there.

Confused financial crash due to dodgy loans so why are banks still lending that easily?

Who shouldn't the banks be lending to? The poor?

If it takes money to make money should you have to have money to borrow money?

Why are you asking me? I'm not the one saying the banks were making "dodgy" loans.

But, I know I wouldn't lend you money if I thought you weren't a good bet to pay me back. I think if you thought through what you'd do with your own money, you'll have the answer to your question.

[Coito ergo sum]

And yer wimmin seem to like Canadians.

My brother's wife is from Michigan.

Yeah, da wymynz like furreners. You Canucks, wut with your crazy accents, and such....

[Blind groper]

Here in NZ, prices range from ludicrously cheap to ludicrously expensive. We had an abandoned small village about 10 years ago, in the far south (coldest part) of NZ where the houses sold at $US 400 each. There are still crap homes in crap areas for sale at a few thousand. Our most expensive homes are in the region of tens of millions.

However, a retired person can still buy a nice home in a quiet seaside village in a true beauty spot, for about $US 150,000. A home in Auckland city will be $US 250,000 and up.

Note also that the recent Economist survey rated NZ at the 7th best place in the world to live, ahead of the USA at 16th.

[Jason]

$400 US? That's like $300 CAD! I could move to NZ and live like a king!