Re: Used boat market is sucking wind.
hence my skepticism about 3 year old trucks selling for 35K in Canada...you can buy brand new ones here for that!
I think much of this is just a massive correction from the way inflated economy and prices of the past 10 years. I'm going to the Atlanta boat show today. I'm sure I'll be laughing at the prices the manufacturers are asking...But, I like seeing what my boat will look like 10-20 years from now after someone else pays all the crazy prices and takes the big hit on depreciation.
Well I can't say anything towards $35K for a 3 year old truck, not sure where that came from? Our middle of Canada economy is relatively stable. When the rest of Canada (North America) booms we whine and complain how we aren't booming, but when there is a slump we boast about how 'safe' we are. The biggest factor is our economy isn't reliant on manufacturing export sales to keep it going.
But, lets put this in perspective the population of Manitoba is 1.2 million. Hydro and agriculture is enough to keep a steady base economy. The housing market is good, this keeps all the trades working. When things are booming there are literally only a handful of corporate types making million dollar salary + bonuses. (not including local entrepreneurs and business owners)
The banks are still generous with their lending, but as rates rise as they are predicting, it will be interesting to see what happens.
On that note, I just purchased a different home and redid my mortgage. My mortgage rate was at 3.25%, BUT I'm paying as if the rate was 4.5%. The 1.25% goes directly towards the principle. The reason is the bank said that when rates go up that 1.25% is a buffer so it won't cause people to panic as their net monies left over each month isn't affected right away. Have they learned something?
I say "not entirely".....
With that, I was surprised that a bank will let you hang yourself if you want.
We bought a fixer upper home and I wanted to work on it for a month so I asked if they would approve two mortgages....oh THREE mortgages as we have the cabin.....APPROVED. Now, hold on, I'm finishing up a university degree, we have 1.5 incomes, there is no way we could sustain these three mortgages long term and I joked with the manager as such...."well the numbers say you can". They are nuts! For the record, the other house sold right away, (was confident it would, hence the gamble) and its all good.....but the bank is still nuts.