With the news trending today that the Netherlands has joined Germany and a few others in a recession it wont be long before we are all in one. I think the truth is being kept from everyone as we all know we are in a recession already and have been for some time. The signs are all around us and have been for months already.
My brother has sold his house in the UK for a small loss and is now looking to rent for the next year or two and possibly pick up a bargain in the process depending on how much property prices drop.
The rental market there is a nightmare though with agents telling him they have a cut off list of 25 applicants per rental. They then select the best candidate from the 25 which is far different from trying to be the first one to sign. The one rental he was looking at has increased in price from the advertised £1250 to £1500 mainly down to a bidding war between the applicants. This highlights how few properties there are for rent and how many applicants are fighting for a chance to put a roof over their heads. I can recall 25 years ago when looking for a rental you were possibly up against 2 or 3 other interested parties, but never 25 and that is a cut off so there are far more than that figure which is frightening.
I have been looking at properties in Europe with an eye on buying one if and when the market crashes. This is more about getting to know the prices so one can recognize a good price later on. This is when bargains can be found due to other peoples misery and if you have cash then you can take advantage. Thankfully I have kept cash available and If I can sell my other property in SA will have sufficient funds ready to move at a moments notice. This will most likely be a toss up between Bitcoin and a property depending on what Bitcoin does and if it drops significantly enough over the remainder of the year or early next year.
I do expect to see far more house repossessions over the next 24 months which is a prime opportunity to score a property below market value. Banks just want to offload them and have been to a number of auctions in the past mainly to understand the process. here you will find very few home owners hunting for a property and it is mainly property agents or developers looking to earn a buck or two from doing a quick flip.
The same applies for a motor vehicle as buying from a dealer is just way too costly and buying from a repossession auction is where the dealers themselves are buying their stock. These vehicles being sold are still covered by warranties and motor plans for services so there is no risk.
I bought a vehicle this way years ago and sold it for what I paid for it having had it for 6 years. Another vehicle I was out bid on by a dealer marked that vehicle up by 70% and was on his showroom floor a few days later. I did a revue of prices for a friend of mine and on average prices are 40% less than book value over the 2nd and 3rd week during the month. These weeks are generally quieter than month end which could save you a fair amount.
I do feel sorry for people who are suffering financially and for once I am in a decent spot but this has taken decades to get to this point. Being in crypto these days is more of a blessing as being out of the norm is seriously a good thing.