Hello from NYC .. and a native Australian

Hi all, I have been reading these forums for close to a year and finally posting an introduction.

My name is Chris and am a native born/bred Australian but moved to the US about 12 years ago to pursue the larger opportunities as an entrepreneur, particularly in my chosen area of technology.

Prior to leaving Australia I had successfully co-founded an IT business and sold it which was as much luck as it was hard work, as we learned about business as we went.

I have always been a keen investor and academically at least graduated in Finance. So between equities, P2P lending, REITs, bonds, early stage investing, and some minor exotic investments, certainly have a broad portfolio.

It is a nice to keep pulse on the market and real life experiences of real estate investing back in Australia through a site like this. Although having most of my investments outside the US, I am half-alarmed and half-amused at the nature of the real-estate investment conditions and economic dynamics that go on, and the fervor that "property investing" has on the Australian general psyche, which is different to anywhere else.

Look forward to posting more now ...

 

Chris, I'm surprised 'abc' wasn't already taken lol. Perhaps the coveted '123' is still available???

Welcome.

Living in NYC, how do you compare the cost of real estate in Manhattan and Jersey to the likes of Sydney? Is it easier to find 'better value' real estate there?

For example, is the cost of real estate in a cheapish pocket in New Jersey comparable to the likes of Western Sydney eg Mount Druitt where a very average house starts at say, $550K AUD. When I mean comparable, I'm referring to quality of house, quality of suburb, commuting time to the CBD/Manhattan, safety factor etc etc.

Secondly, you may have read that several Aussie investors on this site are buying up loads of real estate in places like Detroit. Are property investors in NY-ers doing the same? I'm sure $30-40K for a house getting $200pw in rent is too tempting, or is it?

 

Funnily have this username one other place too .. seems like it is so obvious that noone even tried.

I think when comparing real-estate in a place like NYC or specifically in the highest value boroughs in Manhattan or Brooklyn, with a place like Sydney, people often make false comparisons.

At face value you have things like;
- hugely expensive $50M USD+ apartments in NYC
- higher nominal median prices in Sydney
- lower nominal median wages in NYC

However when you factor in things like exchange rate, lower general cost of living in NYC, higher rents in NYC, negative gearing in Sydney, interest deductions for PPOR in NYC, broader industry and economic opportunity to make really high salaries in NYC (i.e. top 5%), etc. there is a lot more to the comparison of pricing than the numbers alone. So whenever I see ppl here or elsewhere talk about straight line price comparisons, I think they miss most of the point. As all the nuances for the investor or the owner occupier lie in these details as much as the raw price.

As for investing, like most ppl globally ppl who do invest in real estate tend to do it locally apart from the more sophisticated ones. So that might means investing in New Jersey, Long Island, Connecticut, Westchester County, or in another borough to where they live for a NYC resident but not much further. NYers tend to look down on places like Detroit despite the great economic turnaround story there. You can see it if you visit, while similarly seeing the crazy depair.

The biggest difference though is type of assets. Americans when they do invest are far more partial to stock market than real estate for many reasons. However I think the simplest one is that it is simple and lots of opportunity. None of the biggest 5 companies in US stock market Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Facebook even existed before the 1970s and in 3 of their case before the 90s. Compare that to Australia where the 4 big banks plus BHP are all ****** in old world business and average age of around 100 years old.

 

Welcome to the forum @abc - I look forward to your on he grounds views with the us market as well as real life insight on how you manage the multiple tax regimes.

 

Welcome to PC

Interesting

I have been buying Property in US markets started in 2011. Lots of foreigners buying up, low inventory

Its been amazing for growth and cashflow

I do recall many Aussie investors getting burnt in Rochester

MTR

 

Thx Ross .... tax is the ultimate necessary evil that follows you

 

I thing @MTR for an Australian investor, partial to real estate given all the changes with regulations and the economic and political uncertainties down there, with interest rates forced to go on the rise b/c of the US, it is smart of you to be investing in the US.
Sure your rates of return would be impossible to achieve even in the vicinity back home, particularly with that low a capital investment.

 

Thanks, I agree.
Lots of upside in USA property markets atm

Love New York, great part of the world

MTR