So, over the past few months, I started looking at homes to potentially relocate and retire to in a couple years. Coincidentally, I also have a family member traveling to Ecuador in a few weeks. I began searching YouTube for Ecuador travel videos, and the search results return videos that sell real estate, presumably to folks from foreign countries (i.e., expats) looking to relocate to Ecuador.
I came across several homes in Ecuador that are amazing values compared to U.S.-based homes. Of course, folks will say it's all about location. However, let's set location aside and focus just on the material and labor costs of these homes. Something doesn't add up. In the examples below, I'll compare a 971 sq. ft., 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath home on a 5,227 sq. ft. lot located in North Carolina for $338,000 to a modern home in Ecuador. Honestly, the NC home basically looks like a shed. If someone told me that they purchased it as a kit from the local hardware store, I'd believe them.
Now, compare it to the five bedroom, six bath, two-story, mostly brick and glass home located on a very nice lot in a beautiful setting with gorgeous views in Ecuador for $275,000. Each bedroom has a private bath and access to a patio or balcony. There is at least one brick fireplace, and a very nice outdoor cooking area. Granite countertops in the kitchen and what appears to be marble tile in the bathrooms. A Covered car port is integrated into the design. The property includes about a dozen various types of citrus trees and more banana trees with an irrigation system to keep them healthy. The list of features goes on.
Obviously, the biggest difference might be the cost of labor. But, how many man-hours of labor could it take to build the NC house-shed compared to the brick and glass home in Ecuador? Even if the labor is cheaper, I gotta believe there is a heck of a lot more hours of labor and craftsmanship required to build the Ecuador home to balance out the cost difference. The cost of materials used to build the house in Ecuador has to dwarf the cost to build the house-shed in NC.
Furthermore, Ecuador's official currency is the U.S. dollar, for whatever that is worth.
Again, just comparing the cost to build these two homes and ignoring the location, can someone explain to me what the heck is going on with home prices in the U.S.? I suspect there is something rotten going on in our economy, and it's probably connected to all the other BS. There is no shortage of (or doesn't need to be) oil, gas, chicken, beef, steel, lumber, electricity, etc., yet these necessities are becoming less and less affordable for the average hard-working American. Now, you can lump basic housing into the mix of unaffordable items. Something tells me there are folks who don't want us to have these things, and so they are artificially being priced out of the reach of most Americans. By now, we've all probably heard the saying "you will own nothing and be happy." I think the way this is being accomplished right under our noses is by making it nearly impossible for anyone to own anything because of cost.
I'm sure some Campfire Capitalists will come along shortly to tell me that I'm just a broke-dick moron who is too dumb to understand economics and too lazy to afford things. That may or may not be the case. Regardless, if this keeps up, we are lost....
Please explain this to me in a way that passes the laugh test.
I'm sure some Campfire Capitalists will come along shortly to tell me that I'm just a broke-dick moron who is too dumb to understand economics and too lazy to afford things. That may or may not be the case. Regardless, if this keeps up, we are lost....
Please explain this to me in a way that passes the laugh test.
No, but you may be naive. Leave that house for 2 hours and it'll be stripped bare.
As you mentioned, it's all about location...location...location. There are areas of Raleigh, NC that used to be on "the edge of town" where shacks like you mentioned exist but sell for sometimes close to a million because they are in the growing, what's happening part of town. Same thing with older dilapidated houses inside the Raleigh beltline. Houses are cheaper in Ecuador because...it's Ecuador.
Several things contribute to the cost of construction in this country. Labor being a major expense. Compliance with building codes and government regulation is another which affects not only the project itself but every manufacturer and supplier that provides materials for the job.
I knew a woman whose father lived in Costa Rica and he died. She said she could not leave his home unoccupied because squatters have legal rights in that country and could move into his home and acquire title to the property. So yes location is a factor.
This is not to say we are not being manipulated. There is no secret the goal is for you to own nothing. Being happy is a state of mind.
I've traveled to Ecuador it's nice but it's been under a lot of political turmoil the past few years. That being said it's got to be safer than Detroit or Chicago. When ever I plan on traveling to a different country I hop on Facebook to see if there is a expat group for that country. It provides a wealth of information
No offense, but so far every reply has tried to explain this vast discrepancy only by location. Leaving location aside, how can the beautiful Ecuadorian home be built and sold for $275K and the NC house-shed be built on a miniscule piece of land and sold for $338K? Again, LEAVING LOCATION ASIDE, the materials and craftsmanship in the less expensive home are far more abundant and superior to the NC house. This would be like being OK with Toyota selling Land Cruisers in Ecuador for $20,000 and selling Toyota Corollas in the U.S. for $50,000. Then, having Toyota explain it by saying well, they are two different locations, so sit down and shut up. No, I am talking about the materials and production (i.e., labor) costs only.
It doesn't add up. I think we have been brainwashed to believe that a modest house in the U.S. built using among the least expensive construction methods and materials needs to cost nearly a half million dollars.
A few years ago when I started thinking about retiring, I never imagined I would need to spend nearly a half million dollars to buy a modest 3 bedroom, 2 bath ranch home on a quiet street.
Something stinks, and it's about time we figure it out. The American dream is lost for future generations, and it's happening by design.
If freedom is what you want, buy some acreage in the US, a chitty farm gate at the entrance and the biggest Airstream you can afford to beat the fuggin tax man.
My wife and I sponsor a young girl in Ecuador through Compassion. According to Compassion and our sponsored girl, it's not safe down there now. The government is unstable.
When you can get the last word with an echo, you may have the last word with your wife. - Chief Joseph, Nez Perce If goose was the only meat, there would be a lot more vegetarians. - Lloyd Adams, waterfowl hunter
Why can't anyone here focus on construction and materials costs? This isn't a question of crime rates or political unrest.
Americans are taking it up the azz, and folks here are brainwashed into thinking it's all innocently justifiable through their righteous devotion to "capitalism."
When your dollar is worth about 75% of what it was a few years ago, that ain't capitalism. And, when the government seizes another 25% or more of your income while running multi-trillion dollar annual deficits, that ain't capitalism. And, if you believe the official inflation data, I have a home to sell to you in Ecuador. If official inflation numbers were calculated the same way they were in 1980, last year's 7%-8% CPI rate would've been closer to 20%. How convenient that the government changed its official methodology used to calculate inflation by messing with things such as substitution and hedonic adjustments, and these changes just coincidentally make inflation numbers lower.
If you think the news is fake, wait until you find out what "they" have you believing about the economy.
I'm all for capitalism as much as anyone here, but what we have got now in this country ain't capitalism. Folks need to wake up.
Why can't anyone here focus on construction and materials costs? This isn't a question of crime rates or political unrest.
Americans are taking it up the azz, and folks here are brainwashed into thinking it's all innocently justifiable through their righteous devotion to "capitalism."
When your dollar is worth about 75% of what it was a few years ago, that ain't capitalism. And, when the government seizes another 25% or more of your income while running multi-trillion dollar annual deficits, that ain't capitalism. And, if you believe the official inflation data, I have a home to sell to you in Ecuador. If official inflation numbers were calculated the same way they were in 1980, last year's 7%-8% CPI rate would've been closer to 20%. How convenient that the government changed its official methodology used to calculate inflation by messing with things such as substitution and hedonic adjustments, and these changes just coincidentally make inflation numbers lower.
If you think the news is fake, wait until you find out what "they" have you believing about the economy.
I'm all for capitalism as much as anyone here, but what we have got now in this country ain't capitalism. Folks need to wake up.
You make some good points. Things are ridiculously expensive here in the United States and only getting worse.
Land costs, based on location, is among the largest variables in building. You failed to mention that. You also seem to want to define capitalism through inflation. I'm no economist but you're going to need to explain that to me.
Here is a simple definition of Capitalism. "Capitalism is often thought of as an economic system in which private actors own and control property in accord with their interests, and demand and supply freely set prices in markets in a way that can serve the best interests of society. The essential feature of capitalism is the motive to make a profit." Inflation happens in every economic system. Like you, I don't like inflation and how it has diminished the value of the dollar but you can't blame that on Capitalism.
