McWilliams "an asset that is appreciating at a rate of about 25 per cent per year"

wiseguy

Seems he wasn't immune to the property "investment" game either ...

Found this old gem > http://www.davidmcwilliams.ie/2005/04/11/tough-road-leads-to-easy-life-in-the-croatian-sun

So, on balance, is it worth it? Well,yes. Not only will you have your place in the sun, but you will own an asset that is appreciating at a rate of about 25 per cent per year. Croatia is hardwork, but worth the effort –

So yes, there are still bargains to be had – but only in the context of prices in the rest of the Mediterranean. No matter what you pay, the locals will mutter that you have paid over the odds and, no doubt, they will be right.

WalterMitty

wiseguy wrote: »

Seems he wasn't immune to the property "investment" game either ...

Found this old gem > http://www.davidmcwilliams.ie/2005/04/11/tough-road-leads-to-easy-life-in-the-croatian-sun

He loves croatia and admits he paid over odds. Whats the prob.

mikemac

No matter what you pay, the locals will mutter that you have paid over the odds

He freely admits what he did and even after haggling he paid too much

The sun, the blue skies, the beach, fresh fish, fresh fruit, good wine, authentic locals, no traffic, no hassle, every day a dream.

If he loves Croatia then buying a home there is a perfectly good way to spend his money

That article is from 2005 and if prices were going up 25% per year then the article shows this.

Realy OP, are you pulling out a five year article and trying to show he makes incorrect predictions and got burnt in property investment?

Even if he lost money, it's a holiday home and he loves the country and probably has no intention to sell ever.
I don't see anything in that article about buying it to get an easy profit which a lot of people did in such places and Bulgaria

Uriel.

The OP is not a wise guy afterall:rolleyes:

cson

I'm sure you could pull all manner of articles that'd be worse than the one you've linked to for every commentator out there.

Hindsight gives you 20:20 vision OP.

What purpose does this thread serve either?

P. Breathnach

cson wrote: »

... What purpose does this thread serve either?

It raises the idea, which some people who post here might find difficult to accept, that McWilliams is not right about everything.

cson

P. Breathnach wrote: »

It raises the idea, which some people who post here might find difficult to accept, that McWilliams is not right about everything.

And who ever is exactly? Outside of my own mother, I'd say no one. :pac:

It's a thread that bases itself on an article from 5 years ago and uses it to disparage the author. I'm not a McWilliams fan but a lot of what he says is correct, it is unfortunate that it's often cloaked in self aggrandizement.

This thread has in my opinion no other purpose than to snipe at McWilliams. It doesn't serve to further any discussion on the Irish Economy which I think you'll find is the forum name.

jimmycrackcorm

I'm sure we can figure out that it wasn't going to appreciate 25% indefinitely.

Don't forget also that this is not in the context of the Irish property crash. For all we know the property referred to could still be in positive equity.

WalterMitty

Probably his wife pressuring him to buy it ! ya know what the women are like! He prob bought it with cash anyway. Hes loaded.

Liam Byrne

I would note the FACTS of what he's saying, which is

that is appreciating at a rate of about 25 per cent per year

If it was doing so, back in 2005, then he's correct. He did not say "will appreciate", or "will continue to appreciate", or "will have a soft landing" :rolleyes:

If he claimed - like Ahern & Co - that it was going to continue to appreciate, then he'd be wrong.

P. Breathnach

Liam Byrne wrote: »

I would note the FACTS of what he's saying, which is

that is appreciating at a rate of about 25 per cent per year

If it was doing so, back in 2005, then he's correct. He did not say "will appreciate", or "will continue to appreciate", or "will have a soft landing" :rolleyes:

If he claimed - like Ahern & Co - that it was going to continue to appreciate, then he'd be wrong.

I suspect that even David McWilliams would not have the chutzpah to defend what he said in such a specious way.

ZYX

Liam Byrne wrote: »

If it was doing so, back in 2005, then he's correct. He did not say "will appreciate", or "will continue to appreciate", or "will have a soft landing" :rolleyes:
.

Well he kind of did. He said "If you buy on the islands – which you should do, for both capital gain and the beauty of the place"

Combine that with:
So, on balance, is it worth it? Well,yes. Not only will you have your place in the sun, but you will own an asset that is appreciating at a rate of about 25 per cent per year.

I would take that as advising people to buy and it will go up in price. Are you reading it differently?

By the way property in Croatia is falling much the same as in Ireland according to New York Times:
But by late 2007, financial woes in Britain began to be felt in Dubrovnik’s property market. “We’re very reliant on Western European buyers,” Mr. Kelleher said. By 2009, the number of transactions in the Dubrovnik area had fallen 80 percent. Although prices dropped about 30 percent overall since their peak in 2007, Mr. Kelleher said they had stayed relatively stable inside the walled city itself. A June 2010 report by Knight Frank shows price declines in Croatia at 11.4 percent from the first quarter of 2009 to the same period in 2010.

dan_d

To do with nothing....the title of this thread, when read a certain way, is kind funny..!!

mikemac

Realy OP, you could take every economist and find a mistake for all of them if you go back far enough and read 5 year old articles.

Nobody claims he doesn't get things wrong, we all do.

He said it was appreciating at 25% per year and this was probably the case in 2005 but it doesn't mention this would continue for years and years.

I'm sure it is a beautiful place and he paid over the odds, something a lot of people would never admit to since they are so canny and negotiating experts. For a man who many say is smug he wrote he got ripped off and admitted it.
This thread is little more then you sitting back and sniping.


Liam has a point.
"soft landing" was the buzz word on boards and in the media not so long ago.
Well that word has quickly disappeared from here:D

BeeDI

Best thing about McWilliams place in Croatia, is he might some day go there and fukn stay there:D

ZYX

feelingstressed wrote: »

Realy OP, you could take every economist and find a mistake for all of them if you go back far enough and read 5 year old articles.

Nobody claims he doesn't get things wrong, we all do.

This is not about an economist getting it wrong. DMcW is wrong so often it would be easy to devote multiple threads to his wrong assertions.

The problem here is, he was preaching about the property market in Ireland at the time and yet here he is advising people to buy in Croatia. This is clear advise to buy and was used in marketing by firms selling property in Croatia.

DMcW is constantly quoted on this site, (and keeps saying it in public) that you should value property at 14 times annual rent. Yet here he totally ignored this advice.

His even openly says foreigners will pay more for property yet still thinks other people should go and do the same.

His main reason for paying so much for property in Croatia seems to be that it is cheaper than Spain which is a bit like saying property in Leitrim is good value because it is cheaper than Dublin.

feelingstressed wrote: »

He said it was appreciating at 25% per year and this was probably the case in 2005 but it doesn't mention this would continue for years and years.

Finally despite what people seem to think, he certainly gave the impression that buying in Croatia would see 25% gains and it has "first mover advantages".
" So, on balance, is it worth it? Well,yes. Not only will you have your place in the sun, but you will own an asset that is appreciating at a rate of about 25 per cent per year. Croatia is hardwork, but worth the effort"
Clearly anyone reading that would think it will continue to grow at this rate. Afterall it is "worth the effort" and "still has first mover advantage"

Very few economists in this country were so open in their advice to people to throw their money away in such a ridiculous fashion as David McWilliams in this article.

jmayo

wiseguy wrote: »

Seems he wasn't immune to the property "investment" game either ...

Found this old gem > http://www.davidmcwilliams.ie/2005/04/11/tough-road-leads-to-easy-life-in-the-croatian-sun

AFAIK McWilliams had a fair few overseas property investments and he got out of certain markets near the peak.

BeeDI wrote: »

Best thing about McWilliams place in Croatia, is he might some day go there and fukn stay there:D

Yeah lets drive out all the naysayers.