Canadian real estate investors are looking abroad more and more, as the domestic luxury market remains tight. Low inventory is the primary reason for that. Sales of property over $4 million surged 157% year-over-year the first two months of 2021. California real estate is a popular destination. And if you’re looking at California, how does the home where Margot Robbie has lived sound?
The superstar actress from films like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and The Wolf of Wall Street has listed her home in Hancock Park, Los Angeles, for $3.47 million. Engels & Völkers is brokering the home (Sam Real and Justin Fierro of Engel & Völkers Beverly Hills).
If you’re a Canadian who’s a creative real estate investor, willing to work mortgage financing into your investment, RBC offers U.S. mortgages, as we have written on in the past. And this might be the time to buy. Coming so soon out of a worldwide pandemic, investors from places like China and Europe are going to be re-entering the U.S. market more aggressively soon.
California second-most popular real estate investment destination for Canadians
According to Alain Forget, Director of U.S. Real Estate Business Development at RBC, California is the No. 2 most popular state for Canadians buying real estate in the U.S.
In the year prior to the pandemic (April 2019 to March 2020), Canadians purchased around $1.8 billion in California real estate. That was 19 per cent of the 18,300 national U.S. residential purchase transactions by Canadians during that period. Florida was No. 1 (50 per cent).
“For a second/vacation home (if this property is for rental investment, only, instead of owner occupied, rates will be 1% higher) currently U.S. mortgage rates for second/vacation home are ranging from 2.75% to 3.75% for term of 3, 5, 7 and 10 years with 30 year amortization,” Forget says. “There are also few factors to take into consideration when assessing the rate. That includes amount and credit score. Our maximum mortgage amount is $2 million however we can consider a higher loan amount by exception on a case-by-case basis.”
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Canada’s best luxury website: Margot Robbie’s L.A. home
Robbie’s home combines a charming beach vibe aesthetic, laid-back elegance and classic design, with exclusive finishes. Hancock Park is a sought-after neighbourhood in L.A., one of the wealthiest and oldest districts. The area is dotted with 1920s mansions and beautiful gardens, along with boutique shopping along Wilshire Boulevard.
Built in 2016, the classic gated residence is 3,300 square feet of living space, including four bedrooms, six bathrooms, separate dining room. It has a walk-in wine cellar, a private dog/cat room built-in with a separate entry door. The open plan kitchen connects seamlessly with a living area.
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A light grey marble fireplace is a big feature on the property. The living room has a wooden swing with bast ropes, if you’re searching for a happy-go-lucky flair. An oversized, glazed and black-framed doorway leads out to a garden. Out by the pool there’s a large cabana with a small bar.
The interior design brings together the industrial chic of the West Coast with the classic elegance of New England’s wooden houses. Luxury finishes include dark hardwood floors with predominantly white wall panelling and coffered ceilings. The bistro-style kitchen is stunning – Italian Carrara marble, big, beautiful kitchen island, spacious and open.
I am a 50-something Torontonian who loves everything about my city. It’s been my home, my playground, for my entire life. I went to school here. I met my wife here. I own real estate here. I love writing about the transformation of my city on the world stage, which hasn’t been anything short of dramatic. That continues on, as I write this. I write on the real estate scene. I write on travel and fashion. I like following the world of luxury watches.
But I love writing about cars – check that, luxury cars, a level of superior, engineering sophistication, high performance and style, that transports you not just from one destination to another but also out of whatever you are going through on a particular day, whatever mood you are in, all to another head space. It’s complete and total exhilaration, head to toe.
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