There’s a story in the tyee this morning about the mysterious VHB and the Vancouver Housing Market Blog. I just checked, and he hasn’t posted anything about this yet, which means I scooped him on a story about his site. Boo-yah!
(for the next five or ten minutes anyways)
dingus: completely agree on the 'liveability' issue. I'm feeling the same way about moving on. If it weren't for the fact that I enjoy my work and have good friends here I'd be out of here already.In fact, I think if my job situation here ever changed I'd be out of here the next month. I can keep in touch with friends and Its just not worth the coin to live here, housing is shite and this time of year the weather and dark are just spirit-crushing. I'd rather live somewhere brighter, even if its colder with snow in other canadian cities its the wet that really feels cold here.
dingus said… And d_oush, man, you're the best.I second that.
Yeah, that second story "Struggling to Stay in Vancouver — Is this city really worth it?" really nails it. I know many folks turning this question over and over in their minds. If there is no imminent correction, this city will hollow out — no middle class, no families. Just aging boomers, wealth asians and skidmarks living in basement hovels. Has already manifested itself in declining school enrollments in East Van. Families unable to afford East Van! Shouldn't the hallmark of a livable city be, you know, actually being able to live there? About once a week I wake up and say "f*ck it, it's not THAT nice here, and a little winter wouldn't kill you". But general inertia and employment uncertainties leave my feet in the clay. But I drive around and look at the ugliness of the densification… Read more »
Nice catch with the tulips wannaget2calgary. I figured some people here would know what I was refering to.There's a chapter dedicated to that subject in Charles McKays Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds.Slow learners? I'd say so.
There are other stories well worth the read. The article "Struggling to Stay in Vancouver — Is this city really worth it?" does a good job of countering the oft-repeated sentiment that Vancouver is a great city / world-class city / everyone wants to move here.I expect that more and more people will be asking the same question as the author — is it really worth it? IMHO, this is inevitable. With this in mind, don't expect flat prices.
digi thoughtfully considered, "I mean, tulips are pretty and all" and then wondered out loud, "but what were the dutch thinking?"From investopedia: "The Biggest Market Crashes in History: The Tulip and Bulb Craze / When: 1634-1637 / Where: Holland"That was three hundred and seventy (370) years ago. Does that make us slow learners?
Thanks for the credit VHB, its always good to see mention of this issue in the press from a non-cheerleading point of view.
Well, the scoop lasted for an hour. I'll give you credit, though!
How come every time there is a big boom its always 'different this time' before a bust. Dot com tech stocks were supposed to be a fundamental shift, a new paradigm for business. Vancouver real estate in '81 was never going down, but prices dropped almost in half in one year.I mean, tulips are pretty and all, but what were the dutch thinking?
Wouldn't flat prices actually be declining if you account for inflation? If prices don't rise by at least a couple of percent a year thats a drop in real terms. You can easily get 5 percent garaunteed return without any of the expense or risk of owning, so how would that make real estate here a good investment?
Why is there so much energy spent on trying to predict the future of our housing market? Nobody knows what the future holds, all we know is that we've got a strong economy and a desireable location.Sit back and enjoy!
That's a pretty good story, fairly balanced – the gist of it seems to be that prices will flatten not fall, but there's no real mention of timeframe for these predictions. I wonder what the effect flat prices would have on the market? Would incomes rise so that more people could buy? Would enthusiasm be dampened by the fact that prices are no longer going up?