Here’s your open discussion topic for Friday, June 15th.
– Housing affordability has ‘started to deteriorate‘?
– Fraser sez: wrong way to make a region livable.
– It’s still condomania in Canada.
– Foreclosures rise to record level in USA.
What are you seeing out there? Post your news, links, rants & anecdotes here!
From thehousingbubbleblog.com: Since rent on many Florida condos only covers taxes and fees, those condos are literally worth nothing. Soon maybe less than nothing. No point in paying for hurricane insurance.
Dear expo 86,That site shows you how any ignorant boob can be your landlord, whether they have letters behind their name or not. Much to my chagrin, I've discovered this in the last few months.Yours Truly,Patiently Waiting Esq.
Who's buying?ask Richard
This is a "free for all" post, after all 😉
Some of my relatives love this type of market. Cutthroat seller competition so you can use all the old bazaar haggling tricks. And you can't really loseWhoa, be careful. This grab-yer-sack, naked- aggression style real estate talk might get some people feeling downright jiggy.But, why not? You can't really lose:)
"Most properties in FCN are now selling at or below city assessed."Sounds like a good deal to me. Anyone will tell you that properties always sell above assessed value. Go over to Chipman's site for more details why.Some of my relatives love this type of market. Cutthroat seller competition so you can use all the old bazaar haggling tricks. And you can't really lose: under assessed value + RE only goes up= Profit
That property is still on the market, in FCN… I will let you know when it sells. Listed $25k below assessed. Most properties in FCN are now selling at or below city assessed.
got a missive from our mortgage broker.. an "urgent" heads up on the mortgage rate increases…contained 2 run on sentences and 1 egregious spelling error…..just banging them out… Jeff, want to hear more from the trenches, gonna be interesting when Spectrum completes
650 full-time positions terminated at Air Canada Technical Services in Vancouver.
Jeff,thank goodness the seller was greedy and didn't accept my offer. He now wants me to come back with my offer… I laughed… he said he'll take less… I laughed again.I was stunned by your anecdote. thank you for sharing it with us. Would you care to give us more details (e.g., the area, asking price, your offer..)I remember a similar thing happened back in 2002 at a 1br in 811 helmcken st.The unit was listed for something like 140k. it had been on the market for several weeks. I asked the realtor why. He said the owner had rejected an offer for 135k and was now regretting it, i could probably get it for $130k.
More on the forestry slowdown…"Also on Thursday, PricewaterhouseCoopers said the Canadian forestry sector lost $152 million in the first quarter of this year, due to a slowdown in the U.S housing sector."
Interesting article comparing thewar in Iraq to the housing crash.http://tinyurl.com/269t6uHarsh analogy?
"The very rich are different from you and me: they don't seem to be too worried about the current housing slump. At least that's what a new study released Monday found." No wonder I just sold a penthouse above list price.Thanks SATV for explaining that 1000's of other condo units are competing with my product. Obviously the new supply of those units and no demand elsewhere will allow the market to go higher at a later time. I will tell my clients to wait it out a decade.
Why bother saving farmland?Make the farms get their OWN condos!http://nymag.com/news/features/30020/🙂
A survey showing Toronto as more expensive is possible, it just depends how you much you weight each of the items in your survey. I suspect housing did not get a 70% weighting, contrary to what RBC reports.Generally speaking, consultant reports (not just the Mercer surveys on the best places to do business) are best viewed as revenue tools for consultants, and seldom contain accurate or useful information.
I spoke with a realtor last night. (We just got kicked out of our rental house because it was sold). He was checking to see if we had finished moving out, and he was genuinely relieved to have finally made the sale. It took him over a year because the owner wouldn't budge on the price.I would like to think that the tide is turning on the RE market, but I doubt it. There seems to be plenty of dumb money out there still.
OT, but there's another report out from Mercer 'Human Resource' (I love that term). These are the same guys that ranked Vancouver as the third best place in the world to live.In their World's Most Expensive Cities report, it seems that Toronto is the most expensive city in Canada. World's Most"Toronto, meanwhile, ranks as Canada's most expensive city but fell 35 places to take 82nd place worldwide"How does that work? I thought we paid more for housing and fuel and goods.I always figured that Mercer reports are about as accurate and meaningful as a numberless thermometer.
I was at a gathering Saturday night. Some decision about the 70% headline in the Vancouver Sun and how its impossible for young people in Vancouver. One person was very relieved to have finally sold their flip home and avoided financial disaster. Had a decision with a real estate agent who had always been bullish on local real estate. While he said his business was going well, he used the word "crash" to describe where he thinks the market is eventually heading.
market calm down here as usuall after july but this bit early trend are circumstancial.in your area onni is coming close to elan and fresia, people might have interest in that rather than your listing.this capitol residence is currently selling almost comp.off the robson.and there is new project is being launched on robson infront of library.so yaletown is being put on halt because of them, and there is gaint 1100 unit hotel and residencial combo project is coming to downtown next year.you may be right in your point of view but there are circumastance's to slow down the sale,not a scary stuff.if you know the custom of buying and selling people should hold there property, that value more than listing price,but that is not good for your bussiness.so your current advice is to run your bussiness and yes if those… Read more »
I think the rate hikes probably scared people, hopefully to re-evaluate things overall, but time will tell.
"I have 4 listings and no showing appointments booked for the week so far."Well then Mr. Realtor, why seem to have the time to help out with some "numbers", unless you prefer people to get them from the dark side.
I have 4 listings and no showing appointments booked for the week so far. Hence the late night typing. I got no calls this weekend. Very unusual… probably a first. Any comments? Is it mortgage rates? Is it summer?
SATV, what do you want to tell my sellers that are looking at their listings on the market for 30/60/90 days+1082 Seymour numbers that you quoted are wrong. But there were also 50+ listings last year that were competing for the same buyers. The inventory is down now.As for working hard. Those who know me, know how hard I work. I have a responsibility to my clients to sell their properties and if the property is overpriced then I suggest reducing.Sellers need to realize that the last sale price of a comparable property is probably the peak of the market and prices are lower from here. I just started talking this way to my clients this month.In fact, I almost bought a place myself a month ago. What was I thinking? That in itself made me realize I was buying… Read more »
Markx As for the Canadian dream of owning a SFH, does every middle class family in Toronto own a SFH?probably more families than in Vancouver. It would be wrong to turn the entire lower mainland into a suburb since demographics indicate that in a generation or two our population will be much smaller and older, may as well leave the farm land since oil and gas will probably be either depleted or taxed beyond affordablility, we will then have to grow food locally (novel concept). If the demographic trend continues, we don't even need to worry about density, 20 years from now there will be enough housing for everyone. 40 years from now, there will be too many houses etc.
VANCE IS MY NAME(VHB)vhb told some news paper that his name is vance but never mention his full name.JIM this georgia artical you talking about vance did not say word about bubb….JEFF there were atleast 15 condo listed for 305k in july ,06.1082 seymour, yaletown. because of bubble scare last year realtor like you convince them to come down mom 10k end of 2006. price were down from 305 to 268k when all of those were sold and, last month some of those same unit were on sale 350k in 2007.those sellers are still cursing those realtor who convinced them.seems like you are walking on their foot steps you are a kind of lazy realtor who wants to make quick pocket money so you scare the sellers. soon you will be free of this mess when people will come to… Read more »