Friday free-for-all
Its time for our weekly real estate news round-up and general open topic discussion here on VancouverCondo.info . Here’s a few stories I’ve noticed this week:
- Vancouver records $7 billion in building permits for 2007
- Another BC sawmill closing down
- Senate passing out money to stimulate economy
- US slowdown hits the Canadian economy
- China’s latest consumer export: inflation
- 10 lies desperate home sellers tell
- Warren Buffet: money still cheap
What are you seeing out there? Post your news, links and anecdotes here!
note: please don’t paste entire articles in the comments, link to the original source and quote key points if appropriate.
RSS 2.0 comments feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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andreas Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 12:59 am
one major stastistic in the builders permit article statrs that there were 1000 fewer building permits in 2007 than 2006. any theories?
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freako Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 7:18 am
CMHC qoute:
“Historically low mortgage rates, solid employment and income growth as well as a high level of consumer confidence continue to underpin the high level of housing starts,” said CMHC chief economist Bob Dugan.
The usual from the usual suspects. My question: is he saying that people want more than one house because rates are low and job security is high? Shouldn’t he look at population growth instead when justifying high level of starts?
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Dan Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 7:55 am
Housing starts begin the year with a bang:
Housing starts in Canada jumped in January, yet another sign that the Canadian market continues strong while the U.S. market melts down.
Housing starts rose to 222,700 on a seasonally adjusted and annual basis, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Friday, up from 184,700 in December and more than economists had forecast.
Article in the Globe and Mail
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Warren Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 8:36 am
Remind me what defines a “housing start”? Is that shovels in the ground, or permitting by the municipal government?
I guess my question is, how many never become built? We have a giant number of units “under construction”, are they actually being built?
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The Pope Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 8:42 am
Dan (and everyone else):
Please don’t paste entire articles, just put the link in your comment. Quoting specific parts of an article is fine, but full articles fill up this space pretty quickly.
Thanks!
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Drachen Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Wikipedia says:
“Housing Starts are the number of privately owned new homes (technically housing units) on which construction has been started over some period.”
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patriotz Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 10:34 am
Party on dudes!
“We expect the Canadian housing market to remain in fairly good shape in 2008 and to remain an important source of economic activity in Canada,” economics strategist Millan Mulraine of TD Securities said in a note.
The economy is strong because housing is strong. And housing is strong because the economy is strong.
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jesse Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Consumer confidence and economic growth also seem to have the same Escheresque relationship. The virtuous cycle continues.
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ForeignerX Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 10:51 am
I receive this from a friend. I don t know much more but I though it would certainly interest some people here:
Hi All
Anybody wondering why housing is so expensive or why there is so little rental
housing in Vancouver? I’ve heard rumours that in some new condo buildings about 25
to 33% of the condos remain unoccupied. However I’ve never been able to get any
official confirmation of this. A new documentary tries to uncover this phenomenon.
Giant Leap/A Pas de Geants is a documentary at Vancity Theatre playing tomorrow
night, Friday, Feb 8 at 20:10. It is about the number of condos in Vancouver that
are being built and bought for speculation with nobody living in them. It’s also
about the destruction of heritage buildings with their replacement by ugly
architecture. The filmmaker was interviewed on the radio this morning.
The film is part of the Rendez-Vous Vancouver, francophone film festival. The
documentary is bilingual.
Giant Leap plays Friday, Feb 8 at 20:45 and is preceded by Ben, Voyons Camille at
20:10. It plays again at noon on Wed, Feb 13. It’s part of a double bill, 10$.
You need a membership pass to see films at Vancity, about 5$. So get there early
enough to get a pass.
Check out the schedule at:
http://www.rendez-vousvancouver.com/
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Me Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 10:54 am
The same article also said that the Housing Starts in Jan were 11% less than the one in the same period in 2007. Why do you miss this?
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Drachen Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Me:
That may or may not be relevant. It’s been a lot colder and stormier this winter than last which has an effect on starts.
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Me Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
I am wondering how long it takes to plan the construction and to get a permit. Within one month?
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Tony Danza Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
The economy is so strong that:
“TimberWest Forest Corp. has announced that it will permanently close the Elk Falls sawmill in Campbell River, B.C. The last full operating shift will be May 9. – 2/8/2008″
That’s OK the boomers moving to the Island will keep those $25/hr labourers employed in the local grocery stores.
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Lager not Logger Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
So housing is strong because the economy is strong because housing is strong? What about when we finish all the major infrastructure construction projects and all those condo towers going up everywhere? Will stoners still be able to find jobs paying $25 bucks an hour?
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Lager not Logger Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
There was another sea-side town with a strong economy based on building and selling condos.. where was that again.. Oh yeah florida.
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Dosh Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
I’ve heard rumours that in some new condo buildings about 25 to 33% of the condos remain unoccupied
You can have rumors about anything, I’ve heard rumors the moon is made out of cheese but that doesnt mean that it is.
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blueskies Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Dosh:
good of you to drop by!
took a walk downtown today……
Patina, The Mode, Dolce and Vita, Atelier
L’Hermitage, Capitol, Canada Line, Convention Centre, Renaissance, Flat Iron, Ritz-Carlton,
Pinnacle International and Shangri La
lots of construction workers in all these, on completion gonna be pretty quiet…
but it’s all good according to satv et al
increased supply is directly correlated to increased demand….
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solipsist Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
I liked the article “10 Lies”. A couple of lines jumped out at me;
I know this all sounds very tedious and not at all what you want to spend your time doing, but these few simple steps can save you countless hours of misery down the road.
That is of course the attitude – “buy now or be priced out forever”. All that other stuff like; “can we really afford it? and closing costs and replacing the 50 year old furnace, and the mould from the leaking roof and plumbing, and the liens against the property, etc., it’s too hard. Just sign, and hope for the best.
Picture yourself 10 years from now,…
Your house is now approaching 60% of what you paid for it before The Big Implosion, and the global economy is still reeling. You have come down with asbestosis because you did not know that your house was insulated with it, and your wife has lost her job at Starbucks because it closed down. And her lungs are pooched too.
Oh, the tedium of prudence.
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scullboy Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Actually if you want to get a good picture, here’s what you need to do:
first, walk along the sea wall from Cole Harbour to Denman around 6 PM on a Monday (dinner time). Note each building and count the number of suites with the lights on.
The following Monday walk along the sea wall from about Chilco to…. oh say to the Burrard street bridge at about the same time of day. Count the number of suites with lights on, then estimate percentage of units that are occupied.
The difference is on the Cole Harbour side, they’re mostly “owned”
On the English Bay side, they’re mostly “rented”.
Any time I’ve done this there have been about twice as many people in the “rented” units.
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Tony Danza Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
You can have rumors about anything, I’ve heard rumors the moon is made out of cheese but that doesnt mean that it is.
Your wit is scathing Dosh, no really you’re so witty and sophisticated you must be a homeowner.
Reminds me of the new label applied to many in the US now: homoaner get it? See Dosh I can be witty too!
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btk Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Blueskies, aside from the influx of units available, the exodus of construction jobs, the lack of $100k a year jobs (to pay for the 1 bedroom units)in Vancouver to begin with, the conclusion of the federally funded infrastructure (more jobs gone), and a global recession we have nothing to fear because the units have gone up the last three years therefore they will always go up.
Past performance equals future return!
Every one of those new units will double again.
Just take a look L.A.
L.A. had the Olympics in 1984 and is internationally known and a place that wealthy people like to visit and live, so that means prices will automatically go up 10% a year forever, plus they have high paying jobs, a nice climate and they went up before.
So it’s clear that Vancouver will go up too.
On a serious note. Property Managers are trying to tell owners at YTP (yaletown park 1-3) that they cannot rent their 505 sq ft unit out for $1500 a month. These are buyers who paid significantly less than the next batch , that you mentioned above such as Dolce, Capital etc.
Imagine their surprise when they discover that despite paying double the price for their new unit they’ll be unable to get more rent than someone who bought at the Mondrian 7 years ago (bought for $200k and rents for $1250).
“But I paid $600,000 for this unit, I CAN GET MORE THAN THAT!”
If Spectrum is any indication then it will lead to a vacant units (November, December, January, February).
Even writing in caps hasn’t worked for these clever first time landlords.
Mortgage cost=$3500 per month + strata + 6% property management fee
Potential Best Case Rent scenario= $1450
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jesse Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
“But I paid $600,000 for this unit, I CAN GET MORE THAN THAT!”
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scullboy Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Yeah but the problem is in that neighborhood you’re competing with the SRO joints. And soon enough… with the W
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jesse Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Florida is an interesting place to watch, as is San Diego and Sacramento. The most interesting effect I didn’t anticipate was the “triage” effect, where there are so many listings that many are ignored and traffic dries up completely. That and Realtor neglect of listings becomes more common. The unanticipated effect for buyers is that the number of crap listings out there it makes it difficult to find stuff worth buying.
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btk Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
The W, oh man, you guys are good.
Remember VHB breaking it down?
I think he said the median income in Pt Grey was $109,000 a year and you’d need an income of $120,000 a year to qualify to buy a 2 bedroom.
Now those same units have “appreciated” 25%?
So if I bought an assignment today for $800k what do you guys think i could rent it for?
$1650?
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scullboy Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
How much *do* crack whores make per month?
Actually you could probably rent one out to a pimp…not an assignment mind you but the actual unit… if it ever gets built.
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blueskies Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Even writing in caps hasn’t worked for these clever first time landlords.
yes i noticed that and “!”
the #of “!” is inversely proportional to the level of sophistication and desperation of the newbie landlord.
FOR RENT!! IMMEDIATELY!!!!! CALL NOW!!!!!!!!
FIRST MONTH FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PLEASE PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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blueskies Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
my all time favourite search parameter
“must rent”
http://tinyurl.com/22ehrd
quiet and clearn. must rent out for feb 1st. $300 bonues
posted feb 5/08
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BBY Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
The typos are funny!
“new security building with gym gameroom hot tube. quiet and clearn. must rent out for feb 1st. $300 bonues. please call 604-512-0930 for detail. 24 hours available to view. no massage or e-mail”
I wanna “hot tube”, but “no massage”? However it is “clearn”. And the “bonues”.
Seriously though, I have been watching the search results for Spectrum on craigslist, and they are declining. They were around 220 in december; today it’s 147. Any comments on that?
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blueskies Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
They were around 220 in december; today it’s 147. Any comments on that?
if the dates go back awhile there could be duplicates, but if this is just 1 day then some of the units must have been rented….
especially the “clearn” ones…..
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Snark Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Hey, who wants a pay raise? Lets have a show of hands..
ok then, it’s unanimous! Does 600% sound reasonable?
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Snark Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
some more good news on the infinite feedback loop front:
Real estate prices help local economy stay strong.
I guess ‘critical thinking 101′ isn’t a required course for a journalism major.
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Michael Randallbard Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Thousands of Credit Cards Called Back in
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freako Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
From snark’s link:
There are two really good indicators to see how well your local economy is doing, housing starts and job creation.
Okeedokee. If you say so.
She says 30-thousand people moved here last year and some 36-thousand jobs were created.
So people move here to build houses for themselves? That will last.
Adamache expects after seeing housing prices go up 11% last year, you can expect prices to be 14% higher in two years.
And I expect that Adamache is going to look like a t*t in two years. Affordability? Who needs it.
But don’t blame speculators for those higher prices, “The figure we have there has been declining over the past year or so, we’re looking at less than 20 percent of home sales, that are being bought and sold within a year.”
Yes please redefine the term “speculator” to whatever suits your lily ass. Those who buy with the expectation of future price increases cannot possibly be “speculators” if they don’t resell within a year. How f*cking convenient. This crap make me ill.
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Strataman Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
BBY “results for Spectrum ” “any comments” I think they have stopped trying to rent them, and have listed them. In the last month listings have grown to 110 up from 55 a month ago. Some have dropped $40,000 (MLS# V679040), an early listing in Nov 22. Towers 3 and 4 are 60% vacant Towers 1 and 2 about 15% vacant. 27 (of the original 57 listings two listings cancelled) have sold early before Jan, in the December hot sales it seems. Stagnate since then. I only search $700 K down so it is possible there are a few above that.
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Michael Randallbard Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
“Ummm, okay, no problem, we’ll knock ten grand off the purchase price. Now then, take a look at that patio!”
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Dude Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
CMHC is full of crap. Housing starts in Jan over Dec is almost alway higher. Housing start in December is the lowest time in the year. Even if the market is crashing, housing starts in Jan will almost aways be higher. From what CMHC is say, the market is crashing. This is because they have no real positive news. It’s like say retail sales is great, we have a strong economy. The credit card sales in December is 15% higher than November. Even in a recession, the sales in December will almost always be higher than November. This is more evidence that the market is crashing.
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Michael Randallbard Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Bankruptcies in the Danish construction industry rose to the highest level in at least 15 years in January, indicating the economy is in the grips of a slowdown led by declines in the real-estate market
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seenit Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
wow! even the big apple is seeing a wave of foreclosures, and thats a city where people get paid properly. I hear they even have an economy based on something other than condos and pot.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/02.....378431.htm
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betamax Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
House starts were up in the US also, just before the crash. All that starts show is how many developers are still ramping up supply because they think it’ll boom forever.
Actually I know of one small developer who’s getting out of the biz. He sold his business after getting multiple offers on it. He used the excuse that he’s taking early retirement, but privately he expects a crash any time. So they’re not all dumb or greedy.
I knew Robyn Adamache in university; she’s a bright woman (though not overly so), so she’s either following the party line to keep her job, or she’s drunk the Koolaid and doesn’t question any of the suppositions her models are built on.
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Strataman Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 6:47 am
Great BARE numbers on PaulB’s site!
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VHB Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 9:36 am
Check out the listing trend
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Anonymous Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 10:58 am
you people should be buying instead of complaining – get into the houising market at what you can afford and stop worrying.
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blueskies Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 11:27 am
get into the houising market at what you can afford and stop worrying.,/i>
therein lies the crux of the problem……
it is NOT affordable…..
not to worry though… that will change…soon
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blueskies Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 11:28 am
!
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patriotz Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 11:37 am
you people should be buying instead of complaining – get into the houising market at what you can afford and stop worrying.
Speak for yourself, bozo. We not just talking the talk, we’re walking the walk, and that means not buying except at a reasonable price.
Sellers of RE can only get what the buyers are willing to pay. And why is that? Because potential buyers already have a place to live, and don’t have to buy at all.
When the public at large catches on to this, the idiocy will end.
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Drachen Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
“you people should be buying instead of complaining – get into the houising market at what you can afford and stop worrying.”
I don’t think any of us are worrying. The only people that need to worry are those who are over leveraged.
Personally I’m gleefully anticipating (a bit of schadenfreude there… but hey, what can you do.)
I’ll try to keep my giggles to a minimum when you’re filing for bankruptcy Anonymous.
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Strataman Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
http://tinyurl.com/ywzdvcd
I just found this site that lists most of the Spectrum Units all together. Be worth watching to see how these move
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Snark Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
That’s a lame troll anonymous. Why aren’t you out there buying all you can if you believe so strongly? Try this: Find us a single example of a place in vancouver that will cashflow with 25% down. You don’t have to share the really good deals, as you are obviously a sophisticated investor, but how ’bout showing us just a single property in vancouver that makes sense from a really basic investment point of view.
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Snark Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Strataman your link doesn’t work.
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Strataman Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
http://www.spectrumcondos.ca/S....._routing=1
Sorry some reason the tiny url doesn’t work!
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Snark Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
The new link works. 78 units listed right now, this will be an interesting to watch inventory on a micro scale, see how the spectrumulators are doing right now.
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Snark Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
VHB! As long as you’re still making graphs why not open your old blog back up?
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btk Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
It seems to me Yaletown Park’s tenants are turning over now and the landlords , who somehow got $1450 when it was new, are hoping to increase the rent.
However, if I was looking in that market, it’d be tempting to go to 980 Cooperage way (coopers lookout) or Mode (I saw Colyvan offering a 500 sq ft unit for $1050 vs $1450 for same sq ft in older YTP).
There was a listing for 888 Hamilton (15 years old) in the sun this week, 960 sq ft for $1650.
Does anyone on this board know anyone who rents in yaletown park? I really am interested to know why it rents for more money than comparable stuff. It has no pool, does it even have a concierge?
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btk Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
+1 to VHB too, if you re open your website and put some banners in it you could earn a bit of money (this might appease whomever didn’t appreciate your “hobby” website).
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Strataman Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Snark; I followed that Spectrum Link back to this. The site sorts three or four condo areas out and also gives a total. You might like. I think this is a new site otherwise I have been dozing off!
http://www.vancouver-condo.ca/
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blueskies Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
hey strataman!
great site for Spectrum
specialized bubble sitting!
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Strataman Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
blueskies check out the other one too now we can watch individual bubbles!
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Strataman Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
btk; “It seems to me Yaletown Park’s tenants are turning over now and the landlords , who somehow got $1450 when it was new, are hoping to increase the rent.”
Or is it the greater fools that have now bought (only way to get rid of existing tenants) and now instead of $1400. to break even they need 2800?
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blueskies Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
i’m waiting for The Elan on Seymour…should be a few speculators in that one.
when we first looked it was 40% sold mainly to friends and family of the developers and marketers….
hefty markups from the original pricing ka-ching city….
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anonymaker Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
RE: all the calls to VHB-
I would love to see his blog back, but have long mused that it was a thesis for a Masters in Economics, or such, and VHB graduated with flying colours.
Blogging cuts hugely into family/free time, so don’t hold your breath.
VHB? VHB? Where art thou, oh VHB?
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blueskies Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Blogging cuts hugely into family/free time,
my wife thinks all bloggers are cranky old farts sitting in front of their computers in their underwear…..
guilty as charged your honour!
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evergreen Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
VHB? VHB? Where art thou, oh VHB?
This blog’s just as good. It’s only the name that’s different. Most of the players are the same with a couple of new oddballs thrown in.
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blueskies Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
boinking in a New York apartment
http://tinyurl.com/2kgy9r
In the one-bedroom they now share, they find themselves captivated by television shows like “House Hunters” and “Property Virgins.”
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nvgrl Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Pretty please VHB..
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ulsterman Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Two anecdotes from my ski trip today that show both sides of this market:
1) A guy with a 2 bd near Hemlock and 7th’ish had his place on the market before Christmas for 2 months – no takers at 475k. Took it off for Christmas and re-listed in mid Jan. Had a couple of offers with 2 weeks – one of them 30k ABOVE asking. Naturally he’s taken it and cannot believe his good fortune. When it was on the market before Christmas he had load of viewers but only lowball offers.
2) Other person i was with has a 1 bd in P Moody. It’s been on the market for 5 months with no sale. Her words were “Yeah, it fucking sucks, the market in PM crashed around Sept and nothing is selling.” She’s already bought a townhouse in PM and is now stressed by carrying 2 mortgages.
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Clarke Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
We need to wait to see the numbers, but based on anecdotes here plus what I am seeing in neighbourhoods, I suspect the crash is starting, and it is hitting the condo market throughout Vancouver and the tri-cities first. I think Spring will show price drops at least for condos, and SFH will not lag that far behind.
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Cranky old fart Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 12:29 am
my wife thinks all bloggers are cranky old farts sitting in front of their computers in their underwear…..
The part about cranky old fart is true.
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Patiently Waiting Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 3:47 am
blueskies,
One of the characters in your New York story is an Executive Coach. Intrigued, I started researching it. After reading a couple of websites, I’m still not entirely sure what an Executive Coach does. I suspect it is an overpaid position that will not last in a recession.
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krrish1 Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 9:10 am
While my original comment awaiting for moderation here is a copy with single links 1/2
USA
Fundamentals remained solid and the U.S. economy was likely to escape a recession.
“This economic shock and the economic downturn is largely driven by domestic problems in the U.S. and it really can’t be remedied by a globally coordinated action plan,” -Glenn Maguire
We Will Escape Recession -treasury secretary Henry.M.Paulson.
http://www.reuters.com/news/vi.....el=newsOne
There is more pain to come from forclosures-Jim Flaherty
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krrish1 Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Copy 2/2
This side of border:
CANADA
Wages rising at twice inflation rate:
Hourly wage growth continued at a vigorous pace in January, increasing by 4.9 per cent year-over-year. That’s more than double the annual inflation rate of 2.4 per cent.
Canadian economy is clearly chugging along at a much healthier pace that the American economy — and that may make the Bank of Canada more reluctant to aggressively chop interest rates.
We are Canadian cities we are not American cities http://www.cbc.ca/mrl3/8752/vs.....080208.wmv
Canadian Economy in Hi-Definition Multimedia Interface window media/ video.
Statistics Canada said January’s job growth was entirely a result of increases in full-time employment, as the number of part-time jobs actually fell.
The private sector was responsible for all of the job growth as the number of public sector and self-employed workers dropped.
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Drachen Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 9:23 am
An executive coach is like a “life coach”, I only know what those are because I’ve met one… Essentially he’s a professional friend who gives advice and talks you through your problems. I think an executive coach is similar but more specialized.
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blueskies Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 9:25 am
This disconnect begets a discussion of why exactly it is that society has chosen to believe itself to be immune from bad things.
http://tinyurl.com/37oa6p
this market rests on psychology……
coming real soon to a hood near you;
“The Running of the Bulls”
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Anonymous Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 9:58 am
“Statistics Canada said January’s job growth was entirely a result of increases in full-time employment”
Statistics Canada calls full time employment an employee that is employed daily for 7.5 to 8 hours a day 5 day a week. All of Vancouver’s 220,000 construction workers would likely be classed as full time employment. That would include all the housing, transit,and Olympic venue employees. Almost none of these have a job after their current project is finished. How many mortgages are taken out to be paid of in less then three years? If it is the majority then I loose!
Nuff said!
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Anonymous Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Definition . . . Employment is often thought of as
either full or part-time work. These labels simply
measure hours of work per week. For the purposes of
measurement, Statistics Canada classifies those who
normally work 30 hours or more per week at their
main job as full-time workers, and those who work
less than 30 hours per week as part-time workers.
Sorry my mistake its worse than I thought, only 30 hours a week.
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Anonymous Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Which means you ar fully employed even if your job is to end in a couple of weeks.
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krrish1 Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Anon,
Construction jobs are here to stay till 2020 those would be transfer from residential to non residential to residential(so switching over)till that time some thing else can take place.
your definition is wrong,
Part or Full time is a STATUS of the JOB not hour of work but full time employees can be assumed working 40 and part time 04 hours per week.
otherwords a part time employee working 80 hours per week still can be count part time because of avialable vacancy-either employee can choose to remain part time or employers does not accomodate full time position because of benifits (lots more to say but).
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Anonymous Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 11:25 am
“your definition is wrong”, It’s not mine its stats can’s definition. Over 30 hours a week is full time. The job does not have to have any definite length so two week job would qualify. Tell them if you don’t agree they are the ones that tell us how many full time jobs are created so I would assume we use their definition?
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undercover Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
krrish1:
Interesting findings, many report x on income tax, but
3x on mortgage app.
Can you explain?
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The Pope Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Hey VHB! Nice to see you around and posting graphs, you ever think of starting a blog? I think it would be well received.
This blog’s just as good. It’s only the name that’s different. Most of the players are the same with a couple of new oddballs thrown in.
Thanks evergreen, you’re my new favorite poster!
Although I must admit the thing that VHB did better than I is the research and analysis angle. Mohican has done a great job picking that up and adding Fraser Valley analysis, but it would still be nice to see the vancouver housing blog back on the scene.
I see Rob has asked you to become a regular contributor to his blog – I’ll double his offer! I don’t have my calculator handy but 200% of zero is twice as much. Heck I’d hate for this to turn into a bidding war so I’ll go ahead and offer you 5000% of zero. How can you beat that?
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Anonymous Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Did anybody go see the condo documentary that ForeignerX posted about? It sounds interesting but I had other plans friday night.
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freako Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
This and Mohicans blog are a great substitute for VHB. The one thing I really liked about this blog that we don’t see as much of lately is the Pope’s wicked sense of humour. Posts like that one about Australia’s prices come to mind.
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English Major (or is that Colonel) Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Part or Full time is a STATUS of the JOB not hour of work
Don’t be silly.
Important vs. Unimportant = JOB STATUS.
Permanent vs. Temporary = JOB STATUS.
Full Time vs. Part Time = HOURS WORKED.
Thus 4 combinations,
Permanent Full-Time, Permanent Part-Time;
Temporary Full-Time, Temporary Part-Time.
Also, there’s “Unemployed STATUS”, which can be Permanent or Temporary, either of which can lead to abberant behaviour on blogs because the blogger has too much time on his or her hands.
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paulb Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
“Hey VHB! Nice to see you around and posting graphs, you ever think of starting a blog? I think it would be well received.
This blog’s just as good. It’s only the name that’s different. Most of the players are the same with a couple of new oddballs thrown in.
Thanks evergreen, you’re my new favorite poster!
Although I must admit the thing that VHB did better than I is the research and analysis angle. Mohican has done a great job picking that up and adding Fraser Valley analysis, but it would still be nice to see the vancouver housing blog back on the scene.
I see Rob has asked you to become a regular contributor to his blog – I’ll double his offer! I don’t have my calculator handy but 200% of zero is twice as much. Heck I’d hate for this to turn into a bidding war so I’ll go ahead and offer you 5000% of zero. How can you beat that?”
LOL! Thats wayyyyyy to rich for my blood. Make it happen VHB you are the Blogfather.
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Kaydee Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Sorry I am new at blogging. Krish would you show me how Stats Can qualifies a full time job? I just pasted that from their website. As far as I can see they only look at the number of hours per week. To relate this to realestate, it would seem to me that a bank would be more interested in the projected length of the job. So they would look favourably on a person with a guaranteed 20 hours a week for 10 years rather then a full time wage earner who has absolutely no job security. I was the anonymous that posted. Maybe this will go thru with my user name.
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jadeeast Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
I’m with Freako.
Bring the funny back.
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Strataman Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Yeh Pope surely you have something sarcastic to rant on? I loved those! Mish is supporting a Presidential candidate! http://tinyurl.com/d8q6j Heres a question what does everybody think of how potential candidates will affect Canada?
Kaydee; Your probably right on the Stats Can definition, can you give me the website page where you cut and pasted that from? Oh yeh and don’t expect an honest answer from Kishh1! :-0
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Michael Randallbard Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Major Price Reduction in my neighborhood
A few months ago I posted information on this listing
http://www.mls.ca/PropertyDeta.....ID=6651841
They were originally asking 799,000 a few months ago if my memory serves me correct. It may have been more but then it sat and sat and then they pulled it off the market and today I noticed it back on the market at a much lower but still ridiculous ask of 640,000.00
The realtor is the famous “Lady with the Cat”
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Anonymous Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Krrsh posts only positive news
“January employment up”
fails to mention December employment was down. Thinks a one month up after one month down is a upward trend.
“We are not the U.S.”
Seems you are not aware how much Canada depends on the U.S. for its very existence. 75% of all Canadian exports go to the U.S. 60% of British Columbia’s exports go to the U.S. If the U.S. goes into recession, it will take Canada down with it.
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M- Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
I remember seeing that property a few times in the Real Estate Weekly. I guess you’re in my neighbourhood!
The price of $799, or whatever it was previously, I remember as seeming ridiculous. The new price is still well above what I’d pay for an Onni building, or any building for that matter, but at least it’s down into the area of reason, given the current market.
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Mr. Beautiful Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
how potential candidates will affect Canada?
Under McCain Canadians will no longer be secretly flown to be tortured in the middle east. Our house prices will go up.
If Obama gets elected drugs will be legalized all across north america, vancouver growing expertise will make us a central supplier. Our house prices will go up.
If Clinton gets elected the US will get socialized healthcare. Our house prices will go down as elderly canadians snap up property in depressed sunbelt states.
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krrish1 Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Kaydee,
First of all don’t tell me that you are first timer here,you are a very close friend to the pope. I know you since long time and i also know that once you have brought an issue on this site telling us about drug use at construction sites remember?…may be pine street,but yeah I also know that your are very decent person and working on your current job from last 30 year.sometime you sounds like strataman, I don’t know why.
Ok answer to your question you say statistic canada definition about job that’s right on their part their measurement method what make sense to call a job a part time-full time but what might other will say nothing to worry about it they are right on their part but not on my part.
Rebgv they also have their own method to measure the average price of homes that’s their part as a home owner me my realtor my bank and evaluation person knows what is the current value of home.
What would you call an employee who work 80 hour per week? and other one who work 4 hours per week?,
A part time employee can work more hours than full time employees but the full time employee have the right to work guaranteed hour +full benefits,while part time employee are ristricted to work their schdule hour in case when their is equall volume of work which get divided to their schdule.lots more to go just point out if you like to go farther.
Comment by Anonymous
2008-02-10 19:49:31
Krrsh posts only positive news
anon,
most of poster do things on time when it takes place so I did that according to date and time. I have spend lots of extra time just to answer your question this is what I have found for you.
Canada’s jobless rate dipped to 5.8 per cent in January, as the economy churned out a greater-than-expected 46,400 jobs, Statistics Canada said
December , the province still gained about 73,000 new jobs last year for a solid employment growth rate of 3.3 per cent.
Canadian economy adds 42,600 jobs in November
Canada added 42,000 jobs in November, surpassing expectations, while average wages rose 4.2 per cent. The jobless rate nevertheless climbed to 5.9 per cent from a 33-year low of 5.8 per cent in October as more workers entered the job market.
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evergreen Says:
February 11th, 2008 at 12:48 am
This blog’s just as good…
This blog provides snippets and anecdotes of what’s happening in the housing market which I find very helpful.
Although I must admit the thing that VHB did better than I is the research and analysis angle.
Charts and statistics are very helpful only if they are unambiguous. For example, I find Paul Boenisch’s daily updates to be very helpful but I always have to do some quick if incorrect, mental arithmetic to come up with my own averages for housing deals done daily.
Once outliers like the several million dollar homes sold are included in the calculations the averages for more modest homes are grossly distorted or inflated. Very high and low outliers should be included in a different set of data. The problem is further compounded when sale prices for both Van east and west are thrown into the mixer to churn out a ‘typical’ average.
Having said that, I truly appreciate Paul’s diligence and find the daily updates very helpful (for a ballpark figure, like the median sales price).
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Anonymous Says:
February 11th, 2008 at 8:44 am
The actual BC employment picture:
According to Statistics Canada’s latest labour force data, BC lost 33,700 full time jobs in December 2007, and despite gains in part-time jobs, BC lost a net 7,000 jobs compared to the previous month.
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Anonymous Says:
February 11th, 2008 at 8:50 am
BC may have gained jobs in January, but that basically makes up for the job loses in December.
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The Pope Says:
February 11th, 2008 at 9:56 am
The one thing I really liked about this blog that we don’t see as much of lately is the Pope’s wicked sense of humour.
…
I’m with Freako. Bring the funny back.
…
Yeh Pope surely you have something sarcastic to rant on?
…
Dang! You guys are demanding! I’ll try to turn the funny tap back on, but its kind of rusty. Truth is I was out of Vancouver for a while and running this blog on autopilot. I’ll try to get more funny in, thanks for the feedback anyways I guess.
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Michael Randallbard Says:
February 11th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
I remember seeing that property a few times in the Real Estate Weekly. I guess you’re in my neighbourhood!
Stop and say hello if you see two mini-peis
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Michael Randallbard Says:
February 11th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
NEW YORK — Here’s a sign of how shaky the economy has become: Wal-Mart says its shoppers are redeeming holiday gift cards for basics — pasta sauce, diapers, laundry detergent — instead of iPods or DVDs.
On Thursday, the nation’s retailers turned in their worst January in almost four decades as high gasoline and food prices, a slumping housing market, tighter credit and a tougher job market squeezed consumers.
Sales at 43 retailers surveyed by the UBS-International Council of Shopping Centers rose just 0.5 percent in January, well below the original 1.5 percent forecast.
The results — based on sales at stores open at least a year — followed an anemic 0.7 percent pace in December and were below the 2.1 percent gain for all of last year.
Jill Panell, 26, a homemaker from Sterling Heights, Mich., was using a $20 Wal-Mart gift card Thursday to stock up on groceries and pet supplies. She wasn’t in the market for a present for herself.
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Michael Randallbard Says:
February 11th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Just as there is a Friday Free for All there should be a weekly thread where people can post the discounted properties they come across