Uncategorized

Friday free-for-all

99
99 Comments

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.

99 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Michael Randallbard

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

0
0
Michael Randallbard

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… Read more »

0
0
Michael Randallbard

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

0
0
admin

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.

0
0
Anonymous

BC may have gained jobs in January, but that basically makes up for the job loses in December.

0
0
Anonymous

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.

0
0
evergreen

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… Read more »

0
0
krrish2

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… Read more »

0
0
Mr. Beautiful

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.

0
0
Anonymous

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.

0
0
Michael Randallbard

Major Price Reduction in my neighborhood

A few months ago I posted information on this listing
http://www.mls.ca/PropertyDetails.aspx?vd=&Se…
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"

0
0
M-

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.

0
0
Strataman

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

0
0
jadeeast

I'm with Freako.

Bring the funny back.

0
0
Kaydee

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.

0
0
paulb

"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… Read more »

0
0
English Major (or is

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.

0
0
freako

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.

0
0
Anonymous

Did anybody go see the condo documentary that ForeignerX posted about? It sounds interesting but I had other plans friday night.

0
0
admin

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… Read more »

0
0
undercover

krrish1:

Interesting findings, many report x on income tax, but

3x on mortgage app.

Can you explain?

0
0
Anonymous

"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?

0
0
krrish2

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).

0
0
Anonymous

Which means you ar fully employed even if your job is to end in a couple of weeks.

0
0
Anonymous

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.

0
0
Anonymous

"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! 🙂

0
0