“Because gold is not only your best friend, but it is the One Sure Thing (OST) that is going to protect your sorry, stupid, trusting, gullible, nasty butt against the inflationary parasite monsters that will soon be inflicted upon you, one way or the other, by a desperate Federal Reserve and a desperate government, and your bodily fluids will be sucked out through your money until you are a drained, lifeless, bankrupted husk, and you will die an ugly, painful death with the sound of the Mogambo’s laughter ringing in your ears, going ‘Hahaha! I told you to buy gold, silver and oil, but did you? No! And now you are broke because your stupid, precious American dollars are so debased that they don’t even buy (in the original Latin) ‘el squato’ anymore, and you thus you see first-hand how Darwinian evolution kills off the stupid and unfit, which, in this case, is you, you moron!”

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He misses the other 900 pound gorilla: stated income.

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http://www.greaterfool.ca/

“The sale is recorded by the local real estate board, showing other buyers the market is vibrant, even though prices are at historic levels and affordability levels have plunged. Reporters write stories about robust housing statistics, and bank-employed economists cite sales and prices as evidence the market fundamentals are solid.

I mean, what’s the problem?

It could never happen here.”

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allows me to save 3 to 4 a month….

the P/E ratio is so silly in this town.

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http://www.realestatetalks.com.....mp;t=29535

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But you can tell your friends you own a piece of the “greatest place on earth”

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I’ll hold off for now, thanks.”

Robin, I pay just over $1100 for 700 sq. feet and parking in the West End. On a $400,000 mortgage, $1100 wouldn’t even cover the interest payments for the first 12 years or so. Add in strata and other expenses and I would be losing big time.

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Yes. Why are those CDIC ads constantly running in prime-time, just to inform people that their savings (up to $100k) are insured? And why do the ING Direct ads now contain text stating they’re members of CDIC, when they never did before?

Those commercials are expensively produced, and prime-time air costs a lot of money.

The only logical explanation for spending all that money is (despite all the public “it could never happen here” rhetoric) because they’re scared of a run on the bank. They don’t want a local version of Northern Rock, and the marketing campaign is designed to keep the cattle from getting spooked into a stampede.

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This is happening all over BC, particularly in Whistler and Victoria.

These people have seen the writing on the wall in letters six feet high and they don’t buy the line that “the best place on earth” is “different”.

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“Now, though, thousands of those houses stand empty. The I.M.F. estimates that property is overvalued by more than 15 percent. With mortgages drying up and prices swooning, speculators who once viewed Spanish property as a no-lose proposition are confronting hard reality.

In 2005, Julian Felipe Fernandez bought three small apartments, as an investment, in a huge development being built outside Madrid. He paid 100,000 euros as a deposit for the units, and now he is eager to sell them to avoid having to taking on a costly mortgage. But with the market stalled, Mr. Fernandez’s asking price is what he paid for them.

“Three years ago, it looked like I would be able to flip them for a nice profit before they were finished,” he said. “I just want to get them off my hands, to get rid of this headache”

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It turned out that owner of the place (as well as another 2 listings by this agent) are Americans trying to lock in profits from the rising Can$ over the last couple of years.

This guy said that about 30% of the current listings in HHS are from Americans, and that they’re bailing out in droves, or at least trying to.

Americans who bought Can RE a few years ago at a currency discount of 20% or so are obviously trying to cash out before market turns.

I wonder what %tage of downtown condos are owned by Americans, and what impact that could have on the direction of the market.

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The banks are running scared. Scared shitless…..IMHO mortgage lending is down big time (with sales) and they see the writing on the wall as it relates to the present climate of lower sales meaning lower prices, meaning banks will be underwater even more than they are now.

Anyone else have that sense ?

I just finished watching a 30 second TV commerical for the CIBC. It had people “just like you and me” [colons added for sarcasm] making statements like “don’t buy for today, buy for tomorrow”…..”a home is for you and me”……etc, and then it cuts ot a shot of a CIBC loan officer acting very pompoous and self serving in front of a couple of clients as she says “we’ve shown you how to lower your payments and transfer your equity into your new house”…….blah, blah, blah…..

The RBC has commercials that say “Yes, John Doe in Surry your lack of a down payment is alright”…..”Yes Suzy Doe, you’re approved for that vacation property”……and so on.

They are trying hard to sway consumer psychology, because house prices are based solely on perception……there is really no intrinsic value, save for the dirt and a little bit of wood chips and shavings swept up from the shop floor, mixed with glue and water, pressed together until it dries and is called “wood”.

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Well, 3 years ago I found my place really easy (2 bedroom) for 1,200. But now that I’m looking for a 3 bedroom the prices seem to have gone through the roof. Walk around. You’ll probably find better deals that way.

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Also, it doesn’t hurt to be a white-collar professional couple that landlords want to rent to and are unlikely to raise the rent on later.

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The rental market is an inefficient market. There are lots of lazy/cheap landlords out there who can’t even be bothered to properly promote their listings, or to research the market price before renting out.

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Hate to tell you this, but it’s chance/luck usually. I once followed up on an ad, went to look at the place, liked it and when I asked how much found they were asking way below the going market rates in the area. Needless to say, my next words were “where do I sign?”

Tell everyone you see/know you are looking. People are often willing to rent for less if they have some connection, however tenuous, to the prospective tenant.

I’ve never had much luck with property management companies and preferred to rent from small landlords who maybe owned a building or a couple of houses. You’ll come across a lot of dumps, but if you’re persistent you might find what you’re looking for. This is particularly true in the more desirable neighbourhoods.

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Anyway, I’ve been shot down for raising this before, but the low and static rents people mention just don’t match my experience on the ground (and I happen to be actively looking for a place to rent while waiting for the crash.)

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Being a rational person in Vancouver is a bit like being Mr. Spock on the Enterprise. No actually, it’s a whole lot worse – Kirk and crew were actually a pretty rational lot, just a bit heavy on the hormones.

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I’ll hold off for now, thanks.

vancouversux.blogspot.com

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