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Friday Free-for-all!

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You made it to the end of the work week, congratulations! It’s Friday free for all time!  Here are a few stories I’ve noticed this week:

– we just hit 20,000 places for sale in Vancouver
– but we’re still building lots of new condos
– maybe that will solve our growing homeless problem
– it’s been a bad year for forestry
– the dollar is making us expensive for foreign companies
– fortunately the loonie is predicted to fall
– When will the US housing market bailout work?

So what are you seeing out there?  Post your news, thoughts and links here and have a great weekend!

note: any conversation on Vancouver, real estate or economics is allowed, please keep it civilized. When posting articles please only quote pertinent points and link to the original instead of pasting the entire article here. Pasting a link will automatically create a clickable hot-link. Thanks!

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Drachen

Gadwin

A lot of it will expire. Most people take out a three month contract with their selling agent. Often after those three months are up they will drop the listing if they don't have pressure on them to make the sale (re-locating for a job, death, or inability to pay the mortgage).

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Gadwin

Who is going to buy up all that inventory? That's 20K inventory that needs to be absorbed. And the supply is growing every day.

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patriotz

Well another leg on the stool has been sawn off. How long can it remain standing up?

'Perfect storm' hits Canada's tourism market

"TORONTO — A summer of record oil prices, a strong Canadian dollar and a slowing world economy are creating a “perfect storm” that's putting a dent in Canada's tourism market this summer, industry officials say.

Canada's three major tourist destinations — Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver — all reported noticeable declines in visitors in July, and experts say it's because of a myriad of factors."

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patriotz

Another Temporary Fix "Before I get to that, let’s be clear about one thing: Even if this bill succeeds in its aims, heading off a severe credit contraction and helping some homeowners avoid foreclosure, it won’t change the fact that this decade’s double bubble, in housing prices and loose lending, has been a disaster for millions of Americans. After all, the new bill will, at best, make a modest dent in the rate of foreclosures. And it does nothing at all for those who aren’t in danger of losing their houses but are seeing much if not all of their net worth wiped out — a particularly bitter blow to Americans who are nearing retirement, or thought they were until they discovered that they couldn’t afford to stop working." I'm rather confused about the last sentence. Krugman has correctly called… Read more »

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Doug

Oh and Saskatoon house prices have just started to go down. 50 sales last week, over 1,500 listings. Prices predicted to go down 10 to 20% over next year. Buying Saskatoon for investment kind of dumb move.

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Doug

At least Vancouver is still growing. After a couple years of moderate population growth, apparently Saskatoon has lost 2,000 people as of late. Over a time when housing prices doubled, and demand went down. For a much smaller city, Saskatoon has 1,500 existing places for sale on MLS, 400 on one additional private website, and a few hundred more in bedroom communities. Now more expensive to live in Saskatoon than: Edmonton, Red Deer, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Regina or anywhere in Manitoba

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/s…

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Deliverator

Forced relocation, which what this basically is, rarely has the right effects. Solve the problem at the source: provide properly funded housing, drug treatment, and psychiatric care. Other cities have done this with great success.

Do you honestly think those people in the DTES were borne there? Is there a Vancouver-raised French-speaking population at Main and Hastings I'm not aware of? Those people relocated themselves to the DTES to partake in the, ahem, 'culture' there.

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M-

Franko: I presume you're talking about Westwood Plateau. The last time I visited there was a month or two ago, and I was blown away at the number of realtor trees. The number of open house signs on almost every streetcorner is mind-boggling.

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Clam Chowder

I know they are a developer they also market and sale their own product instead of relying on an outside company such as Rennie or Mac. Bosa does the same.

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franko

Don't know what that hillside north of Coqitlam is called, but took a drive through there and could not believe the number of "for sale" signs….I WAS GENUINELY SHOCKED!

WTF is going on there?

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Drachen

Concord Pacific is a developer Chowder.

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Clam Chowder

Wow didn't know Bob Rennie had anything do to with TV Towers, might want to let Concord Pacific know as they thought they marketed that project.

Pretty sure the Woodward people aren't panicking too bad either as there isn't too many of the 500+ units up for sale.

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Real Estabe Bull/but

Real Estabe Bull/but everyone knows who I am { 07.27.08 at 11:39 am } Of course, that’s the Americans. Reckless, mad — them and their crazy subprime mortgage disaster. Our banks would never be so irresponsible.

Then, I looked at the Evening Herald quote from the Dublin County Sheriff, who is responsible for evictions, talking about the increasing numbers of people who can’t pay their debts. “There is a massive amount coming down the tracks. If it is all to be dealt with on a repossession basis, there will be an awful bloody mess.”

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/gene…

Newsflash, tqn, satv, does the above sound familiar to you?

Your comment is awaiting moderation.

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Brittanny

Thumbs up 2 #88. Yes I can afford more haircuts now. Sold Dec 2007 Townhouse. Same unit with more updates now ASKING $31000.00 less. Maybe you would like to buy it before you are priced out forever?

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Matt

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGA… 'Perfect storm' hits Canada's tourism market TORONTO — A summer of record oil prices, a strong Canadian dollar and a slowing world economy are creating a “perfect storm” that's putting a dent in Canada's tourism market this summer, industry officials say. Canada's three major tourist destinations — Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver — all reported noticeable declines in visitors in July, and experts say it's because of a myriad of factors. Montreal officials expect roughly 7.8 million tourists this summer, bringing in nearly $2.7-billion, but that's down compared to other years, said John Dunn, executive vice-president of Tourisme Montreal. “We're suffering the perfect storm right now,” said Mr. Dunn. “We've got high gas prices, high dollar, American passport regulations and a slowing economy. So there's nothing worse for the tourism economy than all those things put together.” A Toronto double… Read more »

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Infamous but not stu

This is the quote of the week:

"“In Vancouver sellers are fool and buyers are smart”-Christina Aguilera"

Excuse my french.. WTF???

Isnt she the dye blonde dancer/singer? LOL

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ProblemBear

scullboy,

I think you would love the military! Not only do they march in pride pride parades now, but they fight religious extremism in Afghanistan. Just think, after you have finished your tour of duty over there, you can go right to work on the Fraser Valley. It will do wonders for the daily numbers!

Happy Pride!

Yep, the name really is a double entendre

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ReductiMat

How did he coerce people to buy at Woodward's?

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pooo

i think someone should expose bob rennie when the market crashes and get then some owners of woodwards with the camera crew to surround him and ask him why he lost all their money, and then start chucking eggs at him, and telling him hes a peice of sht, and then start running after him down the street chucking octopusses at him so he smells like food, then the seagulls will come and snipe at him, then all the foolish buyers can laugh at him, then at night all those buyers will be so pissed that they still are losing hundreds of thousands of dollars and then rennie will cozy up to his tens of millions of dollars in his bed and start making love to it.

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pooo

hi

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Drachen

"Metro Vancouver real estate is on an express elevator to hell, going down!"

Somebody wake up Pope!

How many drops is this for you Rennie?

Seventeen… Simulated.

How many combat drops?

One, including this one…

(sorry I got swept up in the moment)

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Thums up

"Prices will fall for decades to come" Mat Damon

"I told anyone who matters to me to sell all their property" Ton Criuse

"Wisemans already sold and dum warehouse worker buy now" Stefan Harber

"if stupid buy in north yaletown rich get richer and warehouse worker get poor for decades to come" B.Renee

"buy gold today and get rich" krish2

"negative equity and capital loss good for richer get richer"

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VancouverGuy

Thums up just said prices are going to fall…

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condohype

Metro Vancouver real estate is on an express elevator to hell, going down!

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Thums up2

SELLERS ARE FOOL AND BUYERS ARE SMART Biding bar has shift towards rental market from buying and selling.I think last few moments for discount unless sellers realise the rental spin then the sitting out idiots will jump in like "smart buyers" Despite a dip in home sales, inventories will soon edge lower as home sellers adjust their asking prices to reflect market conditions listing will be disappear as soon sellers realise their dumbest mistake ever sellers going to pull back their units and sitting out idiots or sold out cheaters going to run back to buy what ever unit will be available in the market. In response to Brittanny #37 since she has sold her house last year so far brittany got 75% hair cut http://www.killsometime.com/Pictures/images/Pic12… Hey Brittanny get back to market and get back your hair style then together.… Read more »

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