Ritz-Carlton work stoppage
Thanks to Vansanity for this tip – apparently all excavation work has stopped on the Residences at Ritz-Carlton site on West Georgia street in downtown Vancouver. Word is that everyone was told to stop work and leave the site on Friday Oct. 17th, leaving the excavation about 60% finished. All signage advertising the Residences at Ritz-Carlton have been removed from the site scaffolding and all construction trailers have been removed. I couldn’t find a text story link confirming this information, but I did find this CBC news video report on the situation.
According to that report the developer is saying that this is not due to any credit market problems (as we’ve seen in a number of other lower mainland condo developments). The developer says that although sales have been slow, financing is in place and there are enough presales to move ahead with the construction. The developer is saying that they are going to be doing some ‘modifications to the design’ and that there’s no point in having work going ahead, or having the presentation sales center open until those modifications are done. At this point there’s no indication as to when work may continue, but we’ll keep an eye out for developments on this story.
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Warren
You're poor already. You just don't know it.
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Post # 76 by Paul is bang on:
We seem to forget that BCTV and The Sun and Province Newspapers are all owned by CanWest.
It is fairly incestuous, as you see the same reporters in both papers on BCTV . Given such control…they will cross pollinate each other, and end up as extended informercials with cute terminology to pump up the market.
Best we all complain that if they can't be more objective…and less of a carny barker – " shill " for certain interests , it's best they keep their remaining credibility and STFU
Prediction: As the condo market crashed, big layoffs at both newspapers, given the Aspers were apparently a bit stretched (ie overpaid) when they bought.
October 23rd, 2008 at 11:06 am
Please explain how I will become poor if you're going to make that argument.
October 23rd, 2008 at 11:05 am
Warren
"One of you thinks being poor is a great curse"
I presume you mean me. I never said anything remotely close to that, but with your ability to distort the truth of the real estate market it's not surprising your reality filters are hard at work elsewhere too.
I just said it's something you're going to have to learn to accept. You still need to work through the anger phase though, you'll burst a blood vessel if you can't learn to relax.
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:25 am
It shocks me that people are shocked that newspapers aren't looking out for their best interests.
They are publicly traded companies who's vested interest is making money. It is in their best interest to produce the cheapest, least confrontational tripe that favours their advertisers.
The fact everyone isn't fully aware of this is frightening.
Fortunately, their time is coming to an end.
October 23rd, 2008 at 7:07 am
I think it is pretty clear that real estate and the pimping of it is THE main BC commodity. Now the house of cards will collapse. The Vancouver Sun and Province had major portions of their papers dedicated as an infomercial…"reporting" on new developments…then you would see full page ads for these same developments. Too many parties tied their wagon to this real esate "god", creating a cult -like belief. All we hear so far is the big boys crashing, but I think its only the tip of the iceberg, much much more grief to come.
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:51 pm
I too have never really understood the widespread dislike for Rennie on this blog. He's a salesman. He sells things. What else should we expect?
It's disappointing that the media keep going to him for "expert" opinions on the real estate market, but that's more a problem of the media than Rennie. If the reporters in this town are too rock-stupid to know they're being spun, we should be throwing stones at them.
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:08 pm
You guys crack me up. Guess what? I own real estate and stocks, both debt free. Guess which one has been the steady cash flow machine and which one has been tanking?
Poor for the rest of my life? Afraid not. Assuming you people work for a living, you should be checking your resume and gauging your job security if your employer is forced to lay off people, because many places will. Getting excited about a nice looking hotel project getting canceled and taking personal shots at the marketer make you look stupid.
Strataman and Drachen, looks like you two have something to dicuss. One of you thinks being poor is a great curse, and the other says money isn't important. Please enlighten us when you've figured it out. Here's a hint: we live in a free market society.
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Regarding "Patience" comments: I agree, Rennie is lying but of course, he is not the only one. There is so much greed in this city and it brings out the worst in people who formally were admired leaders in business and set examples for their families, employees and colleagues alike. Ethics is no longer in their vocabulary. At the same time, you have to feel some sense of sympathy for them. Just look at all the broken marriages, brothers suing brothers, sons and daughters estranged from their elderly rich parents.
Unfortunately, the rest of us were not immune to this, we got sucked into the dream of getting rich quick. Where did this money come from, especially after many of us lost our homes during the "leaky condo" years. Hmmmm….let me guess, our friendly neighborhood bank of course!! Line of credits, several credit cards, car loans (later we learned to lease), and of course the 40 year mortgage….And one more thing, "Antonella" the former part time bank teller, now "credit pusher" professional, introduces me to "Steven" the bank financial advisor who helped me with my investments because he told me that my money wasn't doing anything in that low interest account…..I can't really blame them though, they too were sucked into the banking pyramid scheme designed by the banking elite who really ended up with the billions in profits over the last 5 years, throwing a few shillings down to the serfs who did all their dirty work.
Now don't let me get started on Rennie and his band of RE Muppets. Is there such thing as Ethical Development? I'm sure the phrase will be coined on some future condo site.
October 22nd, 2008 at 10:32 pm
In an article published years ago, Bob Rennie said , that unlike his peers, he had the vison early in his career that the future market would be in higher density,ie condos were the future ,not single family homes.Homes were becoming out of the reach of the average family, and Rennie saw their only option was condos
By the time others caught on, he was very well – established.
He knows who butters his bread, and its not the purchasr..its the seller,ie that developer with hundreds of units to sell. Bob has to sound upbeat, even if the market tanking, you just have to realize he's lying when his lips are moving.
What gets me is do they earn their commission ? …what does he have to do…get the exlcusive listing…put up a pre-sale show home barn and tolerate his subordinates having to work a whole half day till the overpriced sh*t is sold out?
Nice gig.
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:52 pm
I too had many dealings with Bob in his early years. I also agree that his personal life should not be up for discussion.
But his actions should be held up for accountability. Mr. Rennie was interviewed 2 weeks ago about the condition of the market. If indeed he is an "expert" in real estate as the local news had introduced him, he wouldn't have said this is a great time to buy. He would not have mislead people by describing the uncertainly in the global economic conditions as a "buyers market". My 12 year old daughter knows that if nothing else, things are very unstable at best. He would not have mentioned that his opinion was that prices would start to climb again in the spring, hoping this would entice buyers to move now.
Yes, I agree that Bob is a very smart business man. This is why I don't have any respect for him. He obviously knows this is not an ideal time for people to be considering large investments with credit. Yet he continues to portray himself as an unbiased "expert" when approached by the news media and knowingly misleading the audience into believing the market is healthy. Yes we can blame the media, the banks etc. But at the end of the day, Mr. Rennie is looking us in the eye and lying.
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:48 pm
ILoveING writes "nonsense" basically.
20 thumbs down to misinformed idiots.
Downpayments are held in trust. If you don't know what you're talking about, get your parents to cancel your web connection.
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Agree completely. Bob Rennie's personal life is no one's business on this website.
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:22 pm
There’s no need to get into discussion of anyone’s personal life, Bob Rennie or whomever. Some of the stuff posted above is defamatory.
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Rennie already has more money in the bank than most of you keyboard-analysts will ever see.
I bet he doesn't have much cash in the bank at all, especially post-divorce. Google Nelson Skalbania for the story on BC's last great wannabe property mogul.
He collects art? That's the next bubble to pop.
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Warren "You guys are pretty funny. You know Rennie already has more money in the bank than most of you keyboard-analysts will ever see. "
So true I also know quite a few drug dealers that would meet that criteria (and then some), so what are you saying Warren? Money talks the rest walk? The idea that money is a sign of success is so fu##ed up it is unbelievable. A sign of success is close family, great friends that are with you rich or poor. That is success. All the rest of the monkeys are losers.
October 22nd, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Warren
Wow, you're getting angry, which stage is that again?
Come back when you've reached acceptance of the fact that you'll be poor for the rest of your life.
At least you've passed that annoying denial stage.
October 22nd, 2008 at 6:21 pm
The hills development is on hold until spring, I think it's fair to say the development is marginal, but I wouldn't call the neighorhood marginal. It's actually a pretty nice part of town full of working class people.
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Speaking of Rennie, anyone know whether they're still continuing with 'The Hills' development at Nanaimo and Kingsway? Considering the other projects to stall recently this seems like another one at risk in a marginal neighborhood…
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:26 pm
And by the way , Bob Rennie was a well known gay many years ago. When he first left his wife and kids for his gay fling all of his partners at that time told him to F-off. He'a a two faced moron and everyone know it. The recent divorce went through because his wonderful japanese wife couldn't take the shame anymore and the kids have left the house. Good for her, shame on him. He has no honour.
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:16 pm
I have often chastised BCTV with email for the overuse of the term " world class' when referring to Vancouver. For a while they stopped using the term, I assume they were consulting with thier legal dept. I have accused them of being a schill for the developers and tourist industry that pays for the advertising time during shows like " The 6 o'clock news' etc. I have asked them to disclose the relationship they have with advertisers and to declare such relationships before airing many of the complete nonsensical real estate ads they air during like programs. The renaming of the Whalley-Guildford-Fleetwood are as "The Diamond Triangle' is an example. I asked them to consult the legal dept. about the increased liability they would incur should unwitting or unknowing families move into that open air crack house and suffer fatal injury or worse. I haven't heard BCTV use the term ' Diamond Triangle" again since . The legal dept., must have balked. In Washington State for example the newspapers and visual media disclose the relationships they have with advertisers with a disclaimer. Using inflamatory words and phrases about great deals in real estate have suckered a great many unfortunats into this profitless and frightening abyss that I think that they may have opened themselves up to a series of lawsuits. I can only hope. These jerk offs like Bob Rennie, Ozzie Jucrock, The Real Estate Board and CMHC should be taken to the wood shed on this one. Lets hope.
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Bob is also happier now that he's out of the closet.
It was the worst kept secret in Vancouver.
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:49 pm
I acutally have the priveledge of knowing Bob personally. Great guy, a lot of you might hate him but you most of you don't know him on a personal level. Business wise he's done very well for himself and he doens't need to work again if he;s smart. His downfall is his art collection, he's absolutely hooked and all his money goes to his collection now. He has artists on retainer. I could very well see that being his eventual downfall.
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:33 pm
My buddy? I saw your buddy just a few minutes ago, he wanted to wash my windows but I told him no, and didn't give him any money either.
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Actually Warren, your buddy Rennie went through a divorce not too long ago, you probably know this. She's doing pretty good right now. Rennie has whatever he has left from his divorce, a local recession and an impending real estate crash. I'm sure he's not worried about it, but the world isn't as rosey as you might believe it to be.
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Blame the Bob "condo king" Rennie ?
There is a lot of blame to go around.
The financial system acted like a pusher, the drug was credit, with little up front, and basically encouraging what ultimately crashed and burned . What made it worse was that it was more global versus local.
Our gutless cajone-less politicians couldn't say no, they rarely do, (if they didn't encourage it to start). Rennie was probably wise enough to have no skin in the game…other than a lion's share of the marketing, but people will point finger at him via his overexposure.
P.S. You know what they do to messengers, don't you ?
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:14 pm
This coming depression guy is trying to give randallbard a run for his money as #1 Spammer
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Well I hope Rennie does not get "sent" out of town. An agent in Ontario who made a similar amount of money in the 80's was sent packing and lost everything.
http://www.thecomingdepression.blogspot.com
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:41 pm
You guys are pretty funny. You know Rennie already has more money in the bank than most of you keyboard-analysts will ever see.
Thanks to Rennie, we have huge glut of condos on the market now to help prices crash even faster, hahahha!
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:38 pm
That depends on how much he has in this overinflated RE market. Let me remind you that Trump has gone bankrupt before. In that pool Rennie is no more than a guppy a very small one at that. If he is smart he is all out and just an agent for all those developments…
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:37 pm
With all these rate cuts, inflation is on the horizon.
those who keep their cash in the bank will be burnt, again
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:26 pm
You guys are pretty funny. You know Rennie already has more money in the bank than most of you keyboard-analysts will ever see.
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:24 pm
I was watching the news on the Ritz Carlton dev. and when they interviewed Bob Rennie (give the guy credit for showing his mug) was sweating quite a lot. The weather was sunshine but it was about 12C. Possibly a little stressed and worried himself hey bobby. I was quite enjoying it. Get used to it booby… A little taste of whats to come. The demise of the Glutonous greedy condo king…. I LOVE IT
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:51 pm
IMHO…There is no "globalness". If it was, then we would see lights on in these condos…enjoying the mountains,trees, sea , etc. However, most it is " lights out" at night, at least what I see in my travels.
The market is simply speculation based on the " World Class City " mythology. Speculation is simply trying to find someone more stupid….err "less sophisticated" than you, the current owner.
As a market commodity, the ratio of future purchasers (or speculators?) "less sophisticated" than the current speculator is now increasingly to the right of the decimal point….ie the last speculator stuck with the condo should look in the mirror, that was THE last buyer they are now looking at.
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:19 pm
This list only measures the "globalness" of a city. However, Vancouver is still the "best place on earth" with its mountains, water, trees, and two months of sunshine here and there. None of the cities in the list has all these elements, so it's still ok to buy now before the next bull leg.
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:39 am
Sorry, Vancouver, we're not in the top 20 of global cities
Vancouver misses the global cut.
CHICAGO, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ — A new Global Cities Index released by global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and FOREIGN POLICY magazine confirms that New York, London and Paris are the world's most global cities, but also reveals that top-ranking cities face strong competition from emerging cities such as Beijing, Moscow, Shanghai, and Dubai. Many of the challengers are part of formerly closed societies, suggesting that cities worldwide are adjusting rapidly to the twin dynamics of globalization and urbanization.
The inaugural Global Cities Index is published in the November/December 2008 issue of FOREIGN POLICY and is available a thttp://ForeignPolicy.com/extras/globalcities.
The 20 Most Global Cities
1. New York
2. London
3. Paris
4. Tokyo
5. Hong Kong
6. Los Angeles
7. Singapore
8. Chicago
9. Seoul
10. Toronto
11. Washington
12. Beijing
13. Brussels
14. Madrid
15. San Francisco
16. Sydney
17. Berlin
18. Vienna
19. Moscow
20. Shanghai
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:37 am
#56 – it's my opinion that the profile of buyers will narrow considerably. Basically the buyers in this market are those who are being forced to buy at gunpoint…such as young newlywed couples and status-conscious wealthy immigrants. For various social and cultural reasons, renting (even temporarily) is like kryptonite to them. They are limited in number and a lot more selective in what they purchase, so it does not help the overall market that much.
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:34 am
An interesting article on cnn about a couple who've downsized, big time:
"Downsizing to 100 square feet of bliss"
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/10/22/ti…
Gordo's plan from the Vancouver Sun:
"'Accelerate' building? Campbell's got billions to shovel out faster"
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.htm…
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:21 am
And the rent keeps dropping….
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/search/apa?quer…
Wonder if they will actually rent this for next month…
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:19 am
People don't realize how big the economy problem really is. Check my blog out about the companies that will be going bankrupt in the coming months! I also heard that a certain famous bar/hotel in Vancouver received THOUSANDS of applications for bartenders ( Realtors?)! http://www.thecomingdepression.blogspot.com
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:07 am
I think it was last week that I predicted 50% down by fall 2009. I'm sticking buy it. The local RE market environment has worsened considerably in only one week.
Here is a challenge: can anyone give me the profile of who the buyers are in the current market?
You really need to stretch the imagination to answer that one.
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:05 am
If it were a simple modification to the 'parking garage' as was stated in the Media, they would NOT have closed the sales centre or taken down the signage. This project is done like dinner, no matter how they spin it and it will join a long list of projects in the pre-sale phase that will not go ahead. People have lost confindence in RE, and that will not change for the foreseeable future. Soon enough, RE talk will be a topic that you avoid in polite company, unless your goal is to ensure no future invites!
October 22nd, 2008 at 10:37 am
Modifications MEAN asking more money from the POTENTIAL PURCHASERS–READ the fine print!!!
They are going to be double of what your initial purchase price is!!!
Whatcha ma say BOB RENNIE!!!
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:42 am
BTW the site I posted(ie Stock Watch) has periodic overload due to heavy cyber traffic……keep trying, it took me 3 times before it came up.
Also: Most of the info re: Victoria Hill is near the bottom, so scroll down to it.
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:35 am
Some posters keep mentioning the " Victoria Hill" development in New West :
Here is some interesting info:
http://www.stockwatch.com/swnet/newsit/newsit_new…
If that doesn't work, do a seacrh for "StockWatch"
Unlike a market glut whee the problem is simply oversupply…perhaps the Victoria Hill Developers are building a product of dubious quality, given what these parties posting on "Stockwatch" are saying. Perhaps a lot of builders sensed the coming glut and the high overhead they were already obligated to and were cutting corners waaaay back.
This group appears to have a reputation for jerking peeople around. In Richmond, there was an apartment block they had bought and were jerking around and hassling a lot of tenants
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:09 am
Uuhh uuhhh….remove the construction crews and sales office, so that modifications to the building can be made….this only makes sense if they don't know what the modifications are……heh.
Another one bites the dust.