Friday Free-for-all!
The end of the week has arrived and that means it’s time to round up the news and start up our open topic week-end discussion thread. Here are a few stories I’ve noticed lately to kick things off:
-No Canadian real estate crash? Who are they kidding?
-Canadian housing sales fell 17% in 2008
-Calgary price drops lead nation, volume declines trail only Vancouver
-Top city official in charge of Olympic Village resigns
-Olympic village scandal grows and grows
-Premier rushes to give city power to borrow $458 million
-Gary Mason, if I bought at Millenium Water can I get out of the deal?
-“Rewarding failure” may not be the best course of action
-A bankrupt Nortel would still support the games
-BC forecast to lose more than 42,000 jobs in 2009
-Office vacancies on the rise
-US foreclosures up 81% in 2008
Quick! Someone find a forecast for a strong spring recovery in the Vancouver real estate market, we need some sunshine and rainbows to counteract all this doom n’ gloom!
So what are you seeing out there? Post your news links, thoughts and anecdotes here and have an excellent 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 into your comment will automatically create a clickable hot-link. Linking to more than one external link within a single comment may cause your submission to get held up in the spam filter. Operation of this website under the influence of kool-aid is not recommended.
January 20th, 2009 at 8:45 am
Leopards don’t change their spots.
Can’t say I have found much positive about ONNI product…for some strange reason they seem to continue their way of doing business, likely indicative of luring new suckers.
Wouldn’t put it past such leopards to try rigging the appearance of demand with staged crowd.
If they actually had a crowd of 25…that is 25 lookee -loos with some “possibly” interested in buying.
That ain’t exactly a mad rush.
January 20th, 2009 at 8:33 am
MAC marketing dope was quoted as saying the condo market was turning and the long line-up for FLO was evidence of it.
I hate to burst anybody’s dopey dreams of greatness but ONE of those supposed eager buyers was the Onni receptionist.
This is a propaganda exercise my friends. Believe NADA word from these lying POSs and for sure don’t buy into the plastic hype.
January 19th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Update:
Just drove by the Flo….
Dark, lonely, no heaters, no tent… no one in site..
What was mentioned earlier probably a staged photo opp.
January 19th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Like looking back at all those laughable predictions for 2008, like house prices going up?
Despite near record low interest rates and 15% price drop renting is still quite a bit cheaper than owning.
There, fixed it for you.
January 19th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Funny, i hope prices go down more but i keep hearing good arguments emerging as to why prices have bottomed and will go up soon. Would be funny if prices are higher a year from now and we come back, look at the archives and have a good laugh about all our crash talk. Despite low interest rates renting is still a bit cheaper than owning.
January 19th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
411 alexcanuck Says:
January 19th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
No-lympics:
Yeah, what he said! (MrBear)
Yes, they would have done it given the chance, but no, they weren’t in power for any of the run-up and explosion.!!
Exactly what I had in mind. I’m not a big fan of the lefties, they mean well, but end up messing it all up anyway. These rightwing nutjobs though! Such a naive belief in the power of free markets to be rational long-term, when the entire incentive structure on all levels is set up so short-term. Small-c conservatives they aren’t. More like Bill Good type shallow thinkers placed into power by much smarter, richer and un-principled business interests. Of course outsourcing to the low bid can deliver caring, compassionate help to the dis-advantaged and improve hospital stay outcomes. Yeah, right!
Let them eat cake!
==============================
OK OK OKKKAAAYYY
I get it..you are Gregor Robertson and you have now blown your cover.
The Leftie conspiracy is as follows:
You have hoards of Union members ready to make down payments on the Olympic Village Condos. Then the $500 Million loan you hvae just acquired becomes moot. You will then re-direct the funds to VanCity(Commie/ Leftie Bank)and lend them back to the Union members living in the $ 1000 / sq. ft. condos.
The Lefties will take over the rest of the COV by taxing the snot out of their (Non -Union) citizens, take over their properties via default on property taxes….ie take over the “World class” city first,then take over the rest of World period !!!
The mess is always worse when the Lefties are in power..always.
January 19th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
No-lympics:
Yeah, what he said! (MrBear)
Yes, they would have done it given the chance, but no, they weren’t in power for any of the run-up and explosion.!!
Exactly what I had in mind. I’m not a big fan of the lefties, they mean well, but end up messing it all up anyway. These rightwing nutjobs though! Such a naive belief in the power of free markets to be rational long-term, when the entire incentive structure on all levels is set up so short-term. Small-c conservatives they aren’t. More like Bill Good type shallow thinkers placed into power by much smarter, richer and un-principled business interests. Of course outsourcing to the low bid can deliver caring, compassionate help to the dis-advantaged and improve hospital stay outcomes. Yeah, right!
Let them eat cake!
January 19th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Post 408
If its the same 25 people in the morning and nobody else joins them..what can we say, its either a S-C-A-M or a dud of a sale.
PS Maybe stoxxman should go there and discuss “ONNI quality” and ” customer after- sale service” with them LOL
January 19th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
Richmond Rich Renter:
It wouldn’t be the first time that actors had been used to dish up some marketing to a gullible public.
Like Mark Twain said ” If you find yourself too close to the mainstream, it’s time to step back and reflect”.
January 19th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
re: Flo Onni Condos
I just drove past on my way home work. Saw about 25 people in a line up huddled under gas powered heaters and tents at Flo in Richmond. What was really funny was …across the street was a colorful painted Onni van (with tons of advertising down each side), with a guy getting his camera equipment out of the back.
If I didn’t know it was a “fire-sale” I’d have to assume it was a movie set or a shoot for a commercial. Too funny!
January 19th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
I’m pleased with the Onni success. If its the case, other developers will follow and we will see the market crash quicker than expected.
I wonder how the other Onni sites did. New West, Port Moody, Surrey etc.
January 19th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Post 402
Too Funny…and sad…..not surpised….. and perhaps worst fears realized …..all rolled into one
Unless those are actors in the condo sale line- up photo…this reminds me of an interesting phenomenon re: living things that are on their last legs.
Just before they pass away, they can get this burst of energy which gives the impression all is well….then the final flatline.
I’ll stick with what the more realistic prognostications are…ie a major fiscal tsunami will hit and hit HARD. There is little if any evidence to the contrary.
January 19th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
liveinrichmond:
Yeahhhhhhhhh lolololololololololololo, too funny.
January 19th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Thompson:
I’ve got to repost this post from an earlier string about how the glossy eyed buyers in 2005 thought the downturn in Miami would be ‘short lived’ and prices would be continually pushed back up
15 Comments:
At 4:59 PM, Anonymous said…
This is the sort of thing that will keep this bubble from popping–every time there is the slightest dip, the so-called vultures swoop in and bid the prices back up.
January 19th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Left – right …..Left versus right:
WE don’t need to use VISION’s Raymond Louie as poster boy for baiting and being fact twisting weasels and thinks the shite won’t stick. Sorry, but as a back-handed compliment certain groups in society are inherently bad liars/bad at lying.
One can dig and dig and find the genesis for all sorts of bad policies that lead to the current economic meltdown. Lefties try to avoid admitting A-N-Y blame and instead try hard to lay blame elsewhere.
Regardless….. my original point was VISION is cleaning house at senior levels of the COV bureaucracy, and will stuff City Hall with apparatchniks with socialist -driven agendas which may exacerbate the situation instead of minimizing it. Or, conversely, headhunted candidates who are Non Partisan and work like true professionals may be fully aware how Leftie administrations work and say ” NOOO Thanks “.
Example:
If VISION could they likely would make sure that the Olympic Village site was 100 % card carrying Union members only ( = Union dues = Union donations = VISION/NDP War Che$t donations).
January 19th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
I just bought a dozen condos
HA HA HA
tomorrow bank of Canada is cutting rate to zero per cent
http://www.news1130.com/news/l.....3125_42004
Lineups for condo sale: Has the market bottomed?
Jim Goddard RICHMOND (NEWS1130) | Monday, January 19th, 2009 2:12 pm
RICHMOND (NEWS1130) – Is ‘condo-fever’ returning to the Lower Mainland market? Slashed prices and a feeling that condo market has ‘bottomed’, has apparently convinced some people. They started lining up at 9:30 last night for the doors to open this morning at a Richmond condo project (on Elmbridge).
Many people in line thought it was the best prices they were likely to see, considering that comparable condo units were selling for tens of thousands of dollars more just a year ago. One potential buyer says the one bedroom unit she’s eying is selling for $299,000. Others she’s looked at were selling for $375,000.
Many of the would-be buyers say they lined up on behalf of family and friends who plan on moving to Richmond. They also cite low mortgage rates as another reason to get in now. One agent selling the completed project says he hasn’t seen a lineup like this since 2007.
January 19th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
markx: “Or did some taxpayer funded agency already cough up the dough for the non-market units.”
There was federal and I believe provincial money provided for social housing, in the 10′s of millions. Probably not a huge amount, given the total cost of the development.
I agree, I’m at a loss to see how this thing costs $1000/sf even with social housing. I know the city had consultants doing ‘green development’ plans for that site long before the Olympics came to town. Once it was decided that the land was to be used for the village I guess everybody just added their own pony to the herd. Certainly lefties have some responsibility here, but I didn’t see much in the way of protest when the NPA was out of power or cost control when they were in. We’re stuck with the bill either way.