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Friday Free-for-all!

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It’s Friday!  Here are a few recent news stories to kick off the open topic weekend discussion:

–House prices to go down for a decade?
–Experts say first-timers needed in housing market
–Real estate boom over.. Ya think?
–BC leads way in rising unemployment
–Commercial Property outlook bleak
–BC bleeding ‘good paying jobs’
–Making bad times good
–Big deficits in US budget
–US House prices drop at record rate

So what are you seeing out there? Post your news, links and anecdotes here and have an excellent weekend!

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Ok, I have no opinion on the rightness or lack of of what the RCMP did. But let's take a look at your post, shall we? First up, lets call the police "pigs" – that's really helping. I personally have sibling in the police (not the RCMP), and if you called them pigs while I was around I'd kick you in the balls. Next – The Polish government have no legal juristiction in Canada. They are simply media grandstanding. It is "obvious" they would have been convicted of murder? Well, nice to know someone out there has a crystal ball. "These 4 pigs should be extradited to Poland like any other criminal would be." What a load of crap. Since when does someone committing an alleged crime _in Canada_ get extradited to another country? "Wouldn’t Canada expect the same courtesy… Read more »

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Anonymous

factcracker you are absolutely correct. I and many people I know agree with you 100%. Shameful and disgusting.

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factcracker

I just watched the 6 PM news coverage on the Robert Djiekanski 'murder by cop' Braidwood inquiry. Is it just me or should these pigs have been put on trial before the prosecutor decided not to charge them prior to all evidence being examined by ALL paties concerned? All 4 RCMP killers have been shown to be baldfaced liars, incompetant and ill trained thugs in uniform who thought nothing of murdering an innocent man. Today the public was so aghast at the extent of the lies being told that cat calls were heaved at the actual killer of Robert Djikanski who continued to read the script the RCMP lawyeres had given to the pricks that had testified before him, only now, after cross examination, all the RCMP statements have proved to be false and it is obvious that the 4… Read more »

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patriotz

circlingthebowl:

Whatever the reason a few houses went into the market at whatever price, the fact is all prices are down.

Well of course all prices are down. I said that San Diego is 40% off peak. My point is that the Case-Shiller index, which is not sensitive to market mix, is the most accurate measure of how much prices have actually gone down, not the statewide median which has been biased by a huge increase in sales at the low end.

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depressionwatch

I keep hearing the local pundits assure us that everything will be back on track when the US housing market is back up again. I keep reading material that indicates that it's the entire economy and not only real estate thats fallen off a cliff. There are so many reasons why this recession will accelerate into 2009 and 10. People are generally so optimistic that it will be short term. Thats never how recessions end. They always end badly. Not to put to fine a point on this but you can expect the pain to get many times worse before it gets better, thats how recessions end, when the blood is streaming down Main St.

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,…

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circlingthebowl

NO -LYMPICS:

#81 no-lympics, There is no brinksmanship on cynicism on this forum for the most part. We are a very wary bunch. I am merely pointing out/to the obvious.

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NO -LYMPICS

Condo buying seminar Also noted Strata Bylaws : Are they registered ? Rick noted an example whereby a couple with a young child bought into a strata. As they entered the strata with their child one day they met another strata owner. The other party asked if they were visiting. The couple said no, they lived there. The other party had this surprised look on their face , and then asked whose child that was? The couple replied it was their child. Shortly after, they had a letter under their door stating the strata had a " no children policy" via its strata bylaws . The couple were not aware of that, so went to their Lawyer. The Lawyer did some research and found the Strata's Bylaws were NOT registered at the Land Title's Office . Apparently there is a… Read more »

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sam

those 3 musketeers released more hot air than can fill Richard Bransons hot air baloons. What a waste of time reading their interview. Beating round the bush say that eventually house prices will stabalize. I could have told you that. The fact is these overpaid fat cats are trying to do all they can trying to stop the vancouver house price reaching the affordibilty level they should be. I can understand the high price paid for ral estates in London England, New York, Tokyo where people get million dollar bonuses as standard, but vancouver !!. You'll be lucky to get paid 100,000.

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circlingthebowl

patriotz:

#82 patrioz , so you are agreeing with the article with the fact that house prices have and are continuing to go down. It's hard to argue the myriad reasons why prices are down from the previous peak, there are in fact many, but the underlying bottomline is that prices are down irregardless of how they got there. Whatever the reason a few houses went into the market at whatever price, the fact is all prices are down. Whether they were foreclosed product or from a forced divorce sale or death in the family they are all down in price. It's not just foreclosed SFH prices that are down.

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NO -LYMPICS

Re: Remediated Buildings Rick provided all sorts of stats and anecdotes. One was that only 20 % of condos that have been built and will be leakers have been fixed . That implies that 80 % of the condo product out there will need repairs . At the very start he stated some buildings are on there 3rd restoration. New remediation standards require a Professional Engineer specialized in Building Envelopes. GIVEN: All buildings leak. The question is to what degree do they leak ? OLD condos can be classified as having no report to identify a buildings degree of leaking NEW buildings have to be given time to have the flaws exposed. ( BTW: Warranties were discussed , which was another eye opener) REMEDIATED buildings are, in essence, old buildings that have exposed their warts and have had a Specialist… Read more »

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Anonymous

NO -LYMPICS:

Looking forward to that should be interesting! Be quiet deathspiral! 🙂

Strataman

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patriotz

Note that the reason why the median in California has dropped so much in just a year is the huge increase in foreclosures or other distress sales in the disaster areas of the Inland Empire and Central Valley.

The metro with the greatest decline in the Case-Shiller index is San Diego, which is about 40% off the peak, which was in late 2005.

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NO -LYMPICS

deathspiral:

I went in possibly more cyncial than you…but I attended.
If you weren’t there, then your comments are off base.

I’ve been to other RE seminars which were mostly BS.

I’ve already stated I myself wouldn’t be a condo buyer…and after listening to his seminar I am even more convinced from his seminar condos ain’t for me, but that is based on how much information and due diligence should go into any condo purchase , which is what he made clear.

That may sound counterproductive…but there are parties that still want condos, so Rick’s seminar would benefit.

This was the first one he held on Lower Mainland.My guess is 50 people attended , from all ages and backgrounds.

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NO -LYMPICS

deathspiral:

I went in possibly more cyncial than you…but I attended.

If you weren't there, then your comments are off base.

I've been to other RE seminars which were mostly BS.

I've already stated I myself wouldn't be a condo buyer…and after listening to his seminar I am even more convinced from his seminar condos ain't for me, but that is based on how much information and due diligence should go into any condo purchase , which is what he made clear.

That may sound counterproductive…but there are parties that still want condos, so Rick's seminar would benefit.

This was the first one he held on Lower Mainland.My guess is 50 people attended , from all ages and backgrounds.

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circlingthebowl

“California’s housing market has weathered a sobering downturn in recent years, and figures released Thursday show how far things have fallen. In January, the state’s median home price for an existing single-family home topped out at $254,350. That was off 9.5 percent from the previous month but down a whopping 40.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the California Association of Realtors.”

http://thehousingbubbleblog.com/?p=5295

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deathspiral

deathspiral: PS: "Rick’s background was worked witht the CMHC, then as a builder..Home Inspector now a Realtor." 1)He works for the banking slime and peddles BS to people paying a huge premium for mortgages they haven't got a standard downpayment for. You need no training no education no qualification of any sort and generally only get the numbers from CMHC that are entirely inaccurate and at best so far out of date to be totally useless. 2) An inspector is an unlicensed , unregulated industry that anyone with zero qualificatiion can get into with an ad in any paper, no degree or certificate required. 3) He worked as a realtard, no education, no qualification, no training, 2 week exam period, max. Always full of shit desperate commission only saleman. Great qualifications to be classed as any kind of expert alright.NOT… Read more »

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Informer10

Canada's central bank looks set to deliver a hefty half-point interest rate cut on Tuesday that should boost the country's dollar and bonds, but it may also signal its aggressive 15-month rate-cutting campaign is near an end.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/090301/busines…

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deathspiral

NO -LYMPICS: #74 no-lympics, I have seen many remediated condo projects that have leaked time and time again, I drive past several every day as a reminder that are on the third 'remdiation'. The designs are at fault and it seems that no amount of resurfacing will ever solve the problem, the buildings are not designed for this climate and will have to be torn down eventually. There was a post on this board not too long ago by someone who had just finished off paying for the first wrap of 45 thousand dollars from the special assesment and the second'remediaition' was assesed at $180 thousand and this was impossible for her to finance because the unit wasn't worth that much in equity to her. Another example in the Sun paper 2 weeks ago was of a guy who had… Read more »

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NO -LYMPICS

I attended that Rick Couvelier Condo Buying seminar yesterday at Langara:

Conclusion: It was AWESOME.

Approx. 6 hours long…but time flew by.

Rick's background was worked witht the CMHC, then as a builder..Home Inspector now a Realtor.

Re Strata…man there is a lot to know. It is a minefield on so many fronts, but sure was empowering once the seminar was finished.

I'll submit posts re: some of the things he talked about.

One interesting tid bit was he submitted a "what was the best choice of 3 following condos?"

OLD Condo ?

or

Remediated Condo ?

or

NEW Condo ?

He stated Remediated Condo for a number of good reasons.

More later

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NO -LYMPICS

Buffett says economy in shambles http://www.theprovince.com/Business/Buffett+says+… QUOTE: NEW YORK — Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Warren Buffett's insurance and investment company, barely broke even in the fourth quarter because of losses on derivatives contracts tied to the stock market. Profit fell 96 percent, the fifth straight quarterly decline, and Berkshire's net worth tumbled $10.9 billion in the year's final three months. Net worth per share fell 9.6 percent in 2008, only the second decline since Buffett began running Berkshire in 1965. It fell 6.2 percent in 2001. In his eagerly anticipated annual letter to Berkshire shareholders, Buffett also offered a gloomy economic outlook, saying "the economy will be in shambles throughout 2009 — and for that matter, probably well beyond." ====== Berkshire generates about half its results from insurance, including auto insurer Geico Corp, but operates more than 70 businesses that offer… Read more »

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Vancouverite

Is everyone enjoying the RAIN?

Oh Ya it rains a lot in this Vancouver 'World Class City'

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patriotz

Singapore’s luxury property bubble bursts

"Just over half – 55% – of the 2,200 luxury homes constructed in Singapore between 2006 and 2008 remain unsold, according to a recent report compiled by CB Richard Ellis.

The housing slowdown in the city-state was further illustrated in an additional report issued by the Swiss bank UBS which revealed that homes in two high-profile residential schemes recently sold for 20% under their launch prices.

Furthermore, various reports suggest that a house in the upscale waterfront development of Sentosa Cove, is on the verge of being repossessed, which this time last year, was thought to be unthinkable, and further reinforces the fact that the financial slump is even effecting the country’s wealthiest individuals."

Well there's another blow to the "running out of land" and "rich Asian" chestnuts.

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read on

I'm a potential FTB (a little older than most – mid 30s, too many years in school) who is definitely still in the woodwork. I'll burrow my way out in a year or two when things make sense to buy again.

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patriotz

Dan in Calgary:

Haven’t we used up first-time buyers for a few years?

At current prices, certainly. But a lot of FTB's came out of the woodwork in the mid-80's when prices made sense again, and I think we'll see the same in a couple of years. Not nearly as many as were buying during the bubble, mind you, but there will be buyers. It's just a matter of price.

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NO -LYMPICS

1 NO-LYMPICS Says:

February 26th, 2009 at 7:52 pm

I’m #1 I tink

Current score: -73

A Record !!!

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