Vancouver Condo Info

From the Vancouver Sun: Developer sues buyers for backing out of presales agreements.

Another Metro Vancouver developer has launched a flurry of lawsuits against buyers attempting to walk away from pre-sale contracts in one of its developments.

In January, Amacon filed suit against seven buyers in its Morgan Heights project.

This time it is Onni, the developer that is also attempting to unload hundreds of unsold condominium units in developments around Metro Vancouver, that is suing 20 buyers in the Aria 2 building of its Suter Brook community in Port Moody.

The statements of claim, filed on Jan. 21, accuse the buyers of breaching their contracts for not closing on their specified purchase dates, and seek to claim the deposits buyers paid as well as additional potential damages.

In the claim, Onni said it “has suffered and will continue to suffer additional loss, damages and expense,” including reduced property value at resale, commissions to realtors, marketing costs and legal fees.

The trend that’s not everyone’s friend..

Hat-tip to bdk for the link.

As if it’s not bad enough having the BC Real Estate Association announce their forecast of a 14% price decline on your downtown condo, now you won’t even be able to watch the fireworks in English Bay from your balcony:

The HSBC Celebration of Light, the summer fireworks festival that has attracted thousands of people to Vancouver, will not proceed this year due to a lack of funding.

The Vancouver Fireworks Festival society said Wednesday in a press release that the not-for-profit society has been unable to retain and add enough sponsorship to meet the event’s $4 million budget.

“It has been an exceptional 18-year event — the largest of its kind in the world — and it is a credit to our many exceptional sponsors that we kept the event going year after year. However, the current financial situation makes it impossible for us to continue.”

At least you can take some comfort in the fact that you still live in the “Best Place on Earth”.

From this mornings Globe and Mail 40 percent of employers freeze pay:

More than 40 per cent of Canadian companies have now imposed, or plan to impose, salary freezes this year, according to a survey released Tuesday by consulting firm Towers Perrin.

And “salaries for senior executives are more likely to be frozen than any other group,” Towers Perrin found in a survey of 246 organizations.

The report comes a day after three major Canadian banks – the Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Bank of Nova Scotia – reported that their chief executive officers have agreed to voluntarily give up more than $15-million in compensation.

Towers Perrin reported that only 7 per cent of its survey participants have made significant reductions in staff levels, although another 18 per cent are considering major layoffs, the firm reported.

On the same subject, I’ve heard of a number of Vancouver companies that have been offering pay cuts / reduced hours in lieu of layoffs.  How are you and your family being affected by the accelerating downturn in the local economy?

The BC Real Estate Association has released a revised forecast predicting that house prices in Metro Vancouver will drop 14% in 2009.  Condohype beat me to the punch on the basic math:

Here’s the spin-free version: The BCREA expects the average home value in Greater Vancouver to decrease $7,147 a month, every month, in 2009.

Given that the BCREA is forecasting the average home price here to drop by more than $85,000 this year, real estate isn’t looking like the most stellar investment oppourtunity.  Of course, with interest rates incredibly low the security of a GIC isn’t going to be a big earner and things aren’t looking too great in the stock markets either.

So my question to you is this: What do you want out of 2009 and where will you be putting your cash?  Will you be satisfied to simply minimize losses, or will you be making riskier moves in an effort to get your money working for you?

Finally! Some optimistic news to balance out the doom and gloom that has dominated the news lately:

OK people, it’s time to shake your-selves out of that funk you’re in. What has happened to the housing industry in the United States will stay in the United States, for the most part.

Canada has seen its new and resale sectors soften, but because our lending regulations are so much more stringent than those to the south of us, we will easily avoid the financial pitfalls that have reined in the home ownership dreams of buyers and battered sellers forced to drastically cut prices and/or go into foreclosure.

Please note that Canada is not the USA, and Vancouver is not Canada.  When you’ve finished shaking, you can read the rest of the article here.

We try to keep our reporting of rumours to a minimum here, but Jesse has been a reliable source before.  Here’s his comment from the previous thread.

Of course you don’t need to delve into second hand rumors to find problems with this projects financial foundation.  The front page of the Sun today reveals that the development was financed with currency swaps when the Loonies was flying high:

Just when you thought you’ve computed all the risks from the Olympic village crisis, here’s another. The $1.2-billion development has been financed using international “currency swaps,” one of the riskiest ways to borrow.

Read the full article here.

UPDATE: Mayor Robertson says the city is in process of negotiating a ‘much better deal‘ for the financing and doesn’t believe the city is at such a risk.