Friday Free-for-all!
It’s time for the weekender open-topic discussion! Here are a few stories I’ve noticed lately:
-Jameson House wins court approval to restart project
-Richmond is lower mainlands hottest market
-Real estate is not a religion
-Harper: Effects of recession beginning to ease
-Carney: Recovery still has a long way to go
-World Bank: Global economy to see steeper contraction
-Does the federal funds rate affect mortgage rates?
-USA: The landscaper is foreclosing
-20 largest bankruptcies in history (graphic)
So what are you seeing out there? Post your news links, thoughts and anecdotes here and have an excellent weekend!
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June 16th, 2009 at 3:38 am
Anonymous:
Now might be a great time to buy real estate, no one can say with certainty.
There is no credible scenario – whether inflationary, deflationary, or price stability, apart from selling to a greater fool – where buying Vancouver RE will give competitive returns to an investor.
You have the evidence of the world’s biggest economy the other side of Zero Avenue. What more could anyone want?
June 15th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
Patriotz, that is a dumb post. Inflation might skyrocket, the government might sabatoge the bond market like the 70’s, a lot of variables. Now might be a great time to buy real estate, no one can say with certainty. You’ve sure been wrong a lot of years, don’t bother with any crystal balling.
June 15th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
other ted:
Patriotz what about the term risk when used in context of risk/reward. I think Angryslav was right also because that was his context.
That was my context. The long-term total return of an asset class is positively correlated to its risk, because the more uncertain the returns, the more return rational investors will want.
Vancouver RE is no more risky today than it ever was. It’s just ridiculously overpriced. That’s something else entirely.
If anyone thinks I’m being pedantic, would you say it’s “risky” to jump out of an airplane without a parachute? No, it’s suicidal. Just like buying Vancouver RE at today’s prices is financial suicide. Risk means undertaking an action with an uncertain outcome, not one with a virtual certainty of a negative outcome.
June 15th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
patriotzed:
Risk also refers to ‘capital risk’, not just an interuption of earnings. Capital risk can account for any potential exposure to loss from currency fluctuation, opportunity cost and direct loss through malfeasance etc etc.
June 15th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
The cynical douchebags who fronted the little retarded boy into the mayors chair are striking quickly to cash in. They have just proposed changing the by laws to allow 205 sq ft condos to be built. Think of it, instead of 300 condos in a tower you get 600 on the same land. Quite a windfall for the douchebags. Who sees through this cash grab? Not the little retarded boy in the mayors chair, thats for sure. Instead of letting the market do it’s work and bring the costs down, they instead propose another way to make it all seem more ‘affordable’. You people better not think of having children or they’ll be sleeping on top of the toilet tank.
“I have none of my clients lock up. “ « Vancouver Real Estate Anecdote Archive Says:
June 15th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
[...] 15 June 2009 · No Comments Many suspect that ultra-low borrowing rates are continuing to levitate Vancouver’s RE market. This from a ‘horse’s mouth’, Anonymous on vancouvercondoinfo June 12th, 2009 at 7:09 pm – [...]
June 15th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Leaky condo concerns cropping up in post-2000 condos
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The man who led an earlier fight against Vancouver’s leaky condos has a warning for owners of recently built condos: Just because it was built after the year 2000, doesn’t mean it’s free of the problem. James Balderson with the Coalition of Leaky Condo Owners says they’ve started to get reports from homeowners in condos built after 2000.
In many cases, balconies are needing to replaced, among other projects…but the existing warranties are running out. Balderson says the current leaky condo warning period that ranges between 1982 to 1999 isn’t realistic. “I think the real warning period is for condos converted or built after 1970 to the present day. We’re hearing reports about the warranties that are supposed to be looking after everything, and disputes are arising regarding the performance of the warranty companies who look after the problem.”
June 15th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
“You are not using the term “risk” correctly.”
Risk means different things to different people in different contexts. No one likes a pedant.
June 15th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Patriotz what about the term risk when used in context of risk/reward. I think Angryslav was right also because that was his context.