Friday Free-for-fall!
It’s Friday Free-for-all time, and boy is it starting to feel like autumn here in Vancouver. Equity markets certainly spent Thursday falling, should we expect to see a seasonal downturn in BC housing markets as well? This is the place to discuss anything related to real estate and the economy.. Here are a few stories I’ve noticed lately to kick off the conversation:
-Coldwell Banker: Canadian real estate a world ‘bargain’
-BC real estate returning to a sellers market?
-Vancouver population growth comparison
-Stocks tumble on economic doubts
-IMF: Canada to lead global recovery
-Economic rebound could be slow in BC
-Lets pay people to buy houses!
-Auto sales crash after losing clunker cash
-Finding a new ‘normal’ for the global economy
So what are you seeing out there? Post your news links, thoughts and anecdotes here and have an excellent weekend!
October 6th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
107
BB and RP. Same old, same old travel places.
RP, sounds like all your exotic travels took place when you were already working in SE Asia. So big deal if you traveled in your back yard when you were younger.
Its like a Vancouverite bragging about seeing the glaciers at Banff, the Grand Canyon, or the wilderness of Alaska to someone in Istanbul. It sounds exotic, but anyone here were would shrug it off.
Come back and tell me when you have been charged by a Silverback gorilla in Rwanda, flown a plane solo through the Andes, escaped a rebel attack in the Congo, or hunted big game with Masai warrior. Those are just a few of my real travel adventures.
Save real traveling to the big boys, and keep your childhood "adventures" and European tourist wandering rants to yourself.
October 6th, 2009 at 8:53 am
Bears are once more got shit thrown on their face again.
Find one more job to offset the rent hike.
October 5th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
@other ted: Marijuana costs the same now as it did 20 years ago. Yes, I mean the nominal value. At least, here in BC.
October 5th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Patriotzed……
Apartments get turned into condos, and vice versa on occasion……Boardwalk REIT buys anything in those two categories that makes sense and fits their business model. Either an entire condo complex, or an multi-unit apartment building. But you got my point about the numbers not making sense for the biggest landlord in Canada to not want to acquire any more real estate at this time……I seriously doubt John Q.Public will though…..
FWIW this very salient news tidbit had a small C/C sized placement buried on the 5 or 6th page of the Calgary Heralds business section last week….and never made it to the TV stations owned by Canwest. Imagine 'dat.
October 5th, 2009 at 10:58 am
@Boombust:
Call the burn unit.
October 5th, 2009 at 10:20 am
Isn't there a forum at Frommers for this crap?
October 5th, 2009 at 9:57 am
Yep. I was right. You're an A-hole.
October 5th, 2009 at 9:19 am
boom and rp – we don't care which of you has a bigger dick, ok….
October 5th, 2009 at 8:30 am
@Boombust:
Been there done that when jumping off for most interesting areas. Ever sailed the South China Sea across to the Spratley Group and ridden turtles the size of a Volkswagon? you can't backpack there though or fly in? Trekked Borneo yet up the Kuching River by canoe? What about the Xingu River, or did you ever float down the Negro in a dugout? Been to the North Pole Yet. Trekked Nepal? How about that 4 day ride from Mumbai to Chennai? Freaking Awesome . Horseback across Afghanistan ? Tiruchirapalli?
Don't give me your Lonely Planet Backpacker crap. Do some real travelling. Don't make me tell you about landing on Kata Beach before Phuket was discoveredby tourists. Or what BKK was like before the backpackers got there. Any idiot can buy a discount ticket, a guide book and go where every other douchebag has gone a billion times before him, thats strictly the goon show of travel.
Try again my petulant pet, and try something challenging next time, without the youth hostels and bonehead ease of being 'another stupid tourist'.
Bwahahahahahahahaha , amateur.
October 5th, 2009 at 6:16 am
"But please feel free to loose your slings and arrows." -rp
Aw shuddup.
Ever been in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul?
I have.
Floated in the Dead Sea?
I have.
Been to Wat Po?
I have.
So there. Now get lost.
October 5th, 2009 at 6:12 am
"At least with good furniture that lasts a lifetime"
Who wants furniture to hang around THAT long?
October 5th, 2009 at 4:51 am
@realpaul: Because I know. And it's because people buy the junk like what you sold that we don't have more quality tradespeople in Canada. Quality vs quantity. You choose.
October 5th, 2009 at 3:02 am
@other ted:
So why aren't rents higher?
It's the fundamentals, stupid.
October 4th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
hey RP, glad you enjoyed St Mary Redcliffe. Bristol is a great city. Most of the church (not cathedral, as it isn't an episcopal seat) is 15th, but yes, the site is earlier.
October 4th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
@Lilypad:
#97 Lily, how do you know that custom work is being done in Canada? We have so few trained craftsmen in this country that it would be difficult to manufacture furniture of any quality in sufficient quantity to make it profitable as an enterprise. So whats the bottom line. Maybe people are paying way too much for crap made in China or Indonesia (where they also have a huge furniture manufacturing industry) or perhaps even Egypt, and its being marked up to rediculous prices for Canadian suckers.
Let me give an example. When I was a kid I was in the import buisness. One of the items I handled was womens fashions. I manufactured dresses in Indonesia for distribution to boutiques here in Canada and elsewhere. One simple dress which would cost me under $5 dollars landed ( simple poly cotton cut work sundress, typical of the time) would wholesale for $35 CDN and retail at over a hundred at the tony west side boutiques I supplied. They'd sell like hot cakes when we would put them on sale at $75. My point being, many people have no idea about value and its very easy to pry a buck loose from a fool.
I also imported wholesale coloured gemstones and the mark up is so astronomical it could be referred to as 'obscene' to see what a 'precious' sapphire or ruby sells for here in Vancouver jewellery shops as opposed to what it costs when persons like myself buy them by the pound in buckets from the mill. I'm talking 1000's of percent mark ups. Wooooooops, I let another secret slip. Theres another industry that hates the truth.