Crackshack or Mansion? Ask Petr & Ola
Petr and Ola are the creative duo behind Crackshack or Mansion, the online quiz that serves up very clear visual examples of lunacy in the Vancouver housing market. They recently updated the game to a second version. Can YOU tell the difference between a crack shack and a million dollar house in Vancouver BC?
They have agreed to do an open format interview that will let you ask the questions. Post any questions you have for them in the comment section and vote up the ones you’d like to have answered. I’ll send on the top rated question comments to them and post their answers next week. Ready? Ask away!
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April 28th, 2010 at 6:33 am
Well, perhaps it goes without saying that we’d greatly appreciate them telling us their own personal story of how the Vancouver RE Bubble has affected them.
How long have they lived in Vancouver?
Do they rent or own? (wouldn’t want to presume even the obvious!)
If they rent, have they been tempted to buy?
Have they considered leaving Vancouver because of RE prices?
What is the effect of the RE market on their own social circle? Are friends overextending to buy RE?
Are they experiencing pressure to buy from family/friends/colleagues?
Are any friends leaving for more reasonably priced pastures?
What emotions do they experience about their housing situation, and about the RE market?
What psychological toll is the state of the RE market taking on them?
[and BTW, thank them again for crackshackormansion]
April 28th, 2010 at 7:15 am
Hi Petr and Ola,
thanks for making such an entertaining site, I’d like to know how much exposure this got outside of Vancouver. Do you get many visitors from other countries?
Are they laughing with us or laughing at us?
April 28th, 2010 at 7:19 am
@vreaa: I think the idea is to ask one question per comment, like a slashdot interview.
The part of your question I’d be intersted in is if they’ve considered leaving because of prices and if friends or family have left because of high prices.
April 28th, 2010 at 7:21 am
Are any of the crack shacks in Vancouver?
April 28th, 2010 at 7:24 am
Do you have mls number for the mansion in the game since many people are interested in buying after seeing picture.
April 28th, 2010 at 8:00 am
Will they buy tree and buy tree for husband?
April 28th, 2010 at 8:38 am
Terenet House Price index
I guess they are running out of land, there are more rich chinese and the climate is better in T.O..
… or maybe it’s just easy credit?!?
April 28th, 2010 at 8:58 am
Has anybody ever got a passing score on the quiz?
April 28th, 2010 at 9:00 am
“Will they buy tree and buy tree for husband?
It’s not “husband” it’s “huzbah”. As in: “I buy tree, my huzbah by tree”.
April 28th, 2010 at 9:44 am
I’d like to know if they’ve gotten any hate mail from Crack Dealers who are pissed that they’ve exposed their sham: the selling of a temporary “high” followed by a lifetime of debt, to the unsuspecting masses looking for escapism.
Also, please ask the same question again replacing “Crack Dealers” with “Realtors”.
Thanks.
April 28th, 2010 at 9:45 am
Next question: does any Vancouver-based Realtor actually score higher than 25% on their quiz?
My bet is no.
April 28th, 2010 at 9:46 am
@Meat Robot: Yeah, actually it would be interesting to see a breakdown of scores, do you keeps stats on the scores and where the visitor comes from? I’m guessing people from Vancouver would do better on this quiz than people from Florida.
April 28th, 2010 at 10:41 am
New Teranet index released today.
http://www.housepriceindex.ca/
It’s official: Vancouver prices have officially eclipsed the previous highs of April ’08, reaching all-time highs in February this year. Sigh.
April 28th, 2010 at 10:54 am
Hi Petr and Ola,
You’ve done a lot of interviews now. Have any of the interviewers tried to justify the prices or is everyone just as shocked as we think they’d be?
April 28th, 2010 at 10:56 am
@tomvu:
One of the “mansions” in that game is across the street from me on 4th W. in Kits – there’s a SOLD sticker on the sign now!
I feel like a part of Vancouver history!
April 28th, 2010 at 11:53 am
@Bubble Lad:
By the sound of his post it was tomvu
Loved you on family guy tom!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....re=related
April 28th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
Petr and Ola, what do you think is a fair price for these “mansions”?
April 28th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Do you like to watch movies about Gladiators?
April 28th, 2010 at 12:04 pm
Dear Petr and Ola;
I believe Crackshack or Mansion, fresh in people’s minds, is helping to burst the bubble psychology and that it will prove a big part of the psychological wave down – where rate adjustments and changes to underwriting kick the financial legs out from under the bubble.
My question is, did you point out the “Emperor’s New Clothes” intentionally to help with that, or was it that you’d reached a point where you just couldn’t be silent about insanity any longer? We know you as readers of Garth’s, and savvy on the fundamentals but your timing and execution also seems perfect, and I am curious as to your thoughts on that!
April 28th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Did the dynamic duo have any reservations about doing the project under their real names and has there been any negative or positive feedback of “going public” with the view that real estate in Vancouver is ridiculous.
April 28th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
@joycer:
(from the Tom Vu video yo posted):
“I pee in the back part of the toilet so when you flush pee comes out”
That sounds like an metaphor for what Vancouver speculators have been doing to the rest of us for the past five years.
April 28th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
http://www.vancouversun.com/bu.....story.html
Is this really in the vancouver sun? ouhhhh….
April 28th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Even the soundest sleepers seem to be waking up to the sudden mood swing regarding Vancouver real estate.
Met a nice east european chap who’s doing some painting next door who told me a week ago that he had made an offer on a condo. He was a bit surprised when I told him he should have lots of selection with all the new listigs. He told me this morning that he backed out after hearing from others that the market is getting flooded with listings and could crash. At first the realtor told him “no problem” as there was a lineup of backup offers, but is now seriously starting to hassle him about binding contracts and deposits, regardless of subjects.
April 28th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
@painted turtle:
The comments on that article are comedic gold. Read through the comments and you truly start to understand now gullible and ignorant the average buyer was or is. They drank the cool aid big time. It’s hard to fathom the depths of ignorance, they really do belive no other place on the planet even comes close and Vancouver is worth 10 times the current price. Scary!
April 28th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
Dear Petr and Ola:
Thank you for the opportunity we’ve been given to query the two of you about your amusing website. Here are my questions:
1) It’s obvious that the two of you are “bitter renters”. So tell us, on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being “more bitter than death”, how bitter are you?
2) We know that you must blog from your parents’ basement (otherwise you wouldn’t be so bitter), presumably in your undergarments. So, tell us Petr–boxers or briefs?
April 28th, 2010 at 1:36 pm
@DaMann: Gold, Jerry! I tell you…gold!
April 28th, 2010 at 1:54 pm
@DaMann
The rational behind buying Vancouver RE is the same as behind playing the lottery. The bet is just a “bit” larger. Oh, I forgot, players think that with RE everyone will win, and that in the worse case none one will lose any money
(“I buy tree me huzban buy tree”).Those comments after the VS article only show how far this collective narrative has gone.
Other topic…
What about a mansion/shack game with 1.5 million dollars houses around the world, including may be Paris, New York, London, Santa Barbara, Tokyo and Vancouver? When I show that kind of comparison to my friends, their jaw simply drops
April 28th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
16,905
April 28th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
I was dreamin’ when I wrote this
Forgive me if it goes astray
But when I woke up this mornin’
Coulda sworn it was judgment day
The sky was all purple,
there were people runnin’ everywhere
Tryin’ to run from the destruction,
U know I didn’t even care
CHORUS
say say two thousand zero zero party over,
oops out of time
So tonight I’m gonna party like it’s 19,999
I was dreamin’ when I wrote this
So sue me if I go to fast
But life is just a party, and parties weren’t meant to last
War is all around us, my mind says prepare to fight
So if I gotta die I’m gonna listen to my body tonight
CHORUS
say say two thousand zero zero party over,
oops out of time
So tonight I’m gonna party like it’s 19,999
intro 2x
Lemme tell ya somethin’
If U didn’t come to party,
don’t bother knockin’ on my door
I got a lion in my pocket,
and baby he’s ready to roar
Yeah, everybody’s got a bomb,
we could all die any day
But before I’ll let that happen,
I’ll dance my life away
Oh, they say
say say twenty thousand party over,
oops out of time
So tonight I’m gonna party like it’s 19,999
say say twenty thousand party over,
oops out of time
So tonight I’m gonna party like it’s 19,999
we gonna, oww
19,999
Dont ya wanna go 19,999
Dont ya wanna go 19,999
Dont ya wanna go 19,999
April 28th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
@Inventory: 60 added so far. Are we gonna have 17K party tonight?
April 28th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
I’m stocking up for the party this evening! I managed to round up a herd of giraffes (for the races, of course) and an inflatable gorilla. The lava sheds are on order but promises have been made that they will make it. The bad news is that the trebuchet has been held up at customs. There should be no problem getting a bull (slow roasted beef on a spit is my favourite) – I’m posting Open House signs to lure one in.
April 28th, 2010 at 2:24 pm
Are the volume of listings slowing verus the last few days/weeks?
April 28th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
Hey!
Who the hell’s been thumbing down my post???
Must be an invasion by them creeps from RET.
April 28th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
Greetings Petr and Ola,
Thank you so much for your enlightening and humorous look at the clusterf**k known as the Vancouver real estate market.
My question to you both:
As someone who scored a perfect 16/16 the first time around on both of your quizzes, would I be classified as:
A) An expert on Vancouver real estate.
B) An astute amateur observer with a keen eye for market value.
C) Someone who has been in Vancouver far too long and need of a new locale.
D) Mentally ill.
Thank you in advance.
BPOM
April 28th, 2010 at 2:45 pm
@Anonymous:
All relative I guess. Are listings slowing? Well if going from 500+ listings a day to 300+ listings is slowing then yes i guess it is. But sales have gone from 300+ a day to 100+ a day too. Net gain per day seems to be steady at 150-200. Lovin’ it.
April 28th, 2010 at 2:45 pm
#34 was mine.
April 28th, 2010 at 2:51 pm
Hey there, Tony here, just wondering if you’ve considered taking “Crack Shack or Mansion” and developing a TV game show similar to “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”, only instead of winning a million bucks you win one of the Vancouver crack shacks. You could call it “Who Wants to Live Like a Crackhead” and Bob Rennie, Bill Good and Mark Carney could be the celebrity lifelines.
April 28th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
I got 16/16 on the second one.
April 28th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
Hey, longtime lurker here…
Just wanted to point out that as a casual observer I don’t necessarily vote down comments on being bullish (i.e. I’m bearish that’s why I read this blog). But I vote down ones that seem to add little to the discussion or ones I just plain don’t find funny.
April 28th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
@C-Note: f#$^ing hilarious you are. is there any way i can give you multiple thumbs-up. i loved the bull-trap.
April 28th, 2010 at 3:30 pm
Pretty tame so far
New Listings 228
Price Changes 117
Sold Listings 113
April 28th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
@paulb: whats the reason that listings have tamed down. Month end? ppl waiting for new month to list? or something else??
April 28th, 2010 at 3:51 pm
Regarding oneangryslav2′s comment that “It’s obvious that the two of you are “bitter renters””, it made me think that being called a “bitter renter” is something I should wear as a badge of honour.
Then my mind wandered and I thought that this “badge of honour” thing could be exploited by anyone with an entrepreneural spirit. This is an opportunity for a new line of expensive clothing … how about something like really high-end shirts that only people with real $$$ can buy, with a tasteful “Bitter Renter” logo on the pocket. For T-shirts, only 100% high quality cotton with a really-in-your-face “Bitter Renter” theme? Any more ideas? Well, if you’ve got money (from being a bitter renter), this is your chance to make more.
April 28th, 2010 at 4:02 pm
its funny how our local media is still piping up the predicted after effects of the olympic hype and what that will bring the local bc economy. Thank you for showing what reality is like (unfortunatley).
April 28th, 2010 at 4:02 pm
@Dan in Calgary:
How about “BITTER RENTER” in a lemon logo on the front, and “SUCK IT VANCOUVER!” in the same logo on the back?
April 28th, 2010 at 4:09 pm
Jeepers!
I almost drove into a tree this afternoon when I heard on CKNW that there will be a discussion about a possible Vancouver RE bubble on Bill Good’s show tomorrow.
Hmm…just like Michael Levy a few days ago, our friend Bill is likely positioning himself.
April 28th, 2010 at 4:12 pm
@Boombust:
You know the ship is really sinking when the rats are jumping off.
April 28th, 2010 at 4:16 pm
@paulb fan: It could be a number of reasons – the early Spring listing rush is over, the late listings group haven’t yet listed, noone is sure.
The only important fact is net listings. Today for example – even with a slow listing day compared to recent times, the net listing gain is still 100+. For all that’s important, even a 150 list day and 50 sale day is good.
In fact, I would say a lower list / lower sale day is better than high list / high sale day. A 500 list day with 400 sales still creates somewhat of a frenzy – buyers attending open houses, RE agents thinking there’s still enough sales to go around. If we ever hit 150 list to 50 sales – lots of inventory still left but empty open houses and RE agents will start realizing the buying pool is small and incentives need to be given.
April 28th, 2010 at 4:21 pm
@paulb fan: Forgot to add – either way, at 100 net listings a day we should happily take that no matter what the listings numbers are. That still equates to 2,000 net listings a month – at that pace, gosh we’d be at 21k halfway into summer!
April 28th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
I totally bombed both quizzes. I think I kinda panicked and would go on streaks of pushing “crackshack” and then “mansion,” because I just couldn’t tell the difference.
God, we are *so* screwed. We pessimists have dodged the specific bullet of an underwater mortgage, but none of us will dodge the general hail of bullets as the economy hits some major pounding surf. I have good friends who are going to get creamed. I take *no* pleasure in that.
April 28th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Slow day… 16,924
April 28th, 2010 at 4:59 pm
@Boombust:
Boom, you can take this to the bank:
The script has been written, and the cast already selected.
1) The phone lines will be “stacked”
2) The experts will confirm it will be a gentle glide, possibly a minor correction, on the way to greater appreciation.
3) This is the best place on earth, everyone wants to live here, and of course the old stand by:
4) Running out of land, you know… the North Pole to the north,
The ocean to the West, and USA to the South, and the Atlantic to the East.
But also noteworthy will be:
5) We don’t have irresponsible lending in Canada.
Don’t forget, this will be a commercial for commercials.
The target audience will be for those with an IQ in the range of 80 to 90.
April 28th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
FYI
Here’s a link to the Edward Jones report that is making all the headlines. (PDF file)
Is Canada Nearing a Housing Bubble?
April 28th, 2010 at 5:04 pm
@ Inventory – everyone has to file their taxes so perhaps no time to list the house….
April 28th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
@oneangryslav2: Based on my comment score, it would seem that a few of you are sarcastically-challenged.
April 28th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
I’ve never really been a sports fan but I can imagine that it must feel something like the adrenaline rush that inventory numbers bring. When I find myself watching a hockey game with friends, all I see on the scoreboard is the sales and listings numbers.
April 28th, 2010 at 7:29 pm
Prices will likely go up in the short term. As first time buyers are squeezed out of the market, lower priced homes will start sitting on the market causing average and median prices to move up. This happened in the US when their bubble started to burst, rising prices coupled with inceasing inventory.
April 28th, 2010 at 7:42 pm
To the best of your knowledge, do any of the crack shacks have re-development potential, i.e. can they be assembled with other neighbours and developed with condo’s or townhomes? I have a hard time with these values, and this is coming from the one and only Boog Rennie.
April 28th, 2010 at 7:43 pm
Five reasons to love rising interest rates
April 28th, 2010 at 7:46 pm
Bear as inventory rise FTB shark attack like feeding frenzy on chum. That is what happening this summer bear. FTB shark attack inventory and price go up big time. Get in now or you will pay my mortgage again next year bear.
April 28th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
I really like the idea of having a fake “open house” sign on my rented home, and wait for a stampede of hypothetical bulls full of cash… I can always claims it is open for free lemonade.
That would balance all the property for sale that do not post any sign. On Sunday I checked a neighborhood that had 45 homes for sale and only one obvious sign posted !
When do you guys think we can start going to open houses to low ball 40%? July?
Any great ideas about how to shaken the twilight zone?
April 28th, 2010 at 8:01 pm
@painted turtle:
I go to open houses every weekend just to use the washroom and help myself to snacks.
Next time I may try the Family Guy Tom Vu method of using a toilet.
April 28th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
“I go to open houses every weekend just to use the washroom and help myself to snacks.”
Careful. Easy does it. It could be cat food on crackers.
April 28th, 2010 at 8:33 pm
Keeping an Eye on The Pimps Says:
April 28th, 2010 at 4:59 pm
@Boombust:
Boom, you can take this to the bank:
The script has been written, and the cast already selected.
1) The phone lines will be “stacked”
You mean like how Keith Spicer, the 1970′s Ottawa Commissioner of Official Languages never stood a chance because angry housewives were yelling at him on Cknw talk shows to “stop ramming French down our throats?”
2) The experts will confirm it will be a gentle glide, possibly a minor correction, on the way to greater appreciation.
Like Ex-Lax?
3) “This is the best place on earth”
You mean like “The Happiest Place on Earth? Like Disneyland?
4) Running out of land, you know… the North Pole to the north,
The ocean to the West, and USA to the South, and the Atlantic to the East.
You mean because the NDP created the ALR in 1973?
5) We don’t have irresponsible lending in Canada.
You’re telling me I can’t get a payday loan? What gives?
The target audience will be for those with an IQ in the range of 80 to 90.
You callin’ me dum?
April 28th, 2010 at 8:41 pm
http://www.canadaforeclosurelist.ca/bc/?final=
April 28th, 2010 at 8:41 pm
17,003
April 28th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
Superrepetitivebull said: “Get in now or you will pay my mortgage again next year bear.”
That just may be true… via CMHC and a foreclosure proceeding.
Parasite.
April 28th, 2010 at 9:16 pm
@Phunnybunny:
really??!!!
April 28th, 2010 at 9:17 pm
nope, sorry, I sent it about 21 hours early – watch for the official 17k party announcement tomorrow (that was just a test of the emergency broadcast system)
April 28th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
Party’s delayed!
Apr 27, 2010 = 16,846
Apr 28, 2010 = 16,866
April 28th, 2010 at 9:56 pm
Profile of a Recent First Time Buyer –
“About a month ago I became a first time homebuyer in Vancouver. I have been living here for about 15 years, and seeing prices triple, or quadruple in some instances, and I just thought “Wow, I need to get on this wealth train”.
http://wp.me/pcq1o-Nb
[An informative anecdote extracted from a telephone interview between CBC Cross Country Checkup host Rex Murphy, and a caller from Vancouver named Steve Z., 25 Apr 2010]
[Hat-tip to AnonymousAA at vancouvercondo.info 25 Apr 2010 3:17 pm]
April 28th, 2010 at 9:57 pm
@Keeping an Eye on YatterMatter:No comments, no dallies,Just one listing in a month.No more new rules,no more April 19.Ben Bernanke says no to interest rates hike.What to expect from Marcarnankeney? Bears case:Will see how it plays out while Kites stay on fire.
April 28th, 2010 at 9:57 pm
@Inventory: Earlier today it was 16,924. Do you mean 16,966?
April 28th, 2010 at 9:58 pm
So what’s the real inventory?
April 28th, 2010 at 9:59 pm
Yeap, the bulls see the cliff ahead, emergency brake cable broken, master cylinder bone dry, accelerator stuck on full throttle, and they don’t have the balls to jump off.
April 28th, 2010 at 10:16 pm
@Keeping and Eye on The Pimps: That’s not the case.Some anecdotal preview at downtown tells me that some over age owners who can not stand infront of beautiful ladies and some heart patients who are unable to drive over Cambie,Granville,and Burard bridge are trying to trade their properties from Downtown to other areas.On the otherside most of the Pizza Hut and Panago young customer have a dream to buy downtown condo and most of Cactus Club customers have dream to buy penthouse in downtown.Once exit from downtown will admit them in other part of Vancouver while other young stuning beauties will enter into downtown to put pool type actions in the heart of Vancouver.
April 28th, 2010 at 10:30 pm
Market hot like cheese sold at pub! Just like cheese bear everyone want to pay high price for it. Bear is like pub cheese buyer, bull is cheese taker. Be like bull bear and take cheese.
April 29th, 2010 at 12:56 am
I think the Income Tax payment deadline of April 30th has some effect of slowing down RE action this week. Many of my friends/colleagues are busy doing last-minute tax filing.
But don’t you worry, people’s attention will be back to hosting open-houses next week!