Welcome!
VancouverPeak.com- jesse and Makaya are now friends
- jesse replied to the forum topic Sandbox. in the group Housing Data
- jesse posted an update: CMHC starts, completions and under construction in Vancouver […]
- The Ant started the forum topic BC Population Growth in the group Housing Data
- jesse and The Ant are now friends
- jesse and wreckonomics are now friends
- wreckonomics posted an update: New Year, New HPI. ”Selection Broadens and Demand Eases to […]
- Best place on meth and admin are now friends
- jesse and Best place on meth are now friends
- jesse replied to the forum topic February 2012 Daily Numbers in the group Housing Data
Wordpress theme by Abhishek Tripathi of Mediawick Digital Solutions
May 17th, 2010 at 9:19 pm
I was working on a infloor heating system in a South False Creek condo where studios start around 1/2 million. Quite a few units yet to be sold. Owners are pissed because their suites are “hot.” Heating system was off for the last few days as the outdoor temperature dictated no heat and the building automation system has the heating system rightfully OFF. Suites hit the high 20′s on the south facing side. Owners say, “but my thermostat was set at 18*C!!!” Anyone with half a brain would realize that a) it was warmer than that outside b) the building doesn’t have a cooling system. is glass, faces south and has no internal ventilation nor is there a cross breeze.
My logic fails when I use the term “anyone with half a brain” , I know. What a contradiction. Enjoy your very hot summer fools, keep calling though, its time and material. LOL!!!!
I’ve worked right across the country and in the states, never seen such piss poor HVAC systems in buildings ‘worth’ so much, anywhere. If anything, it makes me angry. Unfortuanately I have to bite my tongue as I often represent the builder or their agent and can’t suggest an ice cube enema to get them through the day.
May 17th, 2010 at 9:16 pm
@VanCity Guy: “I am not complaining, I just get annoyed when people who have lived here for 5 years or less tell me that real estate in Vancouver only goes up when I have seen 2 crashes in my lifetime here… it’s been a long time since 81.”
I think you hit on a very key point here as to RE prices VanCity Guy! I can lump myself in with you in a way, as I am a native Victorian (there’s even less of us than native Vancouverites
), and I have seen bad times in Victoria and Vancouver. I was here during the 81 downturn, but our property in Victoria cost my family a fortune to unload. It wasn’t pretty.
Maybe there are just too many new people living here who haven’t seen a Vancouver/Victoria style house crash, so their thinking that home prices only rise here is simply what they have observed!
All these newbies are in for the mother of all lessons!
May 17th, 2010 at 9:15 pm
It’s kind of fun to hear some of you guys talk about how Vancouver used to be; to be honest I think I like my cities a little dark and gritty. Montreal can be awesome that way (I lived there for a year), and so can Halifax.
All cities change, it’s a question of what they become. Van is certainly bright and glittery and from a distance (say from Toronto) it looks amazing, all futuristic, high tech and glass. Add in what’s left of the rainforest, the mountains and the ocean, and Van looks like the ideal 21st century city.
It’s when you get there, you start to feel that weird undercurrent. Elevators won’t let you go to any floor in a building except the one you or your friend lives on. EVERY shop has a sign that says “no public restroom”. The back laneways are infested with homeless people doing God knows what, and you hear sirens 6-10 times a day.
There’s a class system in Vancouver, and it’s more pronounced then any city I’ve ever lived in. You’re either one of the Bright Young Things with the latest gadgets and skinny jeans, or you’re nobody. Period.
It’s very weird…. not even in Toronto did I witness anything like it.
I recall VHB posting an entry in his blog years ago asking when people would finally realize prices were unsustainable. I think he used the example of a million bucks for a crap condo as the point where it should be obvious to everyone that real estate prices were a sham.
Kinda funny that you guys are now there.
In other Scullboy related news, I’m starting to write a cookbook. I’ve had too many great ideas for dishes inspired by the food I’m finding at the farmer’s market.
I just served scallop, tomato and fiddleheads and double smoked bacon on a bed of fresh herbed fettuccine (I grew the herbs myself) which I’d tossed in a light cream sauce. The sweetness of the sauce and scallops served as a perfect counterpoint to the slight bitterness in the fiddleheads, and the smoky saltiness of the bacon just rounded the whole thing out. It was an *awesome* dish.
My family own a small oil company out this way.Next weekend is the company summer party. I’m stoked, Dad’s purchased 150lbs of lobster right off the boat for $3.50 a pound. Not only am I gonna gorge on lobster, I’m gonna turn the shells into bisque!
Now *that* my friends, is a coastal lifestyle I can get into.
May 17th, 2010 at 9:15 pm
@The Insider: Could not agree with you more.
May 17th, 2010 at 9:14 pm
Bad News for Vancouver Tonight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVt6vhRAu3k
May 17th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
I enjoy reading the posts on this site but please stop with the homophobic remarks. There are plenty of good reasons to dislike Bob Rennue but his being gay is not one of them. He has to lie for his occupation, at least be happy that he can be honest in his personal life.
I am seeing lots of for sale signs around town but also a lot of sold signs. For sales seem to be in clusters. I guess one sale triggers a lot of sellers in the area to see what they can get. I’ve noticed a lot in the old south false creek area along the seawall. I guess sellers are seeing an opportunity to dump their molnar crafted junk. Not sure of all that mess was cleaned up but I would never buy there despite the great location.
May 17th, 2010 at 9:03 pm
@Carter: “The older this city gets, the better it used to be!”
Agree almost 100%. I’ve been here 34 years now, and it has gone downhill in almost every way. All I can say is that my retirement does not involve Vancouver in any way other than visits.
May 17th, 2010 at 8:58 pm
hey 91. Insider no arguments from me, but with that said I would say there has been an improvement from the 90′s when Vancouver was known as the “no fun city” But as others posted there was a sever decline in cultural activities from the seventies and I presume before that era too. My memory doesn’t go that far back.
May 17th, 2010 at 8:46 pm
http://www.greaterfool.ca/
I just spoke with a guy who makes a ton of money in the financial business – north of half a million a year – in Vancouver. “You know this market is insane,” he said, “when my wife and I feel we’re actually priced out of the market. I mean, there’s nothing less than one point five that you’d even want to live in.” So, he rents.
May 17th, 2010 at 8:36 pm
To add: the “life” brought to downtown consists mostly of a bunch of cramped cookie-cutter condos filled with particle-board furniture, cookie-cutter “casual fine dining” restaurants (only in Vancouver would The Keg pass as a hip place to go for a drink) and cookie-cutter people with little dogs, fake tans and designer jeans. Many of the people seem to come from Cranbrook or Prince George or whatever and think they’ve hit the big time because they’re living in a 600 square foot condo in Yaletown.
May 17th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
Development has indeed brought life to downtown, but the reality is that Vancouver’s downtown is still terribly lame compared to other cities, both in Canada and elsewhere. Spend a weekend in Montreal, Toronto, San Diego, Seattle, Boston, etc., and you’ll instantly see it. They have a ton more arts and culture, equally nice green space (except perhaps Toronto) and better restaurants. The brutal thing is that Vancouver is now way more expensive than any of those places, despite the fact that the average salary is way less.
May 17th, 2010 at 8:25 pm
@oneangryslav2: That’d be a laugh, wouldn’t it, if we bumped into each other in the day? I doubt we know each other now, if only because I make all my friends roll their eyes with my interest in housing…
May 17th, 2010 at 7:48 pm
56. disbelief I agree with you when you mention there were a lot more fun activities in the past. Carter 53 I agree with you in spirit but 20 years ago might have been rock bottom for the city. I have to admit there have been some movement back to get some life back in the city. And downtown has benefited one way from the gentrification this boom has brought. It has brought life downtown. With that said I agree with disbelief remember seafest. Bathtub races etc.
May 17th, 2010 at 7:36 pm
@paulb: Yeah, I am doing it here.
THANKS
May 17th, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Glad you guys enjoyed the field report and thanks Pope, Vreaa for posting it. I look forward to writing the next one when the rollercoaster is in free fall.
May 17th, 2010 at 6:56 pm
VHB, whenever I hear the words ‘bubble’ and ‘politician’ in the same sentence I can’t help thinking of my friend and yours, the highly undervalued intellectual, Barney Fwank, just before he became chairman of the House Finance Committee:
“I do want to address this thing about the bubble. I think the bubble is an entirely inappropriate metaphor. Let me just be very clear, houses ain’t tulips. Houses today even with the drop in housing prices are more valuable than tulips were however many years ago when we had the tulip business … bubbles in history haven’t been cases of irrational exuberance. They have been cases of exuberant irrationality. And there really is a distinction. Irrational exuberance means you get a little carried away with something that is basically a good thing. But exuberant irrationality is when you start thinking that tulips or some of those dumb ideas on the internet when there were some of those things that nobody in their right mind wanted to buy, those were excessive.”
Houses aren’t tulips. On such wisdom rests the self-immolation of the US economy.
May 17th, 2010 at 6:53 pm
@Anonymous:
that is one hardcore article!
New Listings 284
Price Changes 197
Sold Listings 133
A few more listings came in.
Is anyone tracking these numbers daily? It seems like sales are getting eclipsed by reductions more and more frequently.
May 17th, 2010 at 6:41 pm
@Anoymous: Canada is a country based on immigration + Vancouver is a young city, comparatively + we have Universities. Universities are great for attracting people.
Not quite the same as “World Class”. Unless Guelph gets that designation, too.
May 17th, 2010 at 6:35 pm
Consumers are in denial with social crisis looming
http://www.canada.com/business.....id=3038105
May 17th, 2010 at 6:31 pm
@VanCity Guy:
“I am constantly meeting people who moved here from Europe, Asia, Australia, US and of course everywhere else in Canada. They keep telling me how nice it is here, but so expensive. In the back of my head, I always think how much cheaper it would be if they didn’t all keep rushing here to “enjoy” the lifestyle.”
So Vancouver _is_ a world-class city? If it weren’t, surely it would be inhabited mostly by those who were born here?
May 17th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
@specuskeptic: I think that theoretical schools / ideology play ZERO role in Flaherty’s posture.
He is a politician first. If he declared the housing market overvalued, he would be blamed by many for ‘talking down’ the market; for not ‘believing’ in the economy. If Flaherty calls a bubble and prices crash, what do you think the opposition would say? What would the average voter (who is a homeowner) think?
Can anyone name a governing politician anywhere who called a bubble a bubble? Some central bankers, sure, but they don’t have to face the electorate. Some opposition politicians, perhaps, but only as a hammer to thwack the governing party.
May 17th, 2010 at 6:12 pm
Obviously realpaul you haven’t been here…
May 17th, 2010 at 6:02 pm
I have only a passing familiarity with the concerned economic theories, but isn’t it the case that the Halak/Chicago/Free market economist types deny the existence of bubbles altogether? Isn’t F kinda sorta of that school? Doesn’t it then follow that he would naturally, despite an abundance of evidence to the contrary and as a function of subscribing to that same Halak/Chicago school, deny any bubble, not just one in RE?
May 17th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
Is Vancouver’s RE the new VSE. I guess time will tell how sleazy the RE boom really was.
May 17th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
New Listings 278
Price Changes 195
Sold Listings 133
That’s about it for today.
May 17th, 2010 at 5:46 pm
@patriotz:
You are bang on, my friend… when I say grow, I meant number of buildings NOT the maturity level of it’s residents. Most of these new arrivals to Vancouver are hot shot yuppies that live month to month saving nothing in order to be perceived as living a certain lifestyle.
I miss the days when a hardworking person could live a decent lifestyle in Vancouver.
May 17th, 2010 at 5:38 pm
OK, I officially call ‘BULLSHIT’ on the number of sales the the Boobster McLisp announced at the OV site on the weekend. The scam of ‘salting the pot’ is the oldest in the book. It is especially prevalent in small real estate developments where the builder will put up a few phony sold signs in selcet observable windows to create an impression of public intrest.
People (unfortunatley) will be more interested, if someone else is first. Look no farther than trends in the Asian community where the ‘flavor of the month’ fires mass numbers of Camry or Minivan sales depending on which way the herd is running.
C’Mon, think about it. The number of listing is growing exponentially. Everybodies noticing and commenting and even trend followers are not all complete idiots. There is no longer any velocity to this market despite what the pimps are droning. There just aren’t that many assholes with 1.3 million desprate enough to stand in line for the OV. Mr Lisper said it himself, realized he’d mis spoken ( or was reminded he’d done so) and decided to treat the public to a ‘false shortage scam.
And yes, sadly, who the hell , with 1.3 million, is going to line up for a cookie from an aids exposed, crack drained 60 year old clown who’s taken to lisping and dressing like Justin Beeber. Sold 30+ units…..er…..I don’t think so.
Finally, I heard the bimbo on the news hour say the words ‘affluent’ and Surrey’ in the same sentence today. Now I know that it doesn’t take a degree to watch the news but what kind of an idiot can say Surrey and affluent in the same sentence without laughing?
May 17th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
“When I responded “Vancouver” they said: “No, I mean before you moved here” He was floored that he had finally met someone that was born in Vancouver.”
And, my mother was born in Vancouver in 1918.
My siblings and I, too…
May 17th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
@Tony Danza:
It is just lack of a good taste and poor upbringing when it comes to style.
May 17th, 2010 at 5:22 pm
Thanks PaulB
Your and Inventory’s stats rock.
Hopefully we’ll see a 500+ day this week and no sales days above 200.
I’m looking for sales to trend below 150 per day as another bear sign. We are not quite there yet.
May 17th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
Can anyone here tell me why a fifty something man feels the need to dress like a twenty something deadbeat/hipster?
I’m about half Rennie’s age (+/- 10 years) and seeing him dressed in his skinny pants and Cons like some Elvis Costello throwback wannabe turns my stomach…
May 17th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
Paulb, thanks for the numbers. I think your career switch is a smart move!
By the way, it is shaping up to be another interesting day. I will stay tuned.
May 17th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
@XXX: LOL!! Confettis with fake ID and TA’s under the bridge!! Awesome!
Sigh. The days before clubs were infested with gangs…
May 17th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
@VanCity Guy:
But it hasn’t grown up. That’s the problem.
In fact, I think the city was a lot more grown up when it actually worked for a living, rather than relying on Ponzi schemes, hot money, and drugs.
May 17th, 2010 at 5:03 pm
@Whitebear:
Whitebear, you must be trolling? The average person in HK is NOT paying $2000/SF. Those are high end luxury units or in the most prime locations. I have friends that bought apts nearby the subway 15 mins from Central, they paid about 600/SF recently.
Also, there is a lot more money in HK. Their population is 6 or 7 million, and their GDP/person is almost the same as here.
May 17th, 2010 at 4:53 pm
Me and my fake ID
Confetti
Tommy Africa’s
Ghandi Dancer
Luv a fair
Railway Club
Brandy’s
Dick’s on Dick’s (but only if a good band like Skinny Puppy were playing)
to name a few…..
May 17th, 2010 at 4:53 pm
Uh oh BEAR Millenium Water selling quickly. You know what to do bear. Vote down that inconvenient fact!
May 17th, 2010 at 4:48 pm
New Listings 260
Price Changes 184
Sold Listings 133
lots of reductions today
May 17th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
whitebear
Do you know what it costs to rent there? About 8X what it costs to rent here last time I was there. Don’t be so stupid!
May 17th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
I find it humourous that all these people who have lived here for 10 to 15 years are complaining about how this city has changed so much. I am a 4th Gen Vancouverite (not just Canadian, but Vancouverite)I have watched this city grow considerably, and have heard anecdotes from my father and my grandfather all about what growing up in Vancouver was like back in the day.
I remember when Yaletown was a scuzzy area and when there were no condos between the Bayshore and Georgia st.(just a parking lot and Trader Vic’s)and Coal Harbour was nothing but an industrial train yard. My grandfather used to tell me about a time when the causeway that divides Lost Lagoon from Coal Harbour was a wooden bridge and Lost Lagoon was still a part of the Pacific.
Over-development/density aside, the biggest change I have noticed is the people who live here… so few are actually from Vancouver. I remember a couple years ago at a party, someone asked where I was from. When I responded “Vancouver” they said: “No, I mean before you moved here” He was floored that he had finally met someone that was born in Vancouver. He thought that all people born in Vancouver had a secret club where we hung out.
I am constantly meeting people who moved here from Europe, Asia, Australia, US and of course everywhere else in Canada. They keep telling me how nice it is here, but so expensive. In the back of my head, I always think how much cheaper it would be if they didn’t all keep rushing here to “enjoy” the lifestyle. I am not complaining, I just get annoyed when people who have lived here for 5 years or less tell me that real estate in Vancouver only goes up when I have seen 2 crashes in my lifetime here… it’s been a long time since 81.
May 17th, 2010 at 4:38 pm
If Hong Kong’s urban center condos can sell for > $2000/sqft, why can’t Vancouver’s OV be selling for $1200/sqft??? Hong Kong has one of the worst air pollution in Asia. With its financial status being increasingly challenged by Shanghai and average people are still willing to place $2000/sqft on condos, why can’t Vancouver, with its beautiful landscape, be worth $1200/sqft?
May 17th, 2010 at 4:25 pm
Bear my hairdresser said he bought 3 condo in millenium water and his friend bought 2. Rich gay people all around are swarming in to buy condo like killer bee swarm. All the hot money from San Fransisco is coming in to buy winter olympic condo.
May 17th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Today I received a junk RE flyer from “Rennie Marketing”.
They are now flogging “Grand Central 2″ in the Coquitlam Centre area.
The first highrise tower is mainly unoccupied, even after 1.5 years. Investors, you know.
At any rate, the “new” tower, which is still a hole in the ground, is quite a bit less per suite…and, they’ll pay any HST to pre-sale buyers!
Must be a tad slow, to goose it up like that.
May 17th, 2010 at 4:02 pm
Gambling is an addiction, and some die-hard gamblers are still around. Last Saturday was the Grand Opening of Jewel II, where a 1 -bedroom + den (740 sqft) sells for $400k+. A reseller claimed that all 1-bedroom units completely sold off that day and he is looking for a greater fool to take his unit off his hand.
May 17th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
I was born in Vancouver and have lived here for over 40 years. I remember many a great party Seafest, Sandcastle competition (white rock) and Expo was a very fond memory. Even the Olympics were fun but way too short of a time for the money. What is it about Vancouver that makes it great. It’s the free medical and the lax drug laws that make this a Mecca for all the vermin of the world to use and abuse. Why not there are no consequences of any real degree. For a law abiding citizen it is really not great. I hated when David Duchovny said Vancouver is an ice cold rainforest. But I think he is right (a member of Mensa). Vancouver is overpriced in so many ways.
May 17th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
Man, 36 people were stupid enough to pay roughly double the current inflated market price for a downtown condo? What were they waiting for before, that they have that much money lying around to be wasted on literally the most over-priced real estate ever sold in this city? Are they just huge Olympic fans? I bet you could hire a couple of Olympic athletes to have sex in your new condo for a lot less than the $500,000+ premium being charged by the developer. Heck, you could probably get a couple who didn’t win a medal if you just offered room and board for a few days. You might even have trouble getting them to leave.
May 17th, 2010 at 3:41 pm
In recent years, Toronto looks more down-to-earth and more livable than Real Estate obsessed Vancouver.
May 17th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
@oneangryslav2:
……. The city has definitely changed over the last 15 years: I’m still trying to figure out if the net change has been better.
——————
It hasn’t! I’ve been here for more that 20 years now, and this city is definitely not as cool as it used to be! Good Greif; we’ve turned into exactly what we always dreaded: Toronto with rain. Don’t believe me? Ask the few dozen that were actually born here.
The older this city gets, the better it used to be!
May 17th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
@Absinthe: You and I must be of a similar age and demographic. I also partied/hung out at all of the places you mentioned. (Hell, we may even know each other.) The city has definitely changed over the last 15 years: I’m still trying to figure out if the net change has been better.
May 17th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
Thanks for asking Anthony. I can point you in the direction of a good Realtor if you like? Email me, or I can email you if you leave me an address.