Friday Free-for-all!
It’s the end of the week and the start of a long weekend! Lets do our regular end of the week news round up and open topic discussion thread, here are a few recent links to kick things off:
-How to filter out the foreclosed comments on VCI
-August stats from the REBGV
-Crashcow tracks the benchmark changes from April peak
-Fraser Valley market sags
-Housing will be banks next sore spot
-Bubble case-studies: Ireland and Canada
-Yatters average nears a million again
-Still lots of room in Olympic Village
-Nova Scotia realtors send threatening letters to FSBOs
-Huge sales drop in Victoria
-US: Feeling the pressure of life ‘underwater’
So what are you seeing out there? Post your news links, thoughts and anecdotes here and have an excellent weekend!
September 5th, 2010 at 5:16 pm
Harpers uber quest to gain a majority has had the government doing everything it can to cheat the hangman in spite of th e longer term destruction of the consumer economy in Canada, but….he's doing it anyway.
"Efforts to halt prices from falling sharply might keep homeowners, and hence millions of voters, happy, but it’s bad economic policy. First-time buyers would be forced to take on even more dangerously large mortgages. At the same time, if the housing market continues to swing up and down, that eventually translates into stagnation—albeit at high levels."
http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/09/04/avoiding-the-c…
September 5th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
@Boombust:
I googled the story. Isn't this just as bad as setting up a shelf company in Nigeria?
"The Vander Zalms originally wanted an all-U.S. cash deal for $14.5 million with $2 million going back to a Taiwan company called IAA, which Leung represented."
Not saying this is right, but Sam and a whole bunch of others also enjoyed all-expenses paid junkets.
"Tan Yu was provided with VIP treatment and lunch with the Lieutenant-Governor prior to the sale"
VdZ was no match negotiating his own asset and crown asset. It would seem that Gordo did a better job with BCRail and BCH. Hopefully, the next PM will not give away the Burrard Inlet.
"Then they agreed to $3 million cash and the rest mortgaged. Now, Leung explained, there was to be no interest on $7 million of the mortgage for five years."
"He was being drawn in deeper into unfamiliar territory. He and his wife believed they were negotiating Asian-style with a man Vander Zalm considered to be a more astute businessman than himself."
"Li Ka-shing did the same thing on the Expo deal: cutting down the interest," he said, to nobody in particular.
September 5th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
@patriotz: Well, there's Prop 19, which is trying to lower the prison population some.
September 5th, 2010 at 2:34 pm
@Boombust:
Remember Faye Leung and that brown paper bag full o’ cash?
Not being from BC and thus not knowing about this… I just read up about it, and coincidentally, found this recent video of Faye Leung on Global News!
http://www.globaltvbc.com/video/index.html?releas…