Friday Free For All!
Friday means it’s open-topic news discussion time! Here are a few stories to kick off the weekend chat:
-Most Vancouver condo buyers would rather have a house
-New Home prices unchanged in March
-Bleeping highrise condos on Cambie
-Realtor suspended for double dealing
-BC to spend $5 million on HST advertising campaign
-Canadians fall short on savings front
-Chinese inflation puts TSX in the red
-Chile suprises with rate hike
-Economy down under going under?
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So what are you seeing out there? Post your news links, thoughts and anecdotes here and have an excellent weekend!
This post was submitted by scullboy.
Click here to view all comments chronologically
May 16th, 2011 at 3:47 am
space889 — LOL, the doorways are real emergency exits, not placeholders. As for a quake happening while you're in the tunnel — you have far greater chance of being hit by a car while crossing the street after you leave the skytrain. You're far, far more likely to die early from bad food and no exercise than die in a tunnel. Worry about that.
May 16th, 2011 at 1:46 am
This is only anecdotal, but in 4 blocks in my neighbourhood on the westside, 8 houses have been sold, torn down and a new house build.All buyers were Asian.
May 16th, 2011 at 1:32 am
@space889:
Oh I think they all do, at least as far as the construction financing is concerned. Banks are not going to finance a shell company without recourse to real assets. Take the OV/Millennium as an example.
The situation with Trump is that he was not the developer in the first place, just a celebrity endorser. I frankly think the buyers are just a bunch of whiners who are looking for deep pockets to cushion their loss – after all they didn't sign a contract with Trump himself, any more than someone who has bought Tiger Woods golf clubs has a contract with Tiger.
Arbutus vs Maui – Momentum Players Choose Half The Property At Twice The Price | Vancouver Real Estate Anecdote Archive Says:
May 16th, 2011 at 1:30 am
[...] one from ‘vancouverites should consider opening their eyes’ over at vancouvercondo.info 14 May 2011 11:00pm [...]
May 16th, 2011 at 1:27 am
@Anonymous: I ride the Canada Line everyday and I'm just hoping the big one don't occur while I'm in the tunnel. Drowning while trapped in a tunnel is not exactly a nice way to go.
Also, is it a requirement to have emergency escape tunnels in underground subway systems? I see lots of exit signs in the Canada line tunnel but I'm pretty sure the "doorway" are actually placeholders with no doors and goes no where.
May 16th, 2011 at 1:13 am
@bubbly: Reading the article got my anger up quite a few notches until I realized that this is par for the course/regular business practices for RE in BC. I mean how many buildings by BOSA, Polygon, Concord Pacific actually have these companies' name, reputation, and financial backing behind it? pretty much none. It's all just numbered construction companies.
May 16th, 2011 at 1:08 am
Wow that has to be the worst yield ever! At first I thought wow 2% yield than I realized that the price is $550 and not $500 which makes the yield even worse!!
Sorry guys I'd type more but I have to go out and bid on that property … hopefully I can beat Air HAM to the landing site!
May 16th, 2011 at 1:05 am
Keeping An Eye On The Pimps: “The Spanish Bubble lasted from 1980 to 2008, the only difference was rather than the Chinese Tycoons, the pimps sold the idea it was the English Tycoons.”
I remember the Brits were buying up the South of France back in the late 80s early 90s. Due to the very strong British sterling.
After the Brits left it took my French mother-in-law 4 years to sell her amazing house in the South of France – near Aix.
May 16th, 2011 at 12:32 am
Attention Speculators/Investors (really bad ones that like to lose money!)…
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rds/reo/2383518…
This $550,000 2BR home in south surrey comes with tenants who pay $10,000/year, yes $10,000 per year!
I know what you're thinking, mortgage, maintenance, and taxes = $30,000/year but you can see the helicopters full of wealthy asians from your front porch!
May 15th, 2011 at 1:48 pm
@ woodrow
Keep ignoring sweat hog… Ill keep posting.
Ooooh yeah
Hit the music!
May 15th, 2011 at 12:42 pm
@Ravishing Rick: Dude, your seriously not funny. I know you think we are all laughing our heads off, but we are just ignoring your posts after we see who the author is
May 15th, 2011 at 12:11 pm
@jesse:
>>>let’s be clear where to point the lion’s share of the finger.<<<
That sounded awkward
May 15th, 2011 at 12:06 pm
Flippers are spreading rumors on the real estate forum (where ShinGaiLi patronizes no doubt) that the Japanese emigrate to Vancouver in exodus. They reported that new students in local schools are fresh from Japan. Geez, they need to educate themselves of what we already knew.
Cascadia, the West Coast Fault Line Is "Nine Months Pregnant"
" The average time between magnitude 8 and larger Cascadia earthquakes is about 240 years (see page 8, Cascadia earthquake timeline, based on Chris Goldfinger’s data, Oregon State University). The last megaquake, estimated as a magnitude 9, occurred in 1700 — that’s 311 years ago. In geologic terms, Cascadia is “9 months pregnant” and overdue.
Even though geologists identified 41 past Cascadia megaquakes, they cannot pinpoint exactly when the next Cascadia earthquake will strike. Nonetheless, engineers can design and build to withstand earthquake shaking. Now is the time to take preparations seriously, safeguard those in harm’s way, and strengthen aging critical infrastructure."
Yumei Wang – has an MS in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and a BA in Geological Sciences from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is a featured expert in NOVA's Deadliest Earthquakes.
May 15th, 2011 at 11:38 am
@Keeping An Eye On The Pimps: "The Spanish Bubble lasted from 1980 to 2008, the only difference was rather than the Chinese Tycoons, the pimps sold the idea it was the English Tycoons."
Blaming expats conveniently ignores that locals can simply refuse to buy. If locals did refuse to buy, prices would drop like a stone. But locals are buying, so let's be clear where to point the lion's share of the finger.
May 15th, 2011 at 11:03 am
Cut the music!
You know why vancouver is the best? Because we can go to sleep and not worry about drought like those sweat hogs in Paris, New York, LA, or any other second rate city on this planet.
And if you believe that, i got a one story tipi on the banks of the fraser river in richmond that i will sell you for 1.3 mil.
Hey Li Kai, you know what else is wet besides Vancouver weather,…your old lady when she is thinking about yours truly.
Hit the music!
May 15th, 2011 at 10:42 am
@Li Kai Shing:
>>>Chinese don’t exist,,
They are Spanish peoples staring into the sun and squinting ….<<<
Hey, you're right!
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/08/13/article…
May 15th, 2011 at 10:08 am
If Bernake can spend several trillion dollars and not stop the US bubble from bursting, how can some "rich asians" stop ours?
May 15th, 2011 at 9:11 am
107 Keeping An Eye On The Pims
Test is very simple…
You leave bait under box propped up with stick attached to string in condo pre-sale line-up.
Use (i) taco and (ii) BMW under box as bait
If you running out of tacos before BMW's…there is your proof
(However assume possibility of Mexican Chinese marriage)
What are they teaching you in school ? for F#cK sakes
Go Sharks Go..I am at IVANHOE with my buds….
May 15th, 2011 at 9:05 am
# 107
You forgot a "P" in pimps
you not able to cut and paste?
Remember..if you not lead dog in pack …view is same…so is smell
bwhahahahahahaha
May 15th, 2011 at 9:02 am
99 Best place on meth Says:
May 15th, 2011 at 10:23 am
@StillSearchingforaPlacetoBuyandaNametoPostWith:
Obviously the realtor put in an extra zero by mistake.
===========================
Same thing happen with your IQ test
Maybe even 2 zeros and a decimal
May 15th, 2011 at 8:57 am
@Li Kai Shing:
Yeah Ok, and the idiots who stand in line overnight to by a condo for 3 or 4 times the price it should be, are all Chinese Tycoons wearing masks to look Caucasian.
And the fools, who are captured in the stats on mortgage debt, actually have the money, but they just wanted to borrow the 5% down payment, just for the thrill of being in debt to their eyeballs.
And I guess the same rich Chinese stood in line Vegas, and Dublin, and of course they engineered the bust so they can now start buying up everything a rock bottom prices.
May 15th, 2011 at 8:39 am
you right…..
Chinese don't exist,,
They are Spanish peoples staring into the sun and squinting ….
May 15th, 2011 at 7:42 am
The Chinese Factor has got to be the biggest farce in history. It’s hard to believe the Rich Asian Tycoons are great enough numbers has to great this enormous bubble.
Somehow it does not compute-rich Asians loading up the trunk of their Bentley Azure T with their barbecue and heading out early in the morning to get a spot at Spanish Banks.
Are these the same people who fight over the last Kotex box on sale at Super Store?
Don’t they have more choices than Vancouver?
Unless the low lives like Bill Slut, Muir and Levy come up with some hard numbers, I won’t accept the HAM explanation.
The Chinese factor is on the scale of 1 to 10 is approximately.0000025%; the balance is hype, manipulation of the media, and an audience who is only willing to believe they are financial wizards.
As with all other bubbles, the reasons given for the runaway appreciation has to seem plausible.
The Rich Chinese, running out of land and everyone wants to live here sound pretty plausible.
The Spanish Bubble lasted from 1980 to 2008, the only difference was rather than the Chinese Tycoons, the pimps sold the idea it was the English Tycoons.
May 15th, 2011 at 6:56 am
@Anonymous: I don't care if its Sunday, get back to your coldcalling. Coffee is for closers only.
May 15th, 2011 at 5:44 am
as long as there are renters like you, the market is just moving along just fine!
May 15th, 2011 at 4:43 am
Come on guys, who really wants to live in Hawaii where it's 28'c and sunny today, tomorrow and yesterday?
I'm starting to love this endless "liquid sunshine" that we enjoy in the best place on earth.
May 15th, 2011 at 3:46 am
Looking at the weeklies, detached is becoming much more stronger than attached. More evidence that the FTB is less important now. How long can a market stay this top-heavy?