The Vancouver Sun has an article about compromising to get that ‘affordable’ home in Vancouver.
..And by Vancouver, They mean Squamish. That’s one of the places they suggest you could compromise to buy in since by there estimation it’s only a “45-50 minutes to downtown Vancouver”. Google maps estimates 1 hour 9 minutes. Just pray you don’t run into any traffic.
Commuting for several hours a day sounds like fun!
on Big banks facing home credit risk@mac: @condo watcher: Wait! I don't think that was explanation enough for you. By PAST, I mean a few years on Big banks facing home credit risk@condo watcher: Relax! I'm not saying it's happening now. In THE PAST when the MARKET WAS HOT, there were many
on Big banks facing home credit risk@mAC HOW DO YOU GET A SALES TO LIST FIGURE OF 115%--are they selling stuff that's not even on the
on Big banks facing home credit riskHopefully this time it works. Copied from PaulB’s number http://www.laurenandpaul.ca Using good-format’s format. Date Listing Price(+-) Sold Inv Inv(+-) S/L(%) on Big banks facing home credit risk Sorry for the previous post. I seem to have lost my PRE tag "touch". 
“Would I buy again? Sure, but only if prices drop *severely* – as in 50%. And if that doesn’t happen, I simply do not care anymore.” | Vancouver Real Estate Anecdote Archive Says:
August 6th, 2011 at 7:19 am
[...] at vancouvercondo.info August 4th, 2011 at 8:39 am – “My girlfriend and I have now completed our move. $1650/month rent for a very likable house [...]
August 5th, 2011 at 2:31 am
@McLovin: I'm not as wealthy as most of the bears, so probably my own opinion is mitigated by the fact that in absolute terms, a dip down is fewer dollars for me, even if our percentages are the same. But I think it's also because I'm invested long — dips to me look like exciting, everything's on sale buying opportunities! If they dropped and stayed down for awhile, hey: more bang for my tiny monthly purchase! When I get a little closer to retirement (30 years from now), I'll start shifting my portfolio balance to a less volatile mix. Of course, I'm a terribly pedestrian investor, but I wouldn't think we're all that different than most average RRSP investing Canadians.
August 4th, 2011 at 11:34 pm
I have money, in stocks, gold, cash, commodities, etc. No real estate.
I am not cheering for a stock market crash, I am cheering for a return to a healthy, productive and innovative economy where everyday people actually work for money and take pleasure in producing something that other people actually use.
Now, I believe that today’s economy is based on gambling and speculation and not production and innovation. In order to return to an economy where production and innovation becomes the primary focus of people, the economy has to shed itself from its non-productive assets which would lead to a significant repricing (downward) of many of these assets including stocks.
For me, a stock market crash (or correction) is simply an indication that we are in the process of returning to a healthy economy therefore the faster we hit bottom, the faster we can start reconstructing a productive economy. The longer governments, banks, etc. try to prop it (the stock market) up, the longer it will take for the rebuilding process to begin therefore the more pain everyone has to go through before eventual the realization that the current system is simply not functional as is.
So, I am not cheering for a stock market crash, I am cheering for a return to a health economy, which in my opinion is unavoidable without a stock market crash.
Patriotz’ No. 1 fan
August 4th, 2011 at 6:53 pm
@Anonymouse:
I think that's 50% of all adult Canadians.
"Canadians" by itself includes children, and "taxpayers" is highly ambiguous depending on whether you mean income tax payers (which is nowhere near all adults because a lot are housekeepers, students, unemployed, etc) or someone who pays any taxes at all (which essentially includes everyone except babies, since it includes sales taxes and kids do buy things).
August 4th, 2011 at 3:24 pm
@McLovin: In cash. Not so much cheering as I am tired of the stock market BS. Printing money makes the stock market go up – I get that. It's not intelligent, it doesn't fix any of the myriad structural problems in world economies, it actually damages the little guy with higher prices, and it erodes the profit margins of companies, ultimately damaging the economy in the long run e.g. as in Japan.
That is what your market rally is built on. That and accounting fraud. Mark-to-market is still MIA as of 2009. This is not a durable foundation on which to build a global recovery, and if we had any plan aside from further enriching the wealthiest 0.001%, maybe I would have something to cheer. We may have (had?) a cyclical bull, but this is still a structural bear.
August 4th, 2011 at 3:08 pm
For what it's worth, Squamish to downtown Vancouver in 45 minutes is totally do-able in good trafic. I do it frequently although not in rush hour.
August 4th, 2011 at 2:53 pm
Chuck thanks for the input but some people here have a lot more money than you and aren't bragging about it. No one really cares that you have $800K.
August 4th, 2011 at 2:50 pm
Interesting responses. Any of you who have been here know I have been a VCR RE bear since the time of VHB. We have people who are 100% gold and that's about it. I congratulate those people. While I have some assets in gold and gold stocks like K and ABX (underperforming the asset I must say) I guess I am the only person who has a widely diversified portfolio of high quailty yielding stocks and corporate bonds and cash that got kicked today. That said, I was on this blog in 2008 telling people to buy stocks and I got flamed then as the world was about to end. (For those of you who quote the Asian markets, they are laggards not leaders. The US market sets the tone)
I say again, if you are cheering for the stock market to go down and RE to go down then you have no money or you are in cash. I bet that you have no money and likely started the Stanley cup riots.
August 4th, 2011 at 2:37 pm
Vancouver East & West*
New Listings – 80
Back On Market Listings – 2
Price Changes – 19
Sold Listings – 29
Vancouver All Areas*
New Listings – 226
Back On Market Listings – 8
Price Changes – 94
Sold Listings – 91
*Attached & Detached – Date: 08/04/2011 Time:21:55 Pacific YatterMatters.com: Courtesy REBGV. Data believed to be accurate but is not guaranteed.
August 4th, 2011 at 2:03 pm
Let's hope we get some relief at the gas pump this weekend or we r getting hosed…..this could help general consumer sentiment
Perhaps
August 4th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
Today was a gift to long term investors
August 4th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
Stock mite
Seems overdone to me
I was buying today
And yesterday
Own lots of golds
Lots of oil too….was there a big new discovery? Did folk stop driving today? I will buy black gold too
VCR housing going down
Stocks…well we shall see but last summer they fell nineteen percent so this is just a flesh wound and lots of noise so far imho
August 4th, 2011 at 1:45 pm
Mclovin – $800,000 in cash, stocks, bonds, gold and gics. Some down some up some even. Gross income over$200k per year. Rent 1200 sq foot 2 bedroom $1,400 per month. If rates aren't going up I want this market to correct from a loss of confidence. I am willing to watch my blue chips fall to see that happen.
August 4th, 2011 at 1:36 pm
For this evenings entertainment, I present this graph:
http://www.yattermatters.com/2011/08/vancouver-av…
From 2008 on, in video form:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz65AOjabtM
August 4th, 2011 at 1:11 pm
Meth,
I looked too……all red. If this continues, can't be good for HAM flowing into Vancouver real estate
August 4th, 2011 at 1:07 pm
Sorry for off topic….greedy banks
Bank of New York Mellon adds fee to deposits
Citing cash influx, Bank of New York Mellon adds 0.13 percent fee for large deposits
"Geller believes that the fee on deposits could soon trickle down to consumer deposits too"
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Bank-of-New-York-Me…
August 4th, 2011 at 1:02 pm
@Best place on meth:
You made me look.
Hang Seng down 1,017.93 (4.65%)
August 4th, 2011 at 12:55 pm
If you have a weak stomach and are prone to throwing up on your monitor like the E-trade baby then please don't look at the Asian markets this evening.
http://finance.yahoo.com/intlindices?e=asia
I said don't look.
August 4th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
@Van MD:
Make sure you remind them that last year in the summer sales were lower, but prices continued to climb. This is not just a seasonal effect
August 4th, 2011 at 12:27 pm
Does anyone have today's numbers? I am dying to see them.
August 4th, 2011 at 12:27 pm
@Bummed-out renter: Not much to say there, except you should spend more time and care picking your landlords. Indiscriminate landlords will rent to anyone with a pulse, then complain about crappy tenants and damages to property. Finding a home is a pretty big deal, treat it as such. There will always be lemons you run into that are not so easy to filter out, just like finding out the day after you move into your new house the neighbour is an asshole.
August 4th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
@McLovin
Nice try….
We might be RE bears (and rightfully so in my opinion) but for some of us,
it's been….
A GREAT RIDE !
August 4th, 2011 at 12:05 pm
@McLovin:
>>>It seems that most of you are cheering for a RE correction while at the same time cheering for a stock market correction.<<<
I certainly am because I'm in physical gold as well as shorting the financial sector.
When the time is right I'll go long stocks again but right now I'm as happy as a clam.
August 4th, 2011 at 12:03 pm
@vangrl: Nice catch. Garth is as cluecless as they get.
_______________
Why not check out his post tonight…..he covers himself…
August 4th, 2011 at 11:50 am
@McLovin: RE and stocks are totally different markets. RE is 'all eggs in one basket' while equities can be sold off in parts and diversified.
I don't know if 'cheering' is the right word, but even as someone who holds mostly stock I'm glad to see downturns like this because that's when you can make money.
If my timeline was shorter I'd be more concerned, but it's not like there hasn't been gloom and doom on the horizon for markets, you'd have to be blind to have missed it – so that put my stock money into about half cash to be ready for buying opportunities.
It's not like you can sell half your house in an instant if you get a feeling that the market is going to take a dive, that's why I prefer stock.
August 4th, 2011 at 11:37 am
@vangrl: Nice catch. Garth is as cluecless as they get.
August 4th, 2011 at 11:35 am
@McLovin:
We're holding nothing but hard and soft currencies.
Small exposure (<5%) to stocks through our RRSP/Super funds.
August 4th, 2011 at 11:33 am
@Gordholio
We sold our place in Delta in 2007 which was owned free and clear for 15 years and have been renting ever since. I can tell you we much prefer owning over renting. We have had 3 different landlords in the interim and we have had issues with all of them and we are now currently looking to move yet again after being jerked around by our current LL. While renting is at first novel and made me feel free of responsibilities, realistically we are living in someone else's premises and they can call the shots. I do believe we are in a bubble that will correct at some point, but it's getting very hard to wait this out. It's very frustrating.
August 4th, 2011 at 11:29 am
@McLovin: Cheering?
August 4th, 2011 at 11:22 am
I have a question for the group:
It seems that most of you are cheering for a RE correction while at the same time cheering for a stock market correction. Either you have your money in cash or more likely you have no money and will only be happy if everyone is as broke as you?
Input from the group welcome.
August 4th, 2011 at 9:55 am
@Catwalk:
"50% of Canadians have no retirement savings or RRSPs"
50% of all Canadians, or all taxpayers?
August 4th, 2011 at 9:46 am
[Update from the Chinese (forum) Front]
- More and more threads on the subject of Vancouver housing downturn. The main argument from realtors/pumpers there had been "July and August are traditionally lower-price months because people go on vacations, wait until September and you'll see prices rise". But people are becoming skeptical of that argument.
- they also caught wind of Bosa's "2 yr Rental Guarantee" email. Some users are interpreting that as a form of rebate, and are forecasting that this may be a sign that the condo market is cooling.
http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&pr…
August 4th, 2011 at 9:18 am
Have to agree with Patriotz on his assesment of the future of Metro Vancouver. I can certainly envision a day when Surrey will be the new "centre" of the Metro area. I can't beleive I am saying this given what Walley and Newton are today… but I do believe it will come. High growth rate, space to achieve this growth, great transportation hub, growing infrastructure (skytrain, freeway improvements, Fraser Perimeter Road, etc), diversity (strong business base unlike Vancouver's condo wasteland, education facilities, mix of residential types)… a fair number of reasons to think that perhaps in the next 50 years we could see the centre of power shift East.
August 4th, 2011 at 8:31 am
@/dev/null:
Oh, is that what they call it these days?
Markets took a hit today, because pretty much everything did. I wasn't entirely surprised after the stick save markets got yesterday, which would have marked over a week of red closes. Wonder how many got suckered in. There's lots of uncertainty and volatility on all fronts, lots of people going to (virtual) piles of cash.