Village Incentives
Untimely mentioned at a time of increased global uncertainty, the Great Sweatered One Bob Rennie has unleashed a new salvo in his Millennium Water Village at False Creek marketing campaign:
We’re kicking off a brand new promotion tomorrow—an amazing move-in package of essentials for every buyer—it’s everything you’ll need for life at The Village!* The package includes:
- A hybrid bicycle – for your 5KM ride along the seawall to Stanley Park
- A portable BBQ – for Saturday’s BBQ with the in-law’s, on your balcony or at Hinge Park
- A one-year Aquabus ferry pass – for a last minute trip to Granville Island or Yaletown
- A single person kayak – get to know the neighbourhood sea life
- A year’s worth of one-zone Translink FareCards – the skytrain is only 5 minutes away
- A coffee per day for a year at Terra Breads Café – just downstairs
- A pair of running shoes – run the seawall in style
- A year’s worth of groceries from Urban Fare – an elevator ride away
- A year’s membership to Modo Car Co-op – for your day trip to Seattle
- A set of All-Clad cookware – for your Miele kitchen
Village at False Creek Incentives Picture August 2011
Come and visit us at the sales centre for your pricing, floorplans, and full details on our new promotion! We’re open daily 12-5PM, closed Fridays or by appointment at 1693 Manitoba Street at 1st Avenue.*Homeowner may choose this package OR cash value of $5,000. Photos are representational only, actual prizes may not be exactly as shown. Ernst & Young Inc. reserves the right to end this promotionat any time without notice. For more details please speak with a sales representative from The Village on False Creek.
Untimely, too, since more uncertainty surrounding the removal of the maligned HST won’t help matters on higher-priced properties. This blogger is also a taxpayer and wishes Mr. Rennie all the best in recouping my money, but man we ain’t making it easy for the poor fellow, are we!
$5,000 sounds nice but seeing all the great stuff $5,000 buys, it kind of puts spending $750,000 $745,000 into perspective. As a bit of inspiration when you’re feeling down, I offer Mr. Rennie a quote from a Realtor operating in Southern California: “It’s nothing a lower price can’t fix.”
August 31st, 2011 at 12:09 am 1
“It’s nothing a lower price can’t fix.”
Absolute agreed. Only price matters; everything else is nonsense.
$5,000……need to do a better than that to convince me to even think about this project.
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August 31st, 2011 at 12:19 am 2
How many of those chicken coops hve actually sold? Anyone know?
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August 31st, 2011 at 12:23 am 3
If I had a choice, I'd go for the "great stuff" over the cash.
This alone must be worth over $5000: "A year’s worth of groceries from Urban Fare"
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August 31st, 2011 at 12:29 am 4
@Patiently Waiting:
No shit….you could spend $5000 doing Thanksgiving shopping at Urban Fare. I'm sure there are limits involved.
You have to wonder how much of a waste this is for the city to find, negotiate, approve and pay for these deals with local vendors – but of course those expenses will be accounted for differently and won't show up as an actual "loss" with respect to the OV sales itself.
The way our governments run is total bullshit, if you ask me.
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August 31st, 2011 at 12:30 am 5
@Patiently Waiting: "If I had a choice, I’d go for the “great stuff” over the cash."
—
…but where would you store it?
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August 31st, 2011 at 1:06 am 6
Wow. Free coffee! Free bike! This is a list of stuff that anyone spending 3/4 of a mill on a poorly laid out apartment really wants to get their hands on!
This reminds me of 'Arrested Development' when Job does his magic trick and throws handfulls of pennies on the table.
"it's the final countdown.."
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August 31st, 2011 at 1:14 am 7
Not good news for people who bought presale and are trying to sell their own Olympic condos (including some I know). How much worse could it get?
PS-Where are the Chinese?
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August 31st, 2011 at 1:16 am 8
A hybrid bicycle – Good choice cause you have to sell your car to make your mortgage payments
A portable BBQ – Sell hot dogs on weekends and weeknights to help make mortgage payments
A one-year Aquabus ferry pass – for a last minute trip to Granville Island or Yaletown
A single person kayak – get to know the neighbourhood sea life
A year’s worth of one-zone Translink FareCards – the skytrain is only 5 minutes away
A coffee per day for a year at Terra Breads Café – Need the caffeine to keep your 2 jobs
A pair of running shoes – push your BBQ around the seawall to improve hotdog sales
A year’s worth of groceries from Urban Fare – get lots of hotdogs
A year’s membership to Modo Car Co-op – sell hotdogs in Seattle
A set of All-Clad cookware – boil your hotdogs in advance to speed up cooking time so you can sell more hotdogs
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August 31st, 2011 at 1:18 am 9
This amounts to a 0.6% price reduction.
Fuck you, Rennie.
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August 31st, 2011 at 1:19 am 10
Oopps, missed these ones.
A one-year Aquabus ferry pass – sell your hotdogs in Granville Island or Yaletown
A single person kayak – Sell this on craigslist. No time for fun.
A year’s worth of one-zone Translink FareCards – 1 zone pass? Crap, can't sell hotdogs in Surrey.
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August 31st, 2011 at 1:44 am 11
@specialfx3000: "A hybrid bicycle"
LOL I missed that one. Do I get to park my hybrid bicycle in the preferred hybrid bicycle parking spots outside Urban Fare?
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August 31st, 2011 at 1:51 am 12
@Best place on meth: "This amounts to a 0.6% price reduction"
I think you'll find Rennie has little control over the pricing. Bob "Shelley Levene" Rennie they'll call him.
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August 31st, 2011 at 1:53 am 13
Hybrid bikes are just a cross between a mountain bike and a speed bike. They basically take the handle bars of a mountain bike with larger wheels of a speed bike (but less narrow), which make them ideal for commuting or for casual cyclists.
There's no intention of any "Green" or elitist cachet to the name, it's just an example of unfortunate coincidence.
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August 31st, 2011 at 1:58 am 14
New Teranet numbers for June:
http://www.housepriceindex.ca/Default.aspx
Vancouver up very sharply 1.7% MOM, showing even greater increases than REBGV HPI for June.
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August 31st, 2011 at 2:04 am 15
"…get to know the neighbourhood sea life…"
Would that be floating poop?
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August 31st, 2011 at 2:07 am 16
@Troll: "Vancouver up very sharply"
But, but, I thought just CMHC reined IN their lending. That sure is a dome-scratcher…
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August 31st, 2011 at 2:18 am 17
Fatal mistake not including an iPad or iPhone in the package…
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August 31st, 2011 at 2:18 am 18
14 Troll Says: "Vancouver up very sharply 1.7%"
Calgary up very sharply 1.65%
Toronto up more very sharply 1.97%
Ottawa up very sharply 1.70%
Montreal up smartly 1.07%
Even Halifax up smartly 0.99%
So what's special about Vancouver, and what national, common factors cause a rise in all markets?
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August 31st, 2011 at 2:47 am 19
@exx:
A 30 year supply of Kraft Dinner and Sunny Delight would have sparked some interest.
Or $5000 in slot tokens at the Edgewater to entice the Chinese to come in and browse.
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August 31st, 2011 at 2:56 am 20
@fixie guy: Well, you can be smarmy and patronizing all you want, doesn't make you appear any smarter. Especially when you are so spectacularly wrong time after time.
Point is, these are surprisingly strong numbers. By all bear accounts we were at the top, since we were at 70% ownership, wages were flat, CMHC was tightening rules, and low rates would do nothing to keep things afloat. And here we are with prices continuing to rise.
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August 31st, 2011 at 3:09 am 21
@Troll: Yeah well that was back in June. Too bad we don't have current data after this bearish Summer.
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August 31st, 2011 at 3:14 am 22
@Troll: Unforch for you we're talking about June here, and we all know the market started to tanking since then.
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August 31st, 2011 at 3:17 am 23
@Anonymous:
Squawk. You parrots are so predictable.
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August 31st, 2011 at 3:19 am 24
@Troll: and so are you…
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August 31st, 2011 at 3:19 am 25
@Troll: "And here we are with prices continuing to rise."
Irrational market is irrational. I ain't going to talk this one down.
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August 31st, 2011 at 3:20 am 26
@Patiently Waiting:
So this data isn't a surprise since you were bullish in June? Didn't think so.
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August 31st, 2011 at 3:25 am 27
@jesse:
It certainly is irrational. I wonder how much longer F is going to let this go on until we see more rule tightening. I don't see C doing anything with rates in the near future. That said, several bears I know that were sitting on the sidelines have finally thrown in the towel and bought in the past couple of months. Perhaps a contrarian indicator that a top is near?
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August 31st, 2011 at 3:28 am 28
"A hybrid bicycle" – the pole goes right up your ass
"A portable BBQ" – a full size BBQ won't fit on the patio
"A one-year Aquabus ferry pass" – less like Venice more like Vietnam
"A single person kayak" – is False Creek still an open sewer?
"A year’s worth of one-zone Translink FareCards" – a parking space is an extra $50k
"A coffee per day for a year at Terra Breads Café" – until they go bankrupt
"A pair of running shoes" – not that you know when to use them
"A year’s worth of groceries from Urban Fare" – meat: $20
"A year’s membership to Modo Car Co-op" – you'll puke when you see prices there
"A set of All-Clad cookware" – not that you'll be able to accommodate guests
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August 31st, 2011 at 3:31 am 29
@Troll:
Fixed that for you.
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August 31st, 2011 at 3:35 am 30
Canada's economy shrinks for 1st time in 2 years.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/08/31/…
Bullish!
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August 31st, 2011 at 4:01 am 31
@exx:
LOL also forgot overpriced pair of Lululemon pants
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August 31st, 2011 at 4:40 am 32
20 Troll Says: "@fixie guy: Well, you can be smarmy and patronizing all you want, doesn’t make you appear any smarter. Especially when you are so spectacularly wrong time after time."
Please explain how what I posted was 'wrong', Mr Wizard.
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August 31st, 2011 at 4:57 am 33
@jesse: A coffee per day for a year at Terra Breads Café? PUT THAT COFFEE DOWN. Coffee's for closers only. Tell that to Bob "Shelley Levene" Rennie, cuz he ain't closing for SHIT
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August 31st, 2011 at 6:02 am 34
I'm beginning to think the Conservative agenda is now to decrease immigration.
The "reserve army of labour" is now too big. Look at the consequences in Europe when it gets out of hand.
Its also bad news for centre-right parties as anti-immigration parties appear on their right flank. Not that we've ever had a populist conservative uprising in Canada lol.
See what I mean: http://www.canadaupdates.com/content/unemployment…
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August 31st, 2011 at 6:07 am 35
Perhaps the almighty TO market is what we really should be watching. I have a hunch Vancouver is just a side show.
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August 31st, 2011 at 6:16 am 36
@…: "the Conservative agenda is now to decrease immigration"
I think (hope) they see a chronic unemployment/underemployment problem for existing citizens and PRs and increasing immigration intake has negative ramifications for an already stressed populace. They may be thinking to tone it down until the country is closer to full employment and ramp up the intake when businesses are screaming for workers.
Q4'10 and Q1'11 immigration into BC was relatively subdued, in part due to a drop-off in the intake of non-permanent residents.
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August 31st, 2011 at 6:19 am 37
@Best place on meth:
So it's possible Canada is already in recession, but we won't find out for sure until publication of the stats for the current quarter ending September.
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August 31st, 2011 at 6:26 am 38
Well looks like the tourist season is over, right in time cause the weather is gonna go downhill fast.
Went for a bike ride around seawall around lunch today and it was empty and the beaches were deserted.
Even the lifeguards were digging out the lifeguard towers with shovels to put into storage.
Last week the beaches were packed and seawall was very busy.
Lets see how the local economy copes with no tourists and everyone maxed out.
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August 31st, 2011 at 7:36 am 39
Where will the poor clowns store the garbage gifts?
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August 31st, 2011 at 7:39 am 40
Will change name as the guy named ted doesn't post here anymore.
Anyways everytime I hear the village I think of the 1960's tv show the prisoner. I think its fitting the few people living there will feel like prisoners. Also the giant bubble that captures the prisoner everytime he tries to escape was a perfect metaphor for the real estate bubble. You can run but it will suck you in.
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August 31st, 2011 at 8:42 am 41
Dear Bob:
VCI troglodytes not interested unless it is a basement suite or equivalent.
Maybe add mold smell and backed – up toilet, then the golden shower of Malek karma dribble your way.
PS maybe throw in free nachos and bar fridge full of Canadian
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August 31st, 2011 at 8:48 am 42
Kayak in false creek?
Maybe have open season on floating turds.
Sneak up on them in Mr Floatie costume during mating season.
When winter come, maybe turds freeze together into a large iceturd and sink Jim Pattisons yacht. May have to surrender Save On points depending how mad Jimmy is. Should have bought Fast Ferry while current lackey Glen Clark still Premier
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August 31st, 2011 at 9:22 am 43
@4SlicesofCheese:
"Lets see how the local economy copes with no tourists and everyone maxed out."
Probably the same as it did last year?
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August 31st, 2011 at 10:24 am 44
A pair of running shoes!!!! Then we will know why we get running shoes with human remains in False Creek……they bought at the village!
Make sure the running shoes are labelled "buyer at the village"
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August 31st, 2011 at 11:00 am 45
@Patiently Waiting: Yeah, I was wondering about that year's worth of groceries. I have two active boys and they already eat like maniacs – I can only imagine that during their teenage years, a year's worth of groceries at a place like Urban Fare would be some serious coin.
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August 31st, 2011 at 11:08 am 46
New Listings 150
Price Changes 77
Sold Listings 118
TI:16393
If you like the stats updates please “like” our Facebook page http://tinyurl.com/paulandlauren
Website http://www.laurenandpaul.ca
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August 31st, 2011 at 11:26 am 47
August 2011 totals:
Average Sales 110
Total Sales 2420
Average Listings 214
Total Listings 4703
Average sell/list 53%
Days in month 22
Days elapsed 22
% days elapsed 100%
Expected sales 2,420
Expected listings 4,703
August 2010 totals:
Average Sales 106
Total Sales 2230
Average Listings 179
Total Listings 3768
Average sell/list 61%
Days in month 21
Days elapsed 21
% days elapsed 100%
Expected sales 2,230
Expected listings 3,768
Previous sales volume (based on REBGV data, paulb. uses a slightly different count)
2005 3649
2006 2998
2007 3384
2008 1550
2009 3500
2010 2202
Another month down, another month closer.
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August 31st, 2011 at 11:38 am 48
@jesse:
Sell/list was 51% this August and 59% last August.
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August 31st, 2011 at 11:48 am 49
"Boombust Says:
August 31st, 2011 at 10:04 am
“…get to know the neighbourhood sea life…”
Would that be floating poop?"
Or, was it a human foot? Te he…
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August 31st, 2011 at 11:53 am 50
@Troll: “I wonder how much longer F is going to let this go on until we see more rule tightening. I don’t see C doing anything with rates in the near future.”
At this point it’s pay now or pay later. I would expect behind-the-scenes strong-arming of banks to bolster their LTV and DS ratios in preparation for implementing higher capital reserves in the next few years. There is some indication they are attempting to adjust things through immigration policy; in-migration to BC dropped markedly in Q4’10 and Q1’11 and the investor immigrant program was recently scaled back. They may resort to implementing foreign ownership restrictions as a symbolic gesture in an effort to scare the market down. Really I think they’re hoping the whole thing falls over under its own weight; the data aren’t showing this is forthcoming…
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August 31st, 2011 at 12:10 pm 51
Fun fact of the day:
The provincial govt "collected $4.4 million from B.C.'s 60 school districts, to compensate for (carbon) emissions that mostly come from school buildings."
No mention of how many bureaucrats were required to shuffle taxpayers' money from one branch of govt to another.
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August 31st, 2011 at 12:30 pm 52
@Best place on meth: "Sell/list was 51% this August and 59% last August"
Listings were strong, up about 26% YOY. Maybe it has something to do with the crazy-a$$ prices. Just a hunch.
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August 31st, 2011 at 12:40 pm 53
How crazy can it get?
Apartment building in Vancouver with 2.2% cap rate…
http://goodmanreport.com/Admin/Getfile.asp?ID=757
Why on earth would someone invest at 2.2% on an apartment building with overly optimistic assumptions (a more conservative approach to vacancy and expenses would give a cap rate below 2%) instead of just buying a 5 year government bond?
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August 31st, 2011 at 1:00 pm 54
@paradox: Because it always goes up.
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August 31st, 2011 at 4:41 pm 55
@paradox: Because the 5 year bond is now at 1.6%. I guess that's the "risk premium". Of course, Vancouver properties have consistently returned 10-20%, even in crappy years. It puts Bernie Madoff to shame.
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August 31st, 2011 at 8:08 pm 56
54 "court-ordered sales" and 27 "foreclosure" in MLS listings sounds like a significant number for lower mainland?
Some examples
V889006 – $969,900 @ Hampton Place (UBC)
F1119982 – $2.75M mansion in Langley
F2913662 – $9.9M 165 acre "future development site" in Abbotsford
http://www.ecorealtyinc.ca/search?q=court+ordered…
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August 31st, 2011 at 10:46 pm 57
Little anecdote for everyone from yesterday…I was at the grocery store and ran into someone I hadn't seen in several years. We caught up for about 90 seconds about work and kids and what neighbourhood she was living in and then (totally unsolicited) the person started going into defense mode why she was renting. I told her that I was also renting and that I thought it was going to be the correct solution in the medium term. What struck me was how quickly the emotions as well as the topic of home ownership came up in the conversation. Real estate is top of mind for everyone in this town ALL the time, whether you're a bull or a bear.
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August 31st, 2011 at 11:15 pm 58
@buffates:
"Real estate is top of mind for everyone in this town ALL the time, whether you’re a bull or a bear"
We are obsessed, as a city. I can't remember the last time I went out with friends and real estate didn't come up in some way, in the conversation. Odd, isn't it? Don't we have anything else to talk about?
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August 31st, 2011 at 11:23 pm 59
"We are obsessed, as a city. "
I agree, especially when I remember my previous life, in European cities: the topic was never ever mentioned, or just a brief sentence like: "I just bought a HOME."
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September 1st, 2011 at 12:58 am 60
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opin…
Silly surveys. "Livable" apparently means "unaffordable". It's strangely ironic that no average person can afford to live in these "livable" cities.
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September 1st, 2011 at 1:01 am 61
@pricedoutfornow:
I digress, before you all jump on me on the rent vs buy argument. ;p I should say, nobody can afford to buy a house in these cities, which of course, is a completely different matter altogether than just "living".
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September 1st, 2011 at 1:46 am 62
New thread. I'll copy a link to that Globe and Mail piece. And what a piece it is!
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September 1st, 2011 at 4:07 am 63
@Anonymouse Says:
"Probably the same as it did last year?"
Well yeah sure, but you have to take into account rising food and gas costs, continuing negative savings rate, and of course higher housing costs
All with stagnant wages.
There is a point when somethings gotta give.
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September 1st, 2011 at 5:20 pm 64
[...] “Several bears I know that were sitting on the sidelines have finally thrown in the towel and bought in the past couple of months. Perhaps a contrarian indicator that a top is near?” – Troll at vancouvercondo.info, 31 Aug 2011 11:25am [...]
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September 4th, 2011 at 7:41 am 65
[...] “I was at the grocery store and ran into someone I hadn’t seen in several years. We caught up for about 90 seconds about work and kids and what neighbourhood she was living in and then (totally unsolicited) the person started going into defense mode why she was renting. I told her that I was also renting and that I thought it was going to be the correct solution in the medium term. What struck me was how quickly the emotions as well as the topic of home ownership came up in the conversation. Real estate is top of mind for everyone in this town ALL the time, whether you’re a bull or a bear.” – buffates at vancouvercondo.info 1 Sept 2011 6:46am [...]
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