Friday Free-for-all-y’all!
Yup. It’s that time of the week again. Let’s do our regular end of the week news roundup and open topic discussion thread, yee-haw! Here’s a few stories to git y’all started:
-an ‘eduation’ about the reality of realty prices in other areas
-Go Tiny to go home
-We’re building more houses!
-The new prices, they go down?
-The Zuck will save our real estate market
-No retirement for you mom and dad
-It’s a buyers market!
-Sharp rise in US foreclosures
So what are you seeing out there? Post your news links, thoughts and anecdotes and have an excellent weekend!
October 13th, 2011 at 10:44 pm 1
First. Wake up you bums.
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October 13th, 2011 at 10:55 pm 2
In the article "-Go Tiny to go home" house displayed in the photo is sooooo cute!
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October 13th, 2011 at 11:03 pm 3
BPOM: That craigslist ad you brought to our attention yesterday not only featured four stunning interior photos, but also some of the most sophisticated text to ever grace the Interweb.
I'm particularly enamoured with the "two bedrooms suits" (free boudoir clothing? I'm IN!). And Patriotz, seriously dude, you're so uncouth. The ad may have said "a lot of charnel," but it clearly meant "a lot of Chanel." See, here in the BPOE, pairing high-end rental units with high-end fragrances is so de rigeur. And I loves me them high-end fragrances.
Verbatim in all its glory for those who didn't see it:
It's 5years old house and also appliences are 5years old too.Included utilitie,close to bus stop,Superstore,around
8minutes to go Canada Line buy Bus,BCIT SCHOOL.
Two bedrooms suits is for two adult people only because of the neighbour.
It's ground level,hardwood floor and heat come from the floor and own alarm system,
cable(a lot of charnel),included
Sorry no extra person or smoke or pet please.
Please contact to Princess 604-312-4668.
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October 14th, 2011 at 12:08 am 4
@gordholio:
"Please contact to Princess"
So in addition to all the other goodies mentioned, this place may probably a castle too?
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October 14th, 2011 at 12:12 am 5
Back to the story regarding the Peace Arch lottery and the low rate of sales.
I bet it's also a marketing ploy to sucker people into thinking that their odds of winning has now increased so they go and buy tickets. Next thing you know, the damn thing sells out.
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October 14th, 2011 at 12:19 am 6
If Zuckerberg isn't dumb enough to buy a house in Palo Alto (despite his wealth he rents) what makes the Sun think he'd be dumb enough to buy a house here?
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October 14th, 2011 at 12:23 am 7
East Van girl visits Levittown
http://thetyee.ca/Life/2011/10/14/Birthplace-Of-T…
Its not that bad, but we never stuck to the idea of modest houses on modest lots.
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October 14th, 2011 at 12:23 am 8
This place is f%&#ed. Mark Zuckerberg shows up, and the only thing people can think he's doing here is buying RE? Lord help us. My hope is that he's considering setting up a business to employ, you know, real people with skills instead of a trumped up used car salesman for 10 minutes of actual effort.
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October 14th, 2011 at 12:40 am 9
@Patiently Waiting:
"Its not that bad, but we never stuck to the idea of modest houses on modest lots."
Not sure what "we" means, but neither the US nor Canada did of course.
Every Canadian city has its own Levittown, we called them "post-war" houses. In Vancouver there's a whole bunch of them south of the Grandview Highway, look for the streets named after WWII battles.
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October 14th, 2011 at 12:51 am 10
"I bet it’s also a marketing ploy"
Of course it is a marketing ploy otherwise they would not have announced it.
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October 14th, 2011 at 12:58 am 11
A local family owns two houses next to each other. They bought a third house directly next door and listed the first two houses. They demolished the newly purchased house and built a large house to accommodate the members of the family living in the first two houses. Then they wait…and wait. Almost two years latter the two houses are still on the market. They drop the price on one by $100k. Nothing. Then a couple of days ago, they drop the price another $100k and drop the price on the second house $300k. $400,000 down in just one day. I don't care how much money you have, that's gotta hurt. The cheaper of the two houses is now listed at less than they bought the tear-down. They would have been better off just to tear down the cheaper house, even though there's nothing wrong with it. The sad thing is, that the prices, in my humble opinion, are still not low enough. The cheaper house needs to go down another $100 and the more expensive one needs to go down $300k. That would bring the drop on the 2 houses to $900k. Ouch!
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October 14th, 2011 at 1:01 am 12
@Bailing in BC:
"The sad thing is, that the prices, in my humble opinion, are still not low enough."
It's not your opinion, it's an objective fact. A price that is low enough results in a sale.
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October 14th, 2011 at 1:09 am 13
@Bailing in BC:
Uh oh quite a situation.. Do you mind telling the area/city ?
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October 14th, 2011 at 1:29 am 14
Which one in photo is Zuckerberg ?
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October 14th, 2011 at 1:35 am 15
Li Kai: "Which one in photo is Zuckerberg ?"
the one in black shirt, playing on the phone…never thought that geeks are that cute
got run …to the gym
ciao
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October 14th, 2011 at 1:40 am 16
@patriotz:
The prices only dropped two days ago. For all I know they could have received offers immediately and they are just waiting for the subjects to be removed. But somehow I doubt it.
asalvari1 – Squamish
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October 14th, 2011 at 1:40 am 17
@kits college girlz:
Thanks for the clarification. For a moment, I thought 'Zuckerberg' was one of the 5 Asians standing around.
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October 14th, 2011 at 3:01 am 18
@gordholio: No no, they definately meant a lot of 'charnel'. There's even a picture of one crawling out from under the sink.
http://images.craigslist.org/5O65Q55U23kc3mc3p0ba…
(sorry, can't help myself. This is my favorite craigslist rental suite photo)
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October 14th, 2011 at 3:02 am 19
Surprised there's no topics / not much conversation on this Occupy Vancouver deal.
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October 14th, 2011 at 3:10 am 20
The creator of facebook is in town to buy real estate? I guess it's true what they say: There's a Zucker born ever minute.
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October 14th, 2011 at 3:14 am 21
@Hmmm …: This morning's NY Times said this, "Triggered by a call to action from Adbusters, a Canadian magazine, Occupy Wall Street began as a protest against income inequality…." which would mean that the thing actually has its origin in Vancouver, one of the only places in the world where most people are (for now) enjoying all of the upsides of capitalism with (excluding the DTES and house prices) none of the disadvantages.
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October 14th, 2011 at 3:51 am 22
@Hmmm,
Yes it would be cool for someone knowledgeable person from this blog community to weigh in for Occupy Vancouver, even to educate people at the occupation about bubbles or related economic issues
@N
People don't have to be out of a job or in debt to have had the scales drop away about the emergence of plutocracy, the extreme wealth gaps, and the utter uselessness and harmfulness of some 'investment' activities.
"I'm in the 1%. But I support the 99%:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifameric…
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October 14th, 2011 at 4:01 am 23
I just noticed 8 SFH consecutive lots for sale on Granville in between 45th Ave and 46th Ave (same realtor). Does anyone know anything about them? Is it a developer dumping them?
They seem to be going at about $3.5 million each (~40million total).
http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?proper…
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October 14th, 2011 at 4:18 am 24
@Hmmm …: "Surprised there’s no topics / not much conversation on this Occupy Vancouver deal."
It's pretty hard to discuss when they don't even have a particular agenda. Here's what the FAQ says on their own website :
'The strength of Occupy… lies in the ambiguity of its mission. There is no laundry list of specific, unreasonable, and untenable demands. There is only the demand for change. Change of, by, and for the people, enacted by our elected officials. If the powers-that-be respond with absolutely nothing, then it is clear that they will never, ever be interested in effecting substantial change of our financial system, no matter how strong public support may be.'
So they want to bring about "change" without even specify what "change" they want? So how are people supposed to respond to their demands? Conversely, how can the campaigners measure their success? It's utter nonsense.
One thing's for sure, though, there's going to be a lot of weed there. I'm sure they've got that part of it all planned out, at least.
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October 14th, 2011 at 4:31 am 25
Zuckerberg spotted in Vancouver eating Japadog.
Local media pees themselves.
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October 14th, 2011 at 4:32 am 26
@0×13: Shell gas station leak.
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October 14th, 2011 at 4:41 am 27
It would be interesting to see how many people on VCI are opposed to our govt-insured and highly leveraged real estate market, yet at the same time support the Occupy movement's call for all debt, personal and sovereign, to be forgiven.
I'm sure Canada in particular can achieve this once we meet another one of their demands; the immediate end to the use of fossil fuels.
Face it, this is just another illiterate and incoherent excuse to protest by the usual suspects.
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October 14th, 2011 at 4:57 am 28
BCREA stats our out; here are the MOI calculations for each of BC's sales regions for the month of September.
BC Northern
Inventory: 3047
Sales: 365
MOI: 8.3
Chilliwack
Inventory: 1887
Sales: 156
MOI: 12.1
Fraser Valley
Inventory: 8489
Sales: 1109
MOI: 7.7
Greater Vancouver
Inventory: 17206
Sales: 2299
MOI: 7.5
Kamloops
Inventory: 2178
Sales: 190
MOI: 11.5
Kootenay
Inventory: 3386
Sales: 217
MOI: 15.6
Okanagan Mainline
Inventory: 6524
Sales: 447
MOI: 14.6
Powell River
Inventory: 263
Sales: 26
MOI: 10.1
South Okanagan
Inventory: 2113
Sales: 123
MOI: 17.2
Northern Lights
Inventory: 320
Sales: 59
MOI: 5.4
Vancouver Island
Inventory: 6192
Sales: 568
MOI: 10.9
Victoria
Inventory: 4011
Sales: 436
MOI: 9.2
Provincial Totals
Inventory: 55616
Sales: 5995
MOI: 9.3
And the MOI in Vancouver over the last 7 months:
MAR 3.4
APR 4.7
MAY 4.6
JUN 4.9
JUL 6.2
AUG 6.6
SEP 7.5
Note the clever BCREA headline touting YOY sales increases: "Home Sales Edge Higher in September", despite the fact that sales were actually down MOM from August. YOY? MOM? Median price? Average price? Pick a stat – one of them's bound to make it look like it's a great time to buy!
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October 14th, 2011 at 5:09 am 29
@Anonymous: 17.2 MOI in the South Okanagan – that's bad, right?
Anyone know where I can get a more detailed stats package for the SO than what BCREA offers? The SOREB website doesn't have it.
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October 14th, 2011 at 5:15 am 30
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-notes-sales-d…
good article (occupy WallStr) on zero hedge.
see everybody in front of VAG tomorrow.
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October 14th, 2011 at 5:18 am 31
Anon – The occupy crowd has a valid point that they do not need to know what the solution is; just that a correct solution is needed (and that they will rely on those more capable to find that solution as noted on their website (the elected officials)). If someone came to you with a complex mathematical formula that spit out the answer that gravity pushes things away from the earth, you would know that the answer was wrong, but you would not be able to tell the physics prof what he needs to change to make a correct answer. The world of ecomonics is incredibly complex (and in many situations is intentionally made so by those involved). You can not expect that the 99% will have the solutions. Unless you want repeats of the French Revolution, Russion Revolution, US Union Riots, or the dozens of other examples where distribution of the wealth of the earth breaks down then something must change. We as a society must find some manner to ensure that all are participating and gaining on some "equal" or "fair" level. The current status quo is on a trajectory for failure, people intuitively know that this answer is wrong; they just don't know how to get to the right answer.
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October 14th, 2011 at 5:19 am 32
"Rich Chinese Youth Fined in Canada Claim Westerners Jealous"
http://www.chinasmack.com/2011/stories/rich-chine…
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October 14th, 2011 at 5:21 am 33
@Girlbear:
The bitch of it is, you can't scam anyone that you sit on a hot fossil fuel deposit unless get subsurface rights !
Regardless..no smoking zone !
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October 14th, 2011 at 5:25 am 34
@30 occupy vancouver:
http://www.businessinsider.com/what-wall-street-p…
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October 14th, 2011 at 5:25 am 35
@Bailing in BC:
Not sounding racist..err "ethnic profiling" , but what part of Surrey do they live …..and how many dumptrucks parked in front and back yard?
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October 14th, 2011 at 5:26 am 36
@CanNeverThinkofaGoodName it would be funny to show up with a sign that said something like:
"Down with the CMHC"
"Raise interest rates now!"
"Change mortgage rules to 10% down 25 years only"
"Stop investor immigration from countries with high levels of corruption"
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October 14th, 2011 at 5:31 am 37
@chip:
"Face it, this is just another illiterate and incoherent excuse to protest by the usual suspects."
At least up here the illiterate and incoherent aren't considered to be serious contenders for the highest office in the country.
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October 14th, 2011 at 5:39 am 38
@Burbs Boy: "The occupy crowd has a valid point that they do not need to know what the solution is"
They can't even seem to coherently state what the problem is.
But I expect lots of chants about "corporate greed" by people wearing Nike and Levi's.
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October 14th, 2011 at 5:50 am 39
Anonymouse Says
"They can’t even seem to coherently state what the problem is."
There was a statement on one Occupy Wall Streter's sign that said it all:
$70,000 College Debt
$12,000 Medical Bills
I'm 22
Where's My Bailout?
What part of that is Incoherent and unclear to you?
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October 14th, 2011 at 6:12 am 40
Caught wind of this video on YOUTUBE
THE GREAT PENSION FUND HOAX – Corporation Nation 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhkWueEjewM
Its 4 hours long, but the producers wanted to cover every one of the 50 states in US.
He is analyzing a rather bizarro world whereby PUBLIC PENSION funds have done incredibly well in the Stock Market etc., even in the 2008 crashes.
The Taxpayers are being ripped off via their taxes are being used to disproportionaly fund these Public Pensions, in some extremes almost 10X's the employee contribution.
However the Public Servants have NO claim on these excess funds.
What is going on is these funds are invested HEAVILY into certain key corporations….including the BIG US BANKS …..Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase…AIG etc..
The premise is the BANKS are the fall guys to cover this up.
These Public pension funds out -performed the very Top 500 Companies in their portfolios.
So, in essence there are approx 200,000 of these Public Pension funds at all levels of Public Service in US. These Public Pension funds ARE the Gov't , and it is quite incestuous how the whole system works.
The End Game being played is fascinating….they use the US Postal Service as a vision to the future.
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October 14th, 2011 at 6:19 am 41
@occupy vancouver: "What part of that is Incoherent and unclear to you?"
The part where that's just one person out of hundreds, where everybody is protesting something different to everybody else. How can I be expected to get behind a protest when it's hard to even tell what the cause is?
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October 14th, 2011 at 6:22 am 42
@bubba: Conspiracy theories and speculation. If you are interested in the subject of pensions, pension pulse has some very good posts on it to get you started.
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October 14th, 2011 at 6:42 am 43
@occupy vancouver:
You aren't going to get a bailout you lazy, greedy, selfish brat. My tax dollars aren't going to fund your bad decisions and lack of financial discipline.
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October 14th, 2011 at 6:45 am 44
@Wang Qishan:
Well if you are chinese, we know that you pay no taxes.
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October 14th, 2011 at 6:49 am 45
Devore;
Gee ……you viewed 4 hours in 25 minutes?
View it then chat…I took the time.
UNDERfunded is creative accounting by Gov't and its agents…i means NOTHING re Public Pensions.
Anyway, I already sent in the apropos question to my Local Gov't
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October 14th, 2011 at 6:56 am 46
@Anonymous:
Exactly, not paying taxes plus brought over the entire extended family (the whole mid-size village) to abuse all the benefits and to destroy the healthcare system.
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October 14th, 2011 at 6:59 am 47
@Wang Qishan:
Yes, your tax dollars will go/have gone to bailout the "greedy, selfish brat[s]–millionaires and billionaires–whose incompetence, greed, and corruption has caused the greatest financial calamity since the Great Depression.
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October 14th, 2011 at 7:02 am 48
@Fu Er Dai from Super Sports Car Club:
Shhh
Must behave.
Fu-Er-Dai means Small Dick or "Farty" in Engrish
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October 14th, 2011 at 7:09 am 49
Wang Qishan Says:
"You aren’t going to get a bailout you lazy, greedy, selfish brat. My tax dollars aren’t going to fund your bad decisions and lack of financial discipline."
We exist in an institutional system of capitalism that brings negative emotional and instinctual reactions to the forefront of our daily lives, such as fear and greed. Instead of being intrinsic and strict attributes of "human nature", these inter-related emotions and drives should be understood as adapting and evolving to the surrounding material and immaterial environment.
The evolved system of capitalism constrains our degrees of individual freedom and choice, coercing us to participate in our own collective enslavement up to a certain point, until it is subsumed by even greater fores (which are taking hold now). So, yes, we have pursued our own greed and the bankers have aided us, but this is not all that's going on here. In that sense, we are not destined to repeat the same process and, perhaps more importantly, we are not destined to live with the same institutional economic system, as the "free market libertarians" would have us believe.
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October 14th, 2011 at 7:20 am 50
Well, looks like I got the ball rolling!
@ Anonymouse
"The part where that’s just one person out of hundreds, where everybody is protesting something different to everybody else. How can I be expected to get behind a protest when it’s hard to even tell what the cause is?"
You've hit it on the head … it's basically a free-for-all w/ anyone with money woes (ie: pretty much ALL of us!) …
If it stuck to taxes (collection & distribution) or whatever, it'd be a lot more clear to stand behind – even at that, there'd be thousands of opinions to have to hear …
But it won't … you'll get the DTES bleeding hearts, specuvestors, the "legalize pot/free Marc Emery" stoners, artists, now the unions (you ain't making enough for dog-f**king?!)
Great … basically everyone that wants more money for doing less, rather than a system that benefts those who are actually hard-working & struggling.
I hope I'm proven wrong, but that's how it's shaping up in the pre-show …
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October 14th, 2011 at 7:23 am 51
@occupy vancouver:
All of it. What exactly is he advocating for? Lower tuition rates? Free public health care? Mandatory financial management classes? Free bailouts for anyone?
Please enlighten me as to the purpose of this wonderfully nebulous yet angry group!
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October 14th, 2011 at 7:29 am 52
@Troll.
Pretty simple: may be this is not a good time to let the income gap widen even further, the deregulated financial system go wild, banks and corporations have more influence on the government than citizens. May be this is a good time to realize that an impoverished population with poor health care and poor education is not good for the economy and to think long term. For example, child poverty in BC does not fit really well into the picture of Lalaland-Canada.
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October 14th, 2011 at 7:39 am 53
I tink I go to "Eat the Rich " protest too.
BTW I buy Fu-Er-Dai cars at Police Auction…for 10 cents on YUAN
( Nobody eat us Asians..we have too much MSG ).
I will wear my Che Gueverra Hallowe'en costume, and lead my thousands of basement suite trogolodyte tenants to demand equality !
While they all gone, I change locks .
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October 14th, 2011 at 7:44 am 54
@Troll:
>>>Please enlighten me as to the purpose of this wonderfully nebulous yet angry group!<<<
The sarcastic "where's my bailout?" should be a clue.
How about no more taxpayer funded bailouts for banker scum just for starters?
How about no more transferring our money to those assholes who like to play casino games with their creative derivatives and then go broke?
Maybe even transform the political system into one that isn't bought and paid for by these worthless corporate sacks of shit?
Am I getting warm yet?
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October 14th, 2011 at 7:58 am 55
I am not entirely without symapthy for the cause, but how the eff does a 22 year old incur 70k in student loan debt and 12k in medical bills?
I graduated from UBC three times, last at age 30, and my total debt load was about 35k (worth every penny). I also had three recontructive surgeries (ankle once and shoulder twice – rugby) while in school and MSP covered them.
Seriously – How does one get that far in debt 4 years out of high school?
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October 14th, 2011 at 8:18 am 56
"But we will not achieve that until we win our democracies back from overwhelming corporate influence, in pursuit of a bankrupt value system. So I'm lending my support to the Occupy Wall Street movement. And I'm also calling on our thinkers, creatives and other professionals like me, to bring their own talents and perspectives to the discussion, to discredit the worthlessness of our materialistic value system, and the moral bankruptcy of our political economy which is in hock to its service."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifameric…
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October 14th, 2011 at 8:22 am 57
@painted turtle:
So…basically the message is "fix everything". That's a concise agenda. Regarding the income gap, what is it exactly that concerns you? Is it the fact that the gap has grown wider or that the pay at the bottom is too low to avoid poverty? If it's the former, who cares? If it's the latter, why didn't you just say that in the first place?
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October 14th, 2011 at 8:28 am 58
@Best place on meth:
Well I knew angry BPOM would step up to the plate. The point is, it's not a coherent message. I read it and wonder how the hell this guy racked up almost $100K in less than 4 years not Wall Street corruption. Somehow I should be convinced he is a poster boy for someone who's hard done by. If you doubled the amount and put Mortgage Debt instead should we still feel sorry for him? I'm not sayin there ain't hurt out there, but this guy is not it and his message is piss poor and isn't going to convince anyone of anything. Deal with it.
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October 14th, 2011 at 8:43 am 59
@painted turtle:
You mean the materialistic value system that the "other 99%" fully embraced and enjoyed up until things went south? I didn't see any protests against rampant consumerism fueled by debt in the US before the housing crash or protests against lavish public sector benefits and perks in Greece before austerity kicked in.
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October 14th, 2011 at 8:44 am 60
57 Troll Says:"… what is it exactly that concerns you? Is it the fact that the gap has grown wider…? …who cares?"
I'll give you credit for being brighter. How about for starters those riches have grown over the last couple decades by far from manipulating the financial system, creating nothing of value, while at the same time real producers move real production to eastern near-slave labour pens? How about twisting societal justice so badly that the penalties for sharing a Beiber song can ruin middle-lower class families while bankers get away with destroying their country's economic system? The legal and financial systems have been sold to the highest bidder and the government whores have stewed in it for so long that it seems perfectly plausible to them we'll buy the fiction that the only way to save us is to shovel a trillion dollars ($0.7B CDN) to the rich.
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October 14th, 2011 at 8:47 am 61
@Li Kai Shing:
Wrong, completely wrong. You are entirely off the mark.
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October 14th, 2011 at 8:51 am 62
@Bailing in BC:
You need haircut…look like Teletubby
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October 14th, 2011 at 8:56 am 63
Lai Kai (and alias) has posted 9 times in the last 9 hours.
Do we really need another Horton here?
Don't let him ruin our blog.
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October 14th, 2011 at 9:09 am 64
@fixie guy:
Well, anyone who's trying to spread Bieber music deserves to be financially ruined before they do more damage to good taste everywhere.
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October 14th, 2011 at 9:17 am 65
@Best place on meth:
Easier said then done when those funds are literally tied into everyone's pensions and savings accounts. Banks failing en-mass means the cowboys lose their jobs and hundreds of thousands lose their savings / pensions / investments.
That is precisely why banks have traditionally been so rigidly regulated, because when its too late, the only thing is to bail out or let a ton of people hurt.
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October 14th, 2011 at 9:25 am 66
@patriotz: ….At least up here the illiterate and incoherent aren’t considered to be serious contenders for the highest office in the country…..
They're not? I thought it was a prerequisite!
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October 14th, 2011 at 9:29 am 67
The OWS movement will eventually be forced to fizzle out or escalate, and if the latter, then the words of the modern world's greatest revolutionary may come to mind:
"At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality. Perhaps it is one of the great dramas of the leader that he or she must combine a passionate spirit with a cold intelligence and make painful decisions without flinching. Our vanguard revolutionaries must idealize this love of the people, of the most sacred causes, and make it one and indivisible." -Che Guevara
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October 14th, 2011 at 9:33 am 68
@McLovin:
Good tink you can't count past 10 !
PS You must work for Gov't …..or else Realtor cleanink out desk soon.
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October 14th, 2011 at 9:44 am 69
@Troll: This is such a weird critique. I think it's pretty clear what's being protested. Business Insider thinks it's pretty clear. The only people seemingly truly confused are Fox News and Kevin O'Leary, and that kind of infotainment is mainly barking for treats.
Are solutions being offered in cardboard signs? No more than in any popular movement, from the Tea Party to the Iranian Green Movement. Oddly, serious analysis doesn't fit on protest sign. This isn't a political party, it's political pressure. Given the way American politics works, with 2 parties beholden to corporate sponsorship, traditional avenues haven't been successful.
I think it's actually a pretty simple philosophical point, though, isn't it? Something to do with percentages… Hmm…
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October 14th, 2011 at 9:44 am 70
@ADRA:
I'm not sure which funds you're referring to.
If this about letting the banks fail causing widespread calamity then the solution to that is the government takes them over and winds them down in an orderly fashion.
No way in hell these dirtbags should get bailed out and then carry on as usual.
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October 14th, 2011 at 10:03 am 71
It's funny how these baseless scare articles only appear on auction day:
Sydney rents rocket by 13 per cent
'Run Property CEO Rob Farmer said the jump in rents showed there was still value in investment properties.
"The smart money is starting to flow back into investment property, especially now that the sales market is off the boil and there are buying opportunities out there," Mr Farmer said in a statement.'
http://smh.domain.com.au/real-estate-news/sydney-…
Why wouldn't you borrow at 7% to buy an asset yielding 4-5% gross? It's a no-brainer.
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October 14th, 2011 at 10:16 am 72
Two anecdotes I've heard on the Vancouver RE recently:
1) Friend sold her house in Kits / Kerrisdale area for just over $2.1MM earlier this year. Buyer is trying to flip it but it has just sat on the market @ $2.4MM for almost 6 months.
2) Similar story on East Van side from a realtor in the area. Earlier house in the area was put on the market for $999K, and was sold for $1.4MM. It has sat now for serval months at $1.5MM.
Still no buyers for either of them. I imagine after the property transfer tax, realtor commissions, and other holdings costs (interest, property tax, insurance) that if they don't sell by the end of the year they are going to be losing money on these 'investments'
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October 14th, 2011 at 10:35 am 73
@oneangryslav2:
Can you tell me exactly who my tax dollars bailed out? As far as I know the car companies paid back their loans, and this is Canada, not the USA and our banks didn't require bailouts.
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October 14th, 2011 at 10:43 am 74
West side is in a panic, littered with price reductions.
Examples from the last 3 days:
476 23RD AVE W, $1.8 million > $1.6 million
2068 29TH AVE W, 3.0 > 2.4
3743 BLENHEIM ST, 2.3 > 2.0
6033 WILLOW ST, 2.0 > 1.84
6968 CHURCHILL ST, 5.5 > 4.9
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October 14th, 2011 at 11:03 am 75
Thanks Meth.
That Churchill ppty/home should be 50% of current ask price, if that….prices are still stupid stupid stupid.
Saw two more For Sale signs on the drive home…look fwd to the stats, hopefully inventory will continue to build this month.
Meth, I've made a chunk on my investments, up about 25% in a short while (I kept buying on the way down, again and again), I'm a long term investor by nature, but I might let some go, as maybe I'm wrong about the markets, who knows…
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October 14th, 2011 at 11:25 am 76
Why Asians like to stand in lines? Is there any known fetish about lines? Remember condo presales last decade. Is it all about flipping or something else?
http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/steve-jobs…
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October 14th, 2011 at 11:30 am 77
New Listings 192
Price Changes 115
Sold Listings 166
TI:16882
http://www.laurenandpaul.ca
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October 14th, 2011 at 11:30 am 78
About bloody time, to be perfectly honest
http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Harper+governmen…
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October 14th, 2011 at 11:50 am 79
Frack – was hoping we'd see listings burn up through17000…hopefully soon.
Have a great weekend all, enjoy the sunshine.
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October 14th, 2011 at 12:11 pm 80
@Patiently Waiting: …..About bloody time, to be perfectly honest….
To heck with language requirements, how about a driving test?
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October 14th, 2011 at 12:15 pm 81
@painted turtle: " May be this is a good time to realize that an impoverished population with poor health care and poor education is not good for the economy and to think long term."
Perhaps. My take is that with one person one vote, the 99% want some of the stuff the 1% has and have a decent chance of getting it. Blasted democracy… foiling plans of world domination…
Some days, like today, I like thinking a major capital expropriation unheard of in generations might be underway. That way, at least, I can tell my grandkids something dramatic actually happened during my life. It's not about the money, really, it's the taking of the money that gives me the most pleasure.
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October 14th, 2011 at 12:22 pm 82
I hope you all enjoyed last nights Craiglist ad brought to us by Princess.
Thanks to her brother Johnny KY Chui, here's the Chinese slum offering for this evening.
Just like last night, it's another 2 bedroom suit but this one has a self entrance.
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/van/apa/2650479…
No location is given but judging by its convenient location to pretty much everything (except a washer/dryer) I'm guessing it's probably on Boundary and something or other.
Note: If you're interested in renting this suit you do not need to know where the restaurants and casinos are.
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October 14th, 2011 at 12:39 pm 83
@paulb.: Looks like the pit of greater fools remains bottomless here in la la land.
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October 14th, 2011 at 1:08 pm 84
BPOM, too funny. Hahaha. NO SUIT FOR YOU!!
But seriously, this suit is an entirely different kettle of scum from last night's suit. For one, there's no amorphous blob oozing from the kitchen plumbing.
And dammit, I gotsta have my amorphous blob!
And where the hell is my charnel? Gimme back my charnel!
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October 14th, 2011 at 1:26 pm 85
@gordholio:
This is the beauty of Chinese slums – no two are exactly alike.
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October 14th, 2011 at 1:39 pm 86
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQlemw7QUEM&fe…
one bubble movie before night night
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October 14th, 2011 at 1:40 pm 87
On the topic of renting that came up earlier this week: I am looking to rent a house or townhouse on the west side. You might be interested in a few anecdotes I have gleaned. Big theme is HAM:
1. Townhouse at UBC, Crescent West (or as Condohype so aptly named it, "Crescent of Contempt"). Overseas Chinese owner bought it sight unseen so that his kid could live there and attend UBC. Found out after he bought it that owning a place at UBC does not entitle one to enroll their kids in the school. Not making this up. Since the kid will need to spend the next year or two on his application, the owner will rent the place out. What's especially interesting about this case is just how lousy the townhouse was. No way you could fit anything more than a queen bed and a dresser in the "master", and it would be an awkward fit at that. Quality of construction is questionable, with some very obvious deficiencies. This place last changed hands for around 1.7 million. (On the construction quality: another unit in the same development had plastic sheeting taped over the front entrance and a warning sign that the place was hazardous to human health due to mold. The development isn't even two years old!). Asking rent $4000.
2. Another townhouse at UBC, across campus. Overseas Chinese buyer, represented by local real estate agent who didn't have a clue about how much damage deposit he could ask for (trying to get double), and was strangely pushy that we have insurance. The townhouse had weird decorating that I don't have the energy to deal with and a chemical smell that scared me (mold? Chinese drywall? No idea). Layout was better than Crescent of Contempt and so was the price ($3500) and last changed hands for $1.6-ish. But the smell…
3. Speaking of smell, we saw a place last weekend and it also had a bad smell. Apparently the previous owners had a small fish drying enterprise going in the basement of this charming character home. But I get ahead of myself: I was very excited before the fish smell. Lovely old home on a nice Kerrisdale street. Great layout. But the yard was neglected. And all the kitchen appliances were missing. The real estate agent standing by filled me in: Apparently, the owner is an investor who lives just a few blocks away and hadn't set foot on the property since closing (two or three months ago). That's because he is planning on knocking it down, but is just too busy to do so right now. So why not rent it out?! This place last changed hands for 2.7 million (or over that, according the the real estate agent's website), asking rent $4000. 2.7 million–just a regular sized lot, no view. Blackbeard's treasure in the backyard, maybe?
4. Finally, another nice house destined to be a pile of sticks. The owner showed me the place himself. Nice fellow. When I asked what he did for a living, he said he was retired. He had sold his semiconductor factory in China and moved to Vancouver to join his wife and kids who have been living here for the past ten years. I gather he bought the place for 1.5 million (a steal!), and is asking $3500 for rent. I was tempted, but the bedrooms are tiny.
Suffice to say: I'm still looking. Disappointed, but lucky that I don't have to make a hasty decision. I can stick it out where I am…
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October 14th, 2011 at 3:12 pm 88
Care of Paul Krugman (of all people). Here's your problem, second graph:
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/lean…
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October 14th, 2011 at 3:13 pm 89
@rp1: Sorry I mean 3rd.
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October 14th, 2011 at 4:14 pm 90
Uh oh bears…
One of the resident bulls here noted that by mid-October you would see more sales. And of course the Chinese buying season…
Looks like today is the start…
The worm has turned again…lol
Blame BPOM because he mocked the chinese buying season…
Sit back and wait another year bears…lol
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October 14th, 2011 at 5:17 pm 91
@westerly:
Great post, Westerly. Keep us posted on your renting adventures.
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October 14th, 2011 at 7:21 pm 92
@Best place on meth:
"If this about letting the banks fail causing widespread calamity then the solution to that is the government takes them over and winds them down in an orderly fashion."
Absolutely right. You forgot to mention deposit insurance, which means that the depositors get their money back no matter what.
As for investors, they don't. The way the capital markets are supposed to work is that if you invest in a badly run company you lose your money. That should go for rich people just as for you and me.
The correct course of action in 2008 would have been for the US and other governments to seize control of the banks with fair compensation to the shareholders (which in most cases would have been zero).
Those in power were fully aware of this option but for ideological reasons (i.e. for them it's OK to give away government money to the rich but owning a bank would be "socialism") it was not taken.
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October 14th, 2011 at 11:40 pm 93
2006 Phoenix, 2011 Kelowna. Dumb de dumb dumb.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/per…
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October 15th, 2011 at 12:52 am 94
"Drop B.C. HST on new homes now, realtors say"
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/st…
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October 15th, 2011 at 12:58 am 95
@Anonymous134282:
“Drop B.C. HST on new homes now, realtors say”
They would say that, wouldn't they?
If they're having trouble selling why don't they just drop the price by 7%?
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October 15th, 2011 at 1:00 am 96
@patriotz: That couple is grossing $200K+, their home is 3:1 price-income. There is no problem there, they spend close to $5K/month on stuff they don't need.
G&M features surreal situations sometimes.
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October 15th, 2011 at 1:05 am 97
@Anonymous134282: That's funny. You know come to think of it, I have a used car I'm having trouble selling because the market is "dead". Why not eliminate the added 5% tax on those too? You know, to support my "business" and all that.
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October 15th, 2011 at 1:30 am 98
23 – - I did have a look through the Granville "bundle'. It is rediculous. They have said "bids" to be submitted on OCt 15 so we will see how it goes. It's an odd collection of owners – one of whom must have been the ringleader and said if we all get together we can cash out with $4.0 each. Most lots are large at 72×187. Here's the stats
7 Units
6411 – Long-term chinese owners – Likely bought in 90's
6137 – Likely the ringleader – Bough in August at 1.8. East Indian – Last one in – -
6151 – Bough in 2002 – $606,000 Chinese owner
6175 – Bought 1991 – $450,000 – Chinese owners
6237 – Bough 2007 – $976,000 – Chinese owners
6187 – Bought 2010 – $1,388,000 – Chinese owners
6261 – Bought 2003 – $973,000 – Chinese owners
6211 – Bought 2008 – $812,200 – Chinese owners
–
So – Each person will make a windfall at these prices. I am willing to go out on a limb and say they will not get asking. I'm not sure any developer is going to throw down even close to $30,000,000 for land to build multi-unit on spec. This market is at a tipping point and many developers know this (another post from me to follow). So – - the crazy bundle on Granville – I think has no chance of closing at this price in this market.
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October 15th, 2011 at 1:34 am 99
Westerly –
I think we are in the same boat. I am also looking at many of those exact same places.
I actually thought that one at UBC (Crescent West – Gray Avenue) was somewhat nice compared to the oodles of crap out there.
What a joke that guy is – he's willing to rent it out for like 22 months but then wants the tenants gone.
Which unit was taped up?
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October 15th, 2011 at 1:35 am 100
@patriotz:
"Those in power were fully aware of this option but for ideological reasons (i.e. for them it’s OK to give away government money to the rich but owning a bank would be “socialism”) it was not taken."
It is looking more like Europe will do the exact same thing and bail the banks out with tax payer money. Does Europe have the same ideological reasons as the US? Also note most of this has happened under Obama's watch or at least we have not seen any different approach from Obama. He is supposed to be a socialist.
What has happened (and will happen in Europe) is just politicians kicking the can down the road trying to avoid a depression under their watch. It seems to have little to do with ideology. The day of reckoning will come at some point.
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October 15th, 2011 at 1:35 am 101
I was out with a developer friend of mine on Thursday night. Decided to refer to the article from Tyee on Generation F.
I framed up the point of the article to say something like those people in Vancouver between 25-40 who own no real estate are Geneation F because – - – well – - they must be F–ed because they are not in the Real Estate Game and never can be. . . .
He looked at me funny and said they should really be called Generation L – - – - – - Because they are lucky that they are not about to lose their shirts and all their net worth when the Vancouver market deleveraging occurs. Their company has postponed all residential development now and believe that we are entering a very different time which will shock those who are younger than 30 and don't really remember any slumps in the Vancouver market.
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October 15th, 2011 at 1:49 am 102
@zrh2yvr:
"one of whom must have been the ringleader"
I bet the realtor is the ring leader. They approach a bunch of owners and promise huge returns if they list their property. Naturally most of these people would be willing to sell at 3.5 Mil. Then when they don't sell at that price the realtor goes back to them suggesting they list at a lower price and hopes for the best. If they can't get all the owners to list at the lower price the realtor still may get a listing or two out of the willing owners, but at "market".
To be honest it is good strategy for a realtor. If they make this happen the commissions would be massive for minimal work.
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October 15th, 2011 at 2:38 am 103
@patriotz:
"Those in power were fully aware of this option but for ideological reasons (i.e. for them it’s OK to give away government money to the rich but owning a bank would be “socialism”) it was not taken."
Yet the banks with the greatest stake in sub-prime mortgages (guaranteeing or owning more than half at one point) were the govt enterprises Fannie and Freddie. And this entire structure was about giving money (ie, housing) to the poor.
Govts, GOP and Dem, had and have no problem with owning banks, automakers, solar tech companies or anything else that will give the lawmakers concerned the thrill of power and of course the necessary payoffs and subsidies to the donors that got them elected.
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October 15th, 2011 at 2:44 am 104
@chip:
"the govt enterprises Fannie and Freddie. And this entire structure was about giving money (ie, housing) to the poor."
Fannie and Freddie were created to finance housing for the middle class, not the poor.
And lending money is something entirely different from giving it to somebody.
I will also note that when Fannie was created (1938), buying was much cheaper than renting and government intervention in favour of home ownership made a good deal of sense.
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October 15th, 2011 at 3:21 am 105
@jesse:
Why not eliminate all of the tax? Any tax on used cars is ridiculous.
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October 15th, 2011 at 3:29 am 106
@Anonymous:
"Why not eliminate all of the tax? Any tax on used cars is ridiculous."
Good idea. Shall we shutdown our schools and hospitals while we are at it?
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October 15th, 2011 at 3:40 am 107
@Anonymous:
ohh right, got it. My kid school needs more supplies gotta buy used car this weekend…
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October 15th, 2011 at 3:45 am 108
@chip:
If you view that video I noted, many Civil Service employees pensions had employer contributions (aka taxpayer)far in excess of employee.
Many of the pension funds took the taxpayer money and re-invested it into home mortages loans…ie taxpayers ultimately get screwed by the taxes they are forced to pay .
Many pension funds have few holdings re-invested in their own states.
The other interesting thing is the vast majority of these pension funds have MICROSOFT and APPLE stock in their top 10 holdings list.
BTW Bill Gates holdings , according to the video,are approx 1 %, he has no control over MICROSOFT.
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October 15th, 2011 at 4:36 am 109
103 chip Says: "Yet the banks with the greatest stake in sub-prime mortgages (guaranteeing or owning more than half at one point) were the govt enterprises Fannie and Freddie."
Freddie and Frannie weren't banks. F&F bought mortgage backed securities from banks and other institutions. Those assets were represented as AAA but were actually poisoned, the underlying mortgages didn't adhere to F&F lending standards. The AAA standards were the result of a still broken rating system in which the client, and payee, is the rated entity.
Fox and Sun News are not a reliable business sources.
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October 15th, 2011 at 4:37 am 110
@Anonymous:
I'm not against taxation, just when it's applied to used items. Why should the government get a take every single time an item changes hands?
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October 15th, 2011 at 4:39 am 111
Dear Mr. Flaherty and Carney:
You two assholes should resign in shame.
You used and abused the levers of economics and it backfired.
No shame in trying something new, but this mistake was as old as time.
You shocked the economy with stimulus and it created an outcome, which was predictable:
Cheap money = speculation
Speculation = excessive price run up in hard assets
Excessive price inputs of production = brakes on the economy
What’s to follow is called deleveraging, I’m so glad I didn’t fall for you deception, and saved a big wad of cash.
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October 15th, 2011 at 5:14 am 112
@bubba: Every fund that uses the market as its benchmark or has any equities whatsoever will have MSFT and AAPL in their holdings. I bet they also have Exxon and J&J, P&G, IBM, AT&T and GE.
Conspiracy? Hardly. Incompetence? Perhaps. In the pension fund world, you do what the crowd does. If you deviate, and underperform, you will be crucified and never work in the industry again. But if you do what everyone else does, and your fund loses money, you're in great company. Anyways, the fund charters and boards insist on it.
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October 15th, 2011 at 6:58 am 113
hi guys,
here is fantastic interview with Steve Keen. talks about housing bubbles, debt jubilee etc..
spare 25 minutes and watch it …fantastic staff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embed…
ciao
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October 15th, 2011 at 7:07 am 114
The word is slowly getting out. This in Canadian Business.
http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/How-long-housing…
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October 15th, 2011 at 7:39 am 115
@bubba:
"Many pension funds have few holdings re-invested in their own states."
They shouldn't. A pension fund should direct its holdings away from the sector that the employees work in. That minimizes the risk that the employees will lose both their jobs and and their pensions.
You might recall what happened to employees of companies like Worldcom whose pension funds were heavily invested in their own employers. Same principle applies to public sector employees.
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October 15th, 2011 at 7:49 am 116
@patriotz:
Worldcom was a private sector…agreed…it should diversify
My "point" is the Gov't(in US) is OVERTAXING the public…and the public is not realizing any benefit, this shadow gov't of PUBLIC Sector pension funds has major influence on the natural economic order.
Anyway, now I am curious about Canada, and sent in an inquiry to my Local Gov't
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October 15th, 2011 at 8:37 am 117
@McLovin: A comment below that article reads: "I bought a house in Victoria in 1996. Victoria prices never really go down. They are stagnant for a while then boom one spring they go up huge. Its crazy but its the best investment I ever made."
And this my friends is the reason why we are where we are, and the ride down is going to be both scary and thrilling at the same time.
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October 15th, 2011 at 8:47 am 118
@Eddie:
Not to mention there was a big bust in Victoria in the 80's just like elsewhere else in BC.
That's what's scary, people who don't even have a clue about what's happened in their own lifetimes in their own city.
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October 15th, 2011 at 9:50 am 119
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/more-american…
"The number of Americans who lack access to basic necessities like food and health care is now higher than it was at the peak of the Great Recession, a survey released Thursday found. And in a finding that could worsen fears of U.S. decline, the share of Americans struggling to put food on the table is now three times as large as the share of the Chinese population in the same position."
transfer of power from West to East and poverty from East to West
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October 15th, 2011 at 10:19 am 120
@Boby:
"the share of Americans struggling to put food on the table is now three times as large as the share of the Chinese population in the same position."
The definitions of both "struggling" and "food" are a lot different in the US than in China.
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October 15th, 2011 at 10:26 am 121
@patriotz
so now remove your rose colored glasses and read article again
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October 15th, 2011 at 11:29 am 122
@Eddie: And a bust in the mid-90's post Commonwealth Games.
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October 15th, 2011 at 12:35 pm 123
@Bailing in BC:
Good opium for Vancouver bear.
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October 15th, 2011 at 12:36 pm 124
@Boby:
That why Great China will prosper for at least 1000 years.
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October 15th, 2011 at 2:37 pm 125
One last real estate anecdote – - – It's been a funny week.
Out at a party on Friday and met a long-standing Whistler Real Estate Agent. We talked about the poor market there. Really just no buyers, American's are net sellers, boomers are unloading and have been for years (basically because it takes years). Buyers are very scarce and nobody would dream of launching a new project in the near future. I knew this already but the realtor told me that they were selling at 2002 prices now. Also talked about how the Four Seasons has been the biggest loser in the market with some people losing multiple millions.
The one thing I thought I would be able to hear from the agent is that real estate is a bad investment. This realtor just could not freely admit that it was a bad investment. I then went on to say – that if you held it for 10 years and was still flat in price – how could it be good. OK – the realtor agreed. The discussion then evolved where the realtor did acknowledge and say that basically it may not be a good financial investment (i.e. – it may lose you money and putting all that extra you save by renting as opposed to owning may actually be better financially). However . . . . and here's really the main point.
This agent told me that real estate was a great investment because at the end of the day – if you buy something and own it for the full term of a mortgage and you pay it out – you have something. I would call this forced savings. And that the realtor basically said that people are not savvy enough to appropriately plan their lives and rent, save the excess funds over the owning costs in appropriate diversified assets such that at the end of (for example) 25 years of renting – they now have a large diversified financial portfolio paying them income. They went on to say that people are not financially responsible. Renters don't typically do the math and take that excess and invest it – they just spend it – - thus consuming all their income and not having any assets at the end of the day.
Owning real estate is a way to have forced savings. Well – - you can't protect people from themselves – - in the end – there will be a large misallocation of resources in this part of the province where significant excesses are spent to consume real estate at the expense of other things in life that create a balanced overall lifestyle.
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October 15th, 2011 at 3:39 pm 126
Whistler's been tanking for years and no 'professionals' want to admit it for fear of being blamed for causing the stampede. Only suckers have bought in whistler in the last 10 years (and arguably before that)- the ski hill went into bankruptcy for heaven's sake! What are people thinking! Do you really think that Joe Hussein didn't see this coming? I
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October 15th, 2011 at 7:04 pm 127
@zrh2yvr:
"Renters don’t typically do the math and take that excess and invest it – they just spend it – – thus consuming all their income and not having any assets at the end of the day."
Everything he said was BS but I will focus on this.
Statistically it is true that renters are not likely to save money. But that's because statistically renters and owners are two different groups of people. Renters are much more likely to be poor, students, single parents, etc., etc.
That doesn't mean that you would be less likely to invest the savings if you rented rather than bought.
He is basically parroting Bush's "ownership society" BS – that making someone a homeowner in itself changes them into a more responsible person. Well how did that turn out?
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October 15th, 2011 at 11:13 pm 128
I have a problem perhaps you can help me with. I am renting a new condo near Garden City and Westminster Highway in Richmond, BC.
August was good, but come September when the wind is easterly (which is most evenings) there is a strong putrid smell that comes from the east. I can't open any windows or the smell immediately takes over the whole apartment.
Our condo building has a/c in the hallways, and it is nice and cool in the summer but now the system is sucking in this horrible putrid sh*t smell from the agricultural land blowing it in a concentrated way all through the hallways. To make matters worse (for me) the fan of the air conditioner is right outside my condo unit door and it blows into my kitchen hence my kitchen smells like a barn on steroids. I am choking all the time — can't even breathe in my own unit!
Even when I go out shopping on No. 3 road I can smell this putrid smell wafting over Richmond. I just can't believe it. What can I do?
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October 15th, 2011 at 11:22 pm 129
@patriotz:
"And lending money is something entirely different from giving it to somebody."
While technically it's lending, I used 'giving' on purpose. The govt decided home ownership had to rise among the poor, which meant that private banks needed to relax their risk controls, and that the GSEs Fannie and Freddie then needed to guarantee these dodgy loans.
Throw into the mix the near free nature of money thanks to the Fed and the fact that about half of states including California and Nevada allow homeowners to walk away from their mortgages with no impact on their other assets.
Money was basically given away. And worse, almost half of it was borrowed from foreign countries.
If the Occupy movement had a neuron or two, they would be protesting the politicians and central bankers that triggered this mess, but instead they think MORE govt and spending is the answer.
They are in effect reactionaries, not reformers.
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October 15th, 2011 at 11:52 pm 130
@chip:
"And worse, almost half of it was borrowed from foreign countries."
Not worse, better. When the mortgages went into default, those foreign lenders (China foremost) should have had to eat their losses.
I'm talking about private sector debt including Fannie and Freddie whose securities were expressly NOT guaranteed by the USG.
So what happened instead?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/washington/14fa…
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October 15th, 2011 at 11:52 pm 131
Get this! I met with friends that were going on and on about an uncle that kept buying and flipping houses last year. They said, " he made 50k on that one, then bought that and flipped it for 80k, then bought that and flipped it for 70k,…". I said, " he would have been better off buying one property and doing one sale and increasing his holding period, he made money because he was part of an irrational rising market not because of house flipping super powers. I said transaction costs would have killed him.
They looked at me with shock, because they were expecting the story to pump me up with real estate lust.
Needless to say, they bought a place last year and are renovating it with the intention of flipping it. In addition, Their neighbour is eldery and they want to now convince him to sell his place to them. They said they want the neighbour to sell to them and then just rent it back to the elderly neighbour…. I hope stupidity is rewarded accordingly.
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October 16th, 2011 at 12:10 am 132
130 chip Says: "…but instead they think MORE govt… is the answer.
They are in effect reactionaries, not reformers."
FFS, you STILL can't grasp the connection between what happened in the US and the neutering of regulatory safeguards, both directly by repeal and indirectly with Bush's 'innovation' of staffing regulatory agencies with industry insiders?
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October 16th, 2011 at 12:44 am 133
@Lilypad: Even when I go out shopping on No. 3 road I can smell this putrid smell wafting over Richmond. I just can’t believe it. What can I do?
You can put the condo on the market at a price you think will get it sold and pray that the day of the open house showings fall at a "less stinky" time. You can then lower the price until it sells and give the Realtor thousands of dollars in commission.
Oh, wait. You said you rented it. That means you can find a better place at your leisure, give notice and get your half month damage deposit back. Let someone else deal with the smell that won't go away. Good thing you didn't buy it!
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October 16th, 2011 at 12:45 am 134
114 McLovin Says: "The word is slowly getting out. This in Canadian Business."
Philippe Bracke's conclusions contradict Shiller's, who found essentially no increase in prices over 100+ years adjusted for inflation and property type. Other studies of individual properties in Europe going back 500 years found the same. Apples-to-apples, they found house prices may be nominally cyclical but real values remain flat.
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October 16th, 2011 at 2:12 am 135
@fixie guy:
They aren't contradictory at all, rather one leads to the other. Shiller found that house prices track inflation in the long run, so if they outpace inflation in the short run, they must subsequently go down, as Bracke pointed out.
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October 16th, 2011 at 2:36 am 136
Finally people that are not politically correct
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAhHPIuTQ5k&fe…
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October 16th, 2011 at 3:46 am 137
According to today's Belligham Herald, in a story pulled from McClathy Tribune News Service, there are "currently 3.5 homes for sale nationwide." However, the shadow inventory (homes stalled in foreclosure, bank-owned, not yet placed on the market) is…
4.5 million.
It says that in Miami, for example, there are 30,000 properties listed on the active market, but another 200,000 shadow homes. (!!)
I suppose it's anyone's guess how many shadow homes are *really* out there, but the article made interesting reading nonetheless. Imagine how much farther prices would tumble if 4.5 million extra homes were suddenly placed on the market.
There's an extended online version of the article here:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/10/16/2456628/mil…
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October 16th, 2011 at 3:48 am 138
@Lilypad:
I tink it is coming from basement suite troglodytes. They usually have annual shower and change shorts this time of year.
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October 16th, 2011 at 3:54 am 139
129 @Lilypad:
August was good, but come September when the wind is easterly (which is most evenings) there is a strong putrid smell that comes from the east. I can’t open any windows or the smell immediately takes over the whole apartment.
=========================================================
My guess is that smell is probably coming from the Green Waste recycling area behind Silver City ( Triangle Rd ).
As Green Waste Rots…every few months the excavators turn the piles of compost over,to assist in the rotting… and the winds from the East spread this odour .
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October 16th, 2011 at 3:59 am 140
@Anonymous 137 Nothing seemed to be politically incorrect in your link. One guy rants about "corporations" the other guy asks if he's a "left wing nutbar"… fair enough.
…worst of all, there was no mention of Vancouver's housing bubble in that video. So why even post it here?
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October 16th, 2011 at 4:17 am 141
@bubba: Thanks for the info bubba. Do they turn the waste all throughout the year or just once a year?
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October 16th, 2011 at 4:19 am 142
@fixie guy:
"FFS, you STILL can’t grasp the connection between what happened in the US and the neutering of regulatory safeguards, both directly by repeal and indirectly with Bush’s ‘innovation’ of staffing regulatory agencies with industry insiders?"
Did this magically cause a housing bubble and bust in Iceland, Spain and Ireland? Did it cause the Greek government to run massive deficits to the point of bankruptcy? Did it turn Vancouver into the biggest real estate bubble in North American history?
Can you connect the dots?
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October 16th, 2011 at 4:27 am 143
@fixie guy:
Every regulatory body is filled with industry insiders, because that's how it works. They're most "qualified". It's been going on for years. I'm not sure why you would have to single out the FIRE sector, or Bush in particular.
The revolving door between industry and regulators is why regulators will always fail, no matter the amount of hand-wringing going on about it. And like a baby with an out-of-sight-out-of-mind attention span, we continue to be shocked, shocked! every time it happens.
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October 16th, 2011 at 4:27 am 144
"Whistler’s been tanking for years and no ‘professionals’ want to admit it for fear of being blamed for causing the stampede. Only suckers have bought in whistler in the last 10 years (and arguably before that)- the ski hill went into bankruptcy for heaven’s sake! What are people thinking! Do you really think that Joe Hussein didn’t see this coming?"
Whistler was built on real estate and time share sales. The ski hill was never really profitable. Once the real estate was developed and sold the business model was done.
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October 16th, 2011 at 4:43 am 145
@Anonymous:
Not sure how often . I know the City gets inundated with calls when it happens, the smell blankets large areas, but that was the acknowledged source. I think Delta and other areas have the situation/same problem
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October 16th, 2011 at 4:50 am 146
@Anonymous:
Yeah, I remember Whistler Pre Joe Hussein/Intrawest days.
Not much their in early 1980's.
You have to wonder why he bailed BEFORE the 2010 Olympics…gee everyone wants to buy RE that revolves around a 2 week event
Same will apply to Golf Courses with condos (Bear Mountain), Time shares etc that lock Real Estate into some recreational anchor.
Watch it tank and taxes go up.
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October 16th, 2011 at 5:00 am 147
"You have to wonder why he bailed BEFORE the 2010 Olympics…gee everyone wants to buy RE that revolves around a 2 week event"
When Whistler started out the developer had the vision and the investors had the money. The objective is to switch those. Once the developer has the money he leaves the investor with the vision. His job is done. He took the money and left the vision for the investors. A similar thing is taking place here in Vancouver we are just a few years behind in the process.
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October 16th, 2011 at 5:47 am 148
[...] going to be losing money on these ‘investments’.” – Joey Jo Jo Jr. at vancouvercondo.info October 14th, 2011 at 6:16 pm Share:TwitterFacebookRedditStumbleUponDiggLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. This [...]
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October 16th, 2011 at 6:32 am 149
Bubbaliscious China:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/11/us-chin…
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October 16th, 2011 at 7:15 am 150
@144 Devore: Yes "experts overseeing experts" is exactly the BS Bush used as justification – and it hasn't been going on forever, his administration was the first to roll it out as core policy – ignoring that regulatory agencies aren't institutions of trust. If trust was a given, we wouldn't need regulatory agencies. It shows how uncritical we've become.
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October 16th, 2011 at 7:40 am 151
143 Anonymous Says: "Did this magically cause a housing bubble and bust in Iceland…."
That is what caused it in Iceland. False dilemma regardless, I never claimed it's what caused the bubble here. Quite the opposite, repeatedly. In the US federal deregulation policies made the bubble possible as a secondary effect. It allowed financial industries to hide and disperse risk until the system was poisoned and ground to a halt (see TARP.) Here the feds made it a PRIMARY policy to take those risky assets from lenders via the CMHC. That they continued doing it after watching the disastrous effects elsewhere makes us infinitely dumber, that we brag about it to the world future laughing stocks.
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October 16th, 2011 at 8:32 am 152
More noise on the HST theme.
Previous link was:
"Drop B.C. HST on new homes now, realtors say"
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/st…
New link:
"B.C. builders want HST transition help. Aimed at stemming massive job losses"
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/st…
Personally, I look forward to the massive construction job losses.
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October 16th, 2011 at 9:04 am 153
Economists used to believe that we had to hold our noses and put up with high inequality as the price of robust growth. But more recent research suggests the opposite: inequality not only stinks, but also damages economies.
In his important new book, “The Darwin Economy,” Robert H. Frank of Cornell University cites a study showing that among 65 industrial nations, the more unequal ones experience slower growth on average. Likewise, individual countries grow more rapidly in periods when incomes are more equal, and slow down when incomes are skewed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/opinion/sunday/…
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October 16th, 2011 at 10:31 am 154
I think the buyers will caught in the old " 5 YEAR Window".
They say, on average the RE turnover rate is 5 years.
However, at this juncture, too many will be locked in at high purchase prices, and can't afford to sell as prices drop.
This unfortunately clashes head -on with less liberal lending practices, as well as the buyer pool (say 25-40 year olds) have been wiped out.
Interesting times…starting about "NOW"……
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October 16th, 2011 at 10:32 am 155
Errata:I meant SELLERS caught in the 5 year window…….
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October 16th, 2011 at 11:06 am 156
Hoo Boy
Can tell market is goink down toilet.
Bob Rennie campaign poster for Surrey Mayor
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/bnc/w4m/2652270…
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October 16th, 2011 at 11:51 am 157
@bubba: Thanks, Bubba. Funny how when I called Richmond City Hall they played dumb about the smell and referred me to Metro Vancouver Air Quality complaints line at 604-436-6777, but they played dumb, too. Totally unhelpful. I can see why they don't want to admit the air around here stinks — bad for the only business in town — real estate. hahaha am I ever GLAD I AM A RENTER AND CAN MOVE WHEN I DECIDE!!!!
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October 16th, 2011 at 12:19 pm 158
@patriotz:
>>>Shiller found that house prices track inflation in the long run, so if they outpace inflation in the short run, they must subsequently go down, as Bracke pointed out.<<<
If that were the case for Vancouver then the average detached home today would cost $250,000 based on 1977 prices and the inflation since then.
Looks like we're a little bit out of whack.
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October 16th, 2011 at 12:55 pm 159
@ Van_Coffee
So you're the competition, huh?
I don't recall the exact address, but the taped up place was on the opposite side of the Crescent West townhouses, facing Michael Smith park. Pity. On paper, these places look pretty sweet. And on the flipside: can you imagine spending 1.X MM to by a LEASE on one of these places?!
Good luck in your search
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October 16th, 2011 at 12:57 pm 160
Your health is the most important thing you can have, and most citizens of developed societies are nowhere near fit and healthy enough. Already medical bills are the most common reason for bankruptcy in the US, and while you can't protect yourself against every form of medical eventuality, you can at least improve your fitness. You will be be living in a world where hard physical work will be much more prevalent than it is now, and most people are ill-equipped to cope.
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October 16th, 2011 at 1:04 pm 161
[...] “Two recent Vancouver anecdotes: 1) Friend sold her house in Kits/Kerrisdale area for just over $2.1MM earlier this year. Buyer is trying to flip it but it has just sat on the market @ $2.4MM for almost 6 months. 2) Similar story on East Van side from a realtor in the area. Earlier house in the area was put on the market for $999K, and was sold for $1.4MM. It has sat now for several months at $1.5MM. Still no buyers for either of them. I imagine after the property transfer tax, realtor commissions, and other holdings costs (interest, property tax, insurance) that if they don’t sell by the end of the year they are going to be losing money on these ‘investments’.” – Joey Jo Jo Jr. at vancouvercondo.info October 14th, 2011 at 6:16 pm [...]
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October 16th, 2011 at 1:17 pm 162
Steven Quinn: demands on civic election races:
LOL What could civic politicians do, me wonders… certainly anything they could do that would actually improve affordability in the long run would be woefully unpopular.
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October 16th, 2011 at 2:08 pm 163
And now for something completely different …
http://lmfpobao.ytmnd.com/
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October 16th, 2011 at 4:57 pm 164
@Lilypad, I live in the exact block you are talking about. By the park on GC and Granville. I have never smelled anything.. Weird…
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October 16th, 2011 at 7:44 pm 165
[...] “A local family owns two houses next to each other here in Squamish. They bought a third house directly next door and listed the first two houses. They demolished the newly purchased house and built a large house to accommodate the members of the family living in the first two houses. Then they wait…and wait. Almost two years later the two houses are still on the market. They drop the price on one by $100k. Nothing. Then a couple of days ago, they drop the price another $100k and drop the price on the second house $300k. $400,000 down in just one day. I don’t care how much money you have, that’s gotta hurt. The cheaper of the two houses is now listed at less than they bought the tear-down. They would have been better off just to tear down the cheaper house, even though there’s nothing wrong with it. The sad thing is, that the prices, in my humble opinion, are still not low enough. The cheaper house needs to go down another $100 and the more expensive one needs to go down $300k. That would bring the drop on the 2 houses to $900k. Ouch!” – Bailing in BC at vancouvercondo.info October 14th, 2011 at 8:58 am [...]
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October 17th, 2011 at 3:13 am 166
[...] “A local family owns two houses next to each other here in Squamish. They bought a third house directly next door and listed the first two houses. They demolished the newly purchased house and built a large house to accommodate the members of the family living in the first two houses. Then they wait…and wait. Almost two years later the two houses are still on the market. They drop the price on one by $100k. Nothing. Then a couple of days ago, they drop the price another $100k and drop the price on the second house $300k. $400,000 down in just one day. I don’t care how much money you have, that’s gotta hurt. The cheaper of the two houses is now listed at less than they bought the tear-down. They would have been better off just to tear down the cheaper house, even though there’s nothing wrong with it. The sad thing is, that the prices, in my humble opinion, are still not low enough. The cheaper house needs to go down another $100 and the more expensive one needs to go down $300k. That would bring the drop on the 2 houses to $900k. Ouch!” – Bailing in BC at vancouvercondo.info October 14th, 2011 at 8:58 am [...]
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October 17th, 2011 at 1:07 pm 167
Can anybody explain why there are only 8 open houses in Vancouver and 6 in Burnaby (other areas also showing very low numbers for open houses with the exception of Vancouver West at 44).
Also, did anybody notice there were 1200 rental ads on Craigslist for Friday Oct 14 alone?
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October 20th, 2011 at 4:52 pm 168
[...] neighbour…. I hope stupidity is rewarded accordingly.” – Anonymous at vancouvercondo.info October 16th, 2011 at 7:52 am Share:TwitterFacebookRedditStumbleUponDiggLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. This [...]
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October 20th, 2011 at 11:54 pm 169
[...] “I met with friends that were going on and on about an uncle that kept buying and flipping houses last year. They said, “He made 50k on that one, then bought that and flipped it for 80k, then bought that and flipped it for 70k,…”. I said, “He would have been better off buying one property and doing one sale and increasing his holding period, he made money because he was part of an irrational rising market not because of house flipping super powers. I said transaction costs would have killed him. They looked at me with shock, because they were expecting the story to pump me up with real estate lust. Needless to say, they bought a place last year and are renovating it with the intention of flipping it. In addition, Their neighbour is elderly and they want to now convince him to sell his place to them. They said they want the neighbour to sell to them and then just rent it back to the elderly neighbour…. I hope stupidity is rewarded accordingly.” – Anonymous at vancouvercondo.info October 16th, 2011 at 7:52 am [...]
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