Friday Free-for-all!
It’s that time of the week again! Lets do our regular friday news round up and open topic discussion thread for the weekend. Here are a few links to kick off the chat:
-Prediction: The Canadian Housing Market will Crash
-Household borrowing surge driven by most indebted
-Boomers ‘punch drunk’ on debt
-Canadian home prices fall for first time since fall, 2010
-Either Windsor or Edmonton has the most affordable market
-Canadas job market in bad shape
-Property taxes on the rise
-$100 hot dog, get it while it’s hot.
-US banks face margin pressure from fed rates
-US new home sales worst ever in fall 2011
-A real estate downturn down under?
-
So what are you seeing out there? Post your news links, thoughts and anecdotes here and have an excellent weekend!
January 29th, 2012 at 2:33 pm
From the trenches (no economics degree, but common sense)
About the paper media: I stopped buying The sun/province more than a decade ago, I get better deals on TP.
Sit by a pool after sunset? Oh my gawd..what rubbish. And you have to sit in a tight miniskirt, nylons, high hells on a hard wooden bench trying to read a toilet paper in the dark after a hard days work with an aching back/neck, growling stomach, full bladder (due to vancouver piss poor job market that does not allow for proper meal breaks or potty time).
It is more like: You get home, thank your gods you were not killed in a commuter accident. Take hot sweaty clothes off, shower to relief back aches/stress/bladder, then grab the micro heated food (cooked on your days off), stuff face from hunger.
Then the brain goes dead, does not want to think anymore, nor see any other human beings.
Oh, just a snap shot of a day in "wonderful" vancouver, of one reality.
And I am not buying anything except basic necessities, my stealth protest against the current state of affairs. House bubbles would not happen with this prudent mindset, but oh well, cant cure "stupid". Screw them.
January 29th, 2012 at 2:22 pm
I have tired eyes, I read the link:
"Household borrowing surge driven by most indebted"
But my mind saw:
"Household borrowing surge driven by most inbred"
And I thought, "Dave?"
January 29th, 2012 at 2:07 pm
@jumpin in: Carney said Basel 3 being implemented sooner in Canada than rest of world. Also stated that some reforms on "shadow" lending were pushed through last year.
The man's on a decade-long mission to reform the financial system.
January 29th, 2012 at 1:57 pm
@Disbelief: Mike Holmes knows as much about the housing market as I know about electrical panels (which is nothing, and which is an example of what he should stick to).
January 29th, 2012 at 1:37 pm
The RBC Cash Back Mortgage could be ideal if you are a first-time home buyer with a minimum down payment of 5%.
How Much Cash Can You Get?
The amount of money you receive is based on the size and term of your mortgage-up to 7% of its value up to a maximum of $20,000.
http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/mortgages/cash-back-m…
Interesting. 5% down….up to 7% cash back? Didn't know these were out there.
January 29th, 2012 at 1:30 pm
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/85104485/
Carney Says Volcker Rule Could Disrupt Bond Trading
January 29th, 2012 at 1:15 pm
Mike Holmes quote is classic."In Canada the banks are more astute in that they don't lend more than the value of a home. That's what lead to the trouble in the U.S". That is exactly what the Canadian banks are doing lending way more than what the value of any home is worth. This fact will be proven.
This can be proven using the lowest level of homeownership. The trailer like the ones in mobile home parks scattered in the seedier neighbourhoods throughout the lower mainland. They CMV(current market value) is approximately $100k and for this you get to live in a parking lot paying $600/month and then one day you need to move the delapidated appendage.
The true market value of the mobile home if you look at a different location a little further south is $30,000.
Look at it yourself as the cost of everything is inflated from a tent in a parking lot to the palatial mansions in the British properties and everything in between.
This example should be a clear illustration even for the most simplistic bull.
January 29th, 2012 at 11:54 am
@patriotz: agree completely, I threw equities I the mix but my logic for them tanking is a resource crash from declining Asia demand as you point out. I’d keep away from any company that deals with rocks however oil still has a bright future IMO
January 29th, 2012 at 10:21 am
@Burbs Boy:
If you want to learn more about WW1 go to Ken Follet website the author of "Fall of Giants"
There is a delightful version of WW1 in it
The one good thing that came out of WW1was a big change in the class system in Britain and probably the rest of western world for example the working class and women got the right to vote
The smarter working class guys saw the incompetence of the upper class in the war and demanded a right to have a voice so as not to be used as cannon fodder for idiots
Ww1 was stupid to begin with and how the generals and most of the officers were beyond inept perhaps there descendants are buying Vancouver real estate now
January 29th, 2012 at 9:37 am
@DEFAULT NAME:
"Yes, and it’s amazing how you can totally ignore them and there’s absolutely nothing they can do about it."
Doesn't apply to me. I would have never done business with someone of this mindset to begin with.
I doubt you would understand.
January 29th, 2012 at 9:26 am
RE Lido by Bosa… Free 2 yrs strata fees incls free coffee every morning lol, maybe they will offer a free happy meal a day next door at rottin ronnys too!
January 29th, 2012 at 7:59 am
Richmond SFH already close to 1000.
http://vancouvermarketreports.com/intranetimages/…
January 29th, 2012 at 7:46 am
ok… getting drawn into non-RE stuff here so I will give it up after this. Certainly agree that WW1 was the least worthwhile however if you were in France or Belgium and the Germans came rolling in perhaps you might be thinking to yourself "I sure hope someone steps up to the plate here". Make no mistake that Germany could easily have taken France over the long term if not for British (and hence the joined at the hip Canadian) intervention. Certainly agree that it was without a doubt one of the largest wastes (on both sides really) in human history.
January 29th, 2012 at 7:31 am
Don't forget to register for the "Is the Chinese Money Coming?" webinar this Tuesday.
http://coughlinteam.com/index.php?fuseaction=cPag…
This will be an excellent way to find out if the Chinese money is coming, when the Chinese money is coming and how much Chinese money is coming.
And if you "have inside information on the Chinese Money" please call 778-374-3744.
January 29th, 2012 at 7:25 am
@Burbs Boy:
Actually read your history first. While I agree about the others, WW1 was a complete waste of lives.
It was an Imperial War between the Kaiser of Germany and the King of England. Ironically related (as they were to the Czar of Russia and most of the other Kings and Queens of Europe) Second and third cousins fighting each other.
It was a needless war that killed 9 Million mainly working class folk for no cause at all. i once heard Rex Murphy say that Canada came to age as a country due to their losses on the battlefields of WW1.
BS I would say. Farm boys dying by the thousands for the class system of mother England. Now the wars you mentioned have/had some apparent merit.
January 29th, 2012 at 7:11 am
#131,
bpom never leaves the basement cuz he needs breastfed every other hour.
January 29th, 2012 at 7:09 am
Yes PQW, that is part of the Canadian values. Forget about it at government levels…focus on the individual… I would bet that, when asked, the majority of Canadians would say that when others are oppressed that there is an ethical duty to do what can be done to try to remedy the situation. What to do is the challenging part. Sometimes there does not seem to be any other option other than violence. As a Canadian I am quite happy with the blood that is on our hands from WW1, WW2, Korea, Afganistan, and Libya. At least we tried to make things better rather than some who sit on the sidelines spouting off fancy phrases and rhetorical garbage.
January 29th, 2012 at 6:58 am
@Best place on meth:
Question: how many nights per year does BPOM actually leave his basement suite?
A) 2
B) 3
C) 4
D) 5
The answer is none of the above. He never leaves!
January 29th, 2012 at 6:39 am
jumpin in Says: "This verdict sends a clear message about Canadian values."
Are part of Cnd values fascistic bombing of civilians by canadian pilots from the distance in Afghanistan and Middle east???? you are the taxpayer jumpin and you have BLOOD on your hands
January 29th, 2012 at 5:52 am
"Another fine example of investor immigration:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/…..unday.html&quo…
This verdict sends a clear message about Canadian values.
Hopefully this will send a message to people who abuse their children and think it is accepted in Canada.
January 29th, 2012 at 4:32 am
@ LIDO, this offer doesn't include any flotation devices, sorry not interested!
January 29th, 2012 at 4:24 am
@VMD:
I wonder how much each latte that the concierge makes actually ends up costing the owners?
January 29th, 2012 at 3:53 am
@ReadyToPop: From the article:
My favourite weasel word duo: investor and speculator.
January 29th, 2012 at 3:40 am
Another fine example of investor immigration:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2012…
January 29th, 2012 at 2:46 am
@patriotz
No doubt about that. I wonder who the sources for the story were?
Def been no official announcements.
January 29th, 2012 at 2:41 am
@patriotz
No doubt about that. I wonder who the "sources" were?
January 29th, 2012 at 12:54 am
@VMD:
What an amusing picture from the LIDO in attempt to sell lifestyle.
http://www.vancouver-real-estate-direct.com/blog/…
Question: how many nights per year in Vancouver is it actually warm enough to sit by the pool after sunset?
A) 2
B) 3
C) 4
D) 5
January 28th, 2012 at 11:49 pm
@patriotz: Agreed, there are attempts to produce a "soft landing" nation-wide. Given the disparity in affordability that requires different rules for different regions, something they seem unwilling to entertain in public.
My guess is the DoF is under extreme pressure to do both more and less by competing lobbies. The words from the BoC signal heavily Flaherty is no longer cooperating like he did last year.
January 28th, 2012 at 11:44 pm
The heavily advertised "Lido" condo by Bosa is offering the following to the first 100 buyers
1. one free full-sized storage locker
2. 2 years worth of condo fees waived
3. one free Apple TV
http://www.vancouver-real-estate-direct.com/buzz/…
January 28th, 2012 at 11:01 pm
@Some Guy:
Debt servitude is the new black.
January 28th, 2012 at 9:12 pm
@chilled: "Hey, did any of you real estate aficionados know that an east van basement suite can now command “from $3000 to $4500″”
That fact is widely known at your local hydroponic supply store.
January 28th, 2012 at 8:12 pm
@ReadyToPop:
"More mortgage rules planned if housing market gets too hot"
If?
“None of this is happening just yet. The housing market has slowed down and the government wants to see what will happen next,” said one source. “If the spring market picks up, then we will see more changes to the rules.”
And here's the real story. The Cons just want to keep the balls in the air. If Vancouver or Toronto appear to be peaking in the next few months, expect no changes. They want the decline to be a slow as possible.
January 28th, 2012 at 4:48 pm
@chilled:
South van river view? Let me guess – your "penthouse" is on the 4th floor?
January 28th, 2012 at 1:47 pm
A new round of mortgage rules from Ottawa could include tough new measures for calculating how the self-employed qualify for loans and tighten regulations for condominium buyers, according to two separate sources.
More mortgage rules planned if housing market gets too hot
January 28th, 2012 at 12:33 pm
@chilled: ..It’s amazing what they can do to legally collect a legitimate debt. ….
Yes, and it's amazing how you can totally ignore them and there's absolutely nothing they can do about it.
January 28th, 2012 at 12:31 pm
@DEFAULT NAME: …Another Saturday night spent alone in the basement throwing around the racist slurs. Same as Friday night. A sad life….
Yes, you should get out more. There's a whole world out there!
January 28th, 2012 at 11:52 am
Interesting, perhaps the gov't might tighten mortgage rules again soon this year. Possibly 30 to 25yrs, or increase DP from 5% to 7.5 or 10%. See here:
http://www.canadianmortgagetrends.com/canadian_mo…
January 28th, 2012 at 11:51 am
@Best place on meth:
"Hey, did any of you real estate aficionados know that an east van basement suite can now command “from $3000 to $4500″"
I'm in. As soon as I can cancel my lease on my riverview south van penthouse at a whopping $1000 a month I'm calling about that basement!!!!!!
January 28th, 2012 at 11:05 am
@Yalie:
"Debt collection agencies are the lowest of the low……………"
Unless, of course, you have been unjustifiably stiffed by a deadbeat. When I was self employed I used an agency a couple of times. It's amazing what they can do to legally collect a legitimate debt.
January 28th, 2012 at 10:54 am
@Best place on meth:
Another Saturday night spent alone in the basement throwing around the racist slurs. Same as Friday night. A sad life.
January 28th, 2012 at 10:52 am
@cgh:
According to her biography, It's master of computer science..
January 28th, 2012 at 10:23 am
@cgh:
I'm sure some seedy office in Beijing makes knockoffs of US college diplomas much like everything else that country copies, steals and fakes.
January 28th, 2012 at 10:08 am
@chip: "Because I’m a naturally curious fellow and had a few minutes on a Saturday morning, I did some googling. Her LinkedIn profile lists the university as Southeastern. This is a small “Christ-centered” college in Florida that only offers MBAs as an evening or online course."
Well done. I'd love to know what her "MS" is in, coming from a Christian college. I'll bet it's not biology.
January 28th, 2012 at 7:35 am
"Never imagined you'd be 35, married with two kids, and working a job you can't stand in a town you once vowed to leave? Then this 3-bedroom, 2.5-bath suburban monument to averageness is for you! Easy access to strip malls, chain restaurants, and charming walking trails for quiet sobbing." – Best, truthful ad around….
http://www.theonion.com/articles/the-art-of-compr…
January 28th, 2012 at 6:25 am
@YLTN @ Work:
You've just said that a Canadian RE bust would make the non-RE and non-consumer sectors more competitive (which I agree with), so I don't see why that's a reason not to be in Canadian equities.
I'm a lot more concerned about the effect that the Chinese RE bust will (no longer may) have on Canadian exporters.
January 28th, 2012 at 5:57 am
@jumpin in: the thing is, crashing real estate in the US took banks down with the crash. Here in good 'ol Canada, we will still have a crash as any asset bubble inevitably crashes however I don't think banks will get taken down. I think a crash will improve our economy as we will need to print money to bail pit CMHC which will devalue the loonie and make Canadian manufacturers more competitive.
The key in my mind is not to have anything tied up in Canadian assets: houses, bonds, or equities.
January 28th, 2012 at 5:50 am
"why the media never contact this blog? why would they wanna waste their times with a bunch of whiners?"
why do you?……