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Friday Free-for-all!

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186 Comments

Friday means free-for-all time!  Let’s do our regular end of the week news round up and open topic discussion thread.  Here are a few links to kick off the chat:

–b5baxter latest updated inventory graph
–..also new: the bubble-o-meter
–Property sales dip in Van and Fraser Valley
–Vancouver most expensive city in North America
–New American dream is renting to get rich
–Investing in a low interest rate environment
–Is it time to change how we measure CPI?
–Toronto condo bubble tops New York in risk
–Americans growing more optimistic on economy

So what are you seeing out there? Post your news links, thoughts and anecdotes here and have an excellent weekend!

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Curt Chhon

I was able to find good info from your blog articles.

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Best place on meth

Lots of listings today.

Could be a big one.

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Anonymous

@McLovin: Funny how they go by asking price and not the actual selling price.

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McLovin

Average asking prices in the U.K. capital rose 2.5 percent from January to 449,252 pounds ($710,300)

And this how much less than Vancouver???

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Anonymous

want affordable housing? move to ottawa like some loser did. hahaha

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patriotz

@Groggins:

"if prices drop, people who buy lose actuall money not just imaginary money."

Not necessarily – if buying is cheaper than renting, a buyer will eventually come out ahead even if prices fall to zero.

But if buying is more expensive than renting, the buyer will be behind even if prices stay flat.

The point is that you make or lose money from an asset (as opposed to from the next buyer) when you buy it rather than when you sell it, which is the opposite of what almost everyone believes.

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Groggins

@CrashMahArse: Why wait til may? Prices are only going up, buy now while its cheap!

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Groggins

@CrashMahArse: Isn't it easy to make an argument if you can just state things as fact and not have to back anything up? It sure is a good thing that salaries continue to inflate, since they've dropped since the 70s.

Congratulations on being so sure that prices will be higher in 5 years. People that don't buy 'miss out' on gains if prices rise, whereas if prices drop, people who buy lose actuall money not just imaginary money.

Good luck to ya! Hope your leveraging up as much as possible and buying everything you possibly can. It's practically free money!

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CrashMahArse

@Makaya:

Hahhaa…..I'm not getting nervous. I'm looking to load up more properties in May.

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Makaya

@CrashMahArse: Getting nervous? Need reassurance and comfort? Problems to sell your property? Too much debt?

If you have a hard to sleep, we can discuss it here and try help you…

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CrashMahArse

The problem with the people here hoping for a crash is that in 5 years time, property prices will be higher than what it is today. Interest rates will remain low, salary continues to inflate, meaning more people with more money.

The same people here that were bickering in 2008 about a crash are still renting and have missed out an easy 25-30% increase in property prices. A house in Vancouver west which was only 1.2million in 2008 is now worth almost 2million. Will this trend continue? No doubt it will, but not at such a great amount but nevertheless, the house that is listed for 2 million today will be easily worth 2.5 million in 5 years.

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Eddie

@patriotz: Amazing home in Blaine… But you can get this for only 5 times the price and it's just up the road: http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?proper…

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Anonymous

@fixie guy: …..Kids in Oz are gifted $30k/year? You know it’s a bubble when newspapers print this lunacy outside April 1. …

It does make one wonder: are people really this dumb in Auz? Or, are there really dumb people in Auz that thing everyone else is as dumb as they are?

I mean really, why not cut out the kibble and by a house for your dog, or your parrot, or pet rock, or coffee mug?

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Anonymous

@Best place on meth: ….The prospect of 20 years of “home slavery” is not a good way to start a marriage.”….

Could have been worse: he might have married a Realtor – he'd face 20 years of slavery with only one if them working.

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Tony

, how about Elgin Chantrell?

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fixie guy

rp1 Says: "Should your children own property?"

From the article:"So there is nothing stopping parents or family pooling their combined birthday and Christmas money for the kids and buying a property for them instead. What better gift than to have a home virtually paid off by the time they move out?"

Kids in Oz are gifted $30k/year? You know it's a bubble when newspapers print this lunacy outside April 1.

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patriotz

@gordholio:

And literally across the road half a mil gets you a country estate:

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3196-H-Street-R…

Don't do you much good unless you pull a Randy Bachman though.

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patriotz

@Clockbike:

"What is MOI and how is it calculated?"

Both are the same question. Total number of listings divided by the number of sales in the last month.

What it isn't is a measure of how long the average property that does sell takes to sell. What it is is a measure of how many sellers are asking above market.

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Anonymous

@Makaya:

North Van is special.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9YZc5PMibE

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Clockbike

Makaya, I must ask the obvious question. What is MOI and how is it calculated?

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Makaya

@Makaya: Forgot to mention. The MOI #s in my previous message are for SFH only (except for Van West Condo obviously). Fish says that #s for attached and condos are far worse in all areas than SFH.

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Makaya

Well, HAM might be coming again this year after all… China’s Anti-Social Financing New total social finance – a measure that includes bank loans, off balance sheet lending and funds raised through the bond and equity markets – fell 45% compared to a year ago. That’s even sharper than the 29% fall in bank loans reported earlier in the month. The data shows that off balance sheet activity continues to grow – with trust loans creeping up. But in 2010 and the first half of 2011, surging off balance sheet activity was enough to compensate for the fall in bank loans. Now it is the fall in bank loans that is the dominant factor. A hopeful interpretation is that Beijing is getting serious about cracking down on a credit bubble that has swelled to worrying proportions. The ratio of outstanding… Read more »

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vangrl

"how low can the RE pumpers get? Pathetic…"

pretty low, turns out the woman quoted (Vickie Zemelman) in this story could actually be a realtor: http://life.nationalpost.com/2012/02/17/street-sm…
http://www.nationalpost.com/Yorkville/6173580/sto…

her link?
http://www.homezilla.ca/RealEstateAgent/Ontario/T…

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gordholio

#15, Tony: Dude, I can help you. You can't buy a decent SFH anywhere in any of those areas for less that a half million dollars. Indeed, there are virtually NO homes priced under the magical $500,000 mark. In our area (extreme South Surrey, between the Pacific and Peace Arch border crossings), they're ripping down forest and bush and building houses like madmen. (Seriously, there were at least three Open House signs today on almost *every* corner), yet not one of these houses are priced under $650,000. And for that, you get a townhouse-styled home (read: exceptionally narrow) on a postage stamp lot. But remember, with no backyard there's less maintenance *and* a wonderful view into the kitchens and bedrooms of at least a dozen of your closest neighbours. Meanwhile, we rent a rancher in the very same area for… Read more »

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