Vancouver Condo Info

225 Responses to “Friday Free-for-all!”

Aleksey Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 12:12 am 1

Just watched a Margin Call http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1615147/
Highly recommend for all bulls out there. Bears should watch it too.

Hot debate. What do you think? 10  2

CanuckDownUnder Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 4:10 am 2

Remember when Australia brought in tough new rules to crack down on foreigners buying property? Here’s a rather interesting piece regarding the Foreign Investment Review Board. It turns out we still don’t know (or aren’t allowed to know) what kind of impact foreign money is having on the RE market in Australia:

http://smh.domain.com.au/home-investor-centre/blogs/domain-investor-centre-blog/foreign-investment-dont-ask-dont-tell-dont-know-20121020-27yk7.html

Among the choice bits:

“The eight censored (and blank) pages I received indicate FIRB has not initiated any compliance investigations or activities relating to temporary residents since the foreign investment rules were tightened.”

“As for FIRB holding any information about checks on whether temporary residents were, in fact, selling up when they left the country, the regulator stated: ‘no documents have been found that would fall within the terms…of the request. I refuse access to documents on the grounds that no documents exist’.”

“In the 19 months between the Labor government’s self-declared crackdown and my FOI application no investigation into the activities of temporary residents seem to have been launched.”

Meanwhile the market here appears to have stumbled again after a few months of growth. Although the local property “experts” were scrambling to declare the start of the next boom, it wasn’t hard to see that the rush to grab expiring first home owner grants before October 1 was driving the market. It looks like prices will be down around 1% in Sydney this month.

Hot debate. What do you think? 19  0

BLISTINGAGENT Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 6:39 am 3

Bob Rennie advertisement from 1978: http://ow.ly/i/13eXd

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 34  3

patriotz Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 6:43 am 4

Billions in Hidden Riches for Family of Chinese Leader

Many relatives of Wen Jiabao, including his son, daughter, younger brother and brother-in-law, have become extraordinarily wealthy during his leadership, an investigation by The New York Times shows. A review of corporate and regulatory records indicates that the prime minister’s relatives — some of whom, including his wife, have a knack for aggressive deal making — have controlled assets worth at least $2.7 billion

Being corrupt doesn’t get you into trouble in China, just being corrupt without playing the big guys’ rules.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 55  5

kinky Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 6:52 am 5

@Aleksey
Is it good quality movie?

Like or Dislike: 0  0

Anonymous Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 7:01 am 6

@patriotz: “Being corrupt doesn’t get you into trouble in China, just being corrupt without playing the big guys’ rules.”

Wow those Chinese leaders have more money than Brian Mulroney. At least we know Mulroney got his money the honest way like in a brown paper bag. The same way Bill Vanderzalm got his money.

Hot debate. What do you think? 25  12

Makaya Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 7:40 am 7

@patriotz:

And it’s not just him…

Flood of cash being smuggled out of China, raising economic risks: study

Chinese investors evaded government controls to move more than $600-billion out of the country last year and the outflow is increasing, fuelling economic and political risks as communist leaders prepare for a handover of power, a Washington-based monitoring group says.
(…)
The study “raises serious questions about the stability of the Chinese economy,” the group said in a statement.

“The social, political, and economic order is not sustainable in the long-run given such massive illicit outflows,” said Dev Kar, the group’s chief economist and a co-author of the report, in the statement.
(…)
Some of the outflow also might be the proceeds of bribe-taking and other government corruption. Stories of officials who move their families and ill-gotten assets abroad are so common that Chinese Internet users have coined a name for them – “naked officials.”
(…)
Global Financial Integrity said 86 per cent of the money moved abroad, or $3.2-trillion, was moved out of China through “trade misinvoicing,” under which Chinese companies arrange with foreign suppliers to overcharge for imported goods and deposit the extra money abroad.(…)

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 32  2

boogeybear Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 8:09 am 8

Will Tsur Sommerville forever be known as the the only economic prof. who didn’t see the “bust” coming?

Over the long term, property values are set by the local residents. Short term aberrations to the market may occur due to outside forces, but their effect can never be sustained.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 27  0

N Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 8:16 am 9

The real worry about China is not so much the corruption itself or the outflow of cash but what existence of corruption on that scale tells us about the efficiency of the market, the capacity of the market to select for merit and the allocation of resources. Money is being created and spent for all the wrong reasons and the result is a house of cards.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 43  0

bubbly Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 8:20 am 10

@Makaya: Majority of the $600bn funnelled out of China came from Chinese “public servants” (beautiful orwellian name for a bureaucrat). Outside of China, these people can pose as successful entrepreneurs and laugh at stupid locals who just don’t know how it’s done.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 49  1

painted turtle Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 8:27 am 11

CBC: to become the next Chinese Prime Minister you need:
1) a father who is a high rank official
2) to pretend you are humble and have no craving for power
3) to pretend you are poor, so give all your money to family members.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 32  1

vanpire Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 8:28 am 12

@bubbly:
Do they also bring their ways, together with their monies?
And how does this change the game for the rest of us?
You know, like buying driver’s licenses… or Canadian Citizenship for that matter… and not just real estate.
I find it hard to believe that they turn into honest, hardworking people the moment they land on this soil.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 45  4

More Data Please Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 8:31 am 13

@Anonymous: re: “brown paper bag”

I voted you down because your comparison is way off. Want an example? Think Conrad Black. His arrogant pilfering ass got thrown in the can when he got caught. He owes millions in fines to boot.

In China/Russia/etc if you get caught, it depends on who you are working for. At the very worst, the government simply rewrites the law to allow the particular type of theft. Most of the time though, the perpetrator simply invokes threats of violence, confiscation of property, or offers to pay the standard bribe. “Hostile takeover” has the literal meaning in these jurisdictions. They don’t use money, they use guns.

It is sickening that we are going to have an investment deal on the books in a few days with China that will infect our economy with this disease. The China Canada FIPA should not go forward without (at a minimum) precisely written standards to the effect that unlawful enrichment, bribery, and fraudulent accounting will be throroughly investigated and prosecuted to Western standards.

Sadly, the day may come in Vancouver when it won’t matter that the 22 year old princeling has no insurance or even plates for his Lambo. Police won’t even bother pulling him over And if the punk kills somebody, police will be expected to cover it up!

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 73  5

painted turtle Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 8:35 am 14

@N say

I recently became really concerned when I discovered that
1) We import a lot of food from China, especially apples, strawberries, fish, tea, garlic (see http://www.made-in-china.com/products/catlist/listsubcat/105/00/mic/Agriculture_Food.html)

2) I cannot trust Chinese food inspector because of corruption.
3) Supermarkets in Sanghai for rich Chinese only sell imported food, nothing made in China.
4) A product packed in Canada using food grown in China can be labelled Made in Canada. The WTO does not allow consumer to track the origin of the products.
5) Companies know consumers do not want to eat food from China, so they came up with many tricks to hide the facts.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 66  2

clu Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 8:41 am 15

More Data Please Says: ” Conrad Black. arrogant pilfering ass got thrown in the can when he got caught. He owes millions in fines to boot.”

what are you talking about. Canada gave convicted criminal a CITIZENSHIP back!! he published a book, he is on the tour, gives interviews, Canada made him a celebrity, very soon he will get a medal for that..order of Canada or something like that
he only went to jail, and in the US (NOT IN CANADA) because he fleeced the more powerful then him. that is the only reason he went to jail. otherwise he would be free like the rest of corporate olygarchy from the wall and bay street.

Hot debate. What do you think? 26  9

tulips Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 8:47 am 16

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

again patriotz post his favorite Chinese bashing post and hijack the topic of the day away from real estate the guy has some mental issues..

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 8  28

Aleksey Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 9:09 am 17

@kinky:
Yes. It’s about how last financial crisis started (Holywood vision though).
Basically, tt shows that bulls sometimes MUST become bears.
It has a good rating on IMDB and a lot of wins and nominations too.

Like or Dislike: 6  0

Aleksey Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 9:16 am 18

@More Data Please:

You are so right. It sounds impossible for locals but that’s the way things are in these countries.

Like or Dislike: 4  0

psst Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 9:25 am 19

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

More Data Please Says: ” written standards to the effect that unlawful enrichment, bribery, and fraudulent accounting will be throroughly investigated and prosecuted to Western standards.”

you mean like banks robo-signing mortgages, Corizne, insider trading among the congress members and etc that were prosecuted.
you are fuking brainwashed

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 8  20

Crikey Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 9:27 am 20

@N:
“The real worry about China is not so much the corruption itself or the outflow of cash…”

Let’s face it, Canada has corruption too. Every country does. It is human nature. Just recently, Christy Clark’s husband was given a high-salary position that he didn’t have to compete for — until the news broke, and that job was then reconsidered.

That is the important difference: we have an open and free media which can reports these things, thus ensuring the proper backlash and rules. Our checks and balances come largely due to our free society and media. China, on the other hand, has blocked the NY Times website because it dares to report on their leader’s family’s mysterious sudden riches. (Shhhh… nothing to see here, lowly peasant citizen! And don’t you dare report it to others or we have a cold jail cell for you!)

In that way, China’s accountability is constantly highly suspect, and as a result highly inferior — not only in government issues, but safety issues as well. China’s accountability in anything and everything is a sad, sad joke. Until China’s people and media are free to report and discuss anything, you trust things from China at your own risk.

This makes me wonder, how long will it be until bribes and corruptions become a more widespread problem in Vancouver? In a local (Vancouver) population with a significant proportion of wealthy people that have arrived recently from a country with a high level of corruption, it is only natural that there will be a transition period for those people.

Again, yes Canada has always had corruption, but we have checks and balances (namely, public shame via media). I wonder if all new Canadians will all understand that right away?

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 67  4

an observer Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 9:31 am 21

Philip Chan (google him if you don’t know who he is) has apparently decided that showcasing the FIAT 500 instead of the Kits duplex is the way to go – main display image is now of the car, not the house:

http://www.realtylink.org/prop_search/Detail.cfm?MLS=V969843

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 42  0

lsd Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 9:32 am 22

@Crickey
are we talking about same media that allowed to be shamefully bought/bribed whatever by developers and RE industry in the last 20 years? Hmmm

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 34  0

vangrl Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 9:35 am 23

“The prime minister’s supporters say he has not personally benefited from his extended family’s business dealings, and may not even be knowledgeable about the extent of them. ”

totally….

Hot debate. What do you think? 17  2

Anonymous Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 9:37 am 24

@Crikey:
The next Party Boss’s sister living in Vancouver West and her net assess is worth more than 10 billion RMB.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 33  0

Anonymous Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 9:40 am 25

@painted turtle:
Usually Chinese Food are brightly colored with chemical.

Hot debate. What do you think? 8  3

Not much of a name... Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 9:57 am 26

@painted turtle: Just to play devil’s advocate, have you not heard of XL Foods or how about Maple Leaf??? Apparently our Canadian food inspection is somewhat suspect too. Give it a rest.

Hot debate. What do you think? 25  9

Anura Femur Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 10:03 am 27

@painted turtle:

“CBC: to become the next Chinese Prime Minister you need:
1) a father who is a high rank official
2) to pretend you are humble and have no craving for power
3) to pretend you are poor, so give all your money to family members.”

Sounds like our own over hyped former high-school teacher, Justin Trudeau.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 28  7

lsd Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 10:05 am 28

@Not much of a name.

ha-ha, yes good old XL contaminated meat …anybody went to jail? NOT a chance.
Whole country can’t eat beef because XL has cornered 75% of the market ..talk about monopoly..

and on the top of all that they sold it in the fast move to the foreign entity. so foreigners are now controlling 75% of our beef production.

Hot debate. What do you think? 15  3

Patiently Waiting Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 10:05 am 29

@painted turtle: “We import a lot of food from China”

I was in an Italian deli recently, and looked closely at a jar of pickled vegetables. Lo and behold, “Made in China”. They weren’t even hiding it, probably because nobody would expect it. This was a common brand name in the store (can’t remember the exact name, it was like “Europe’s Finest” or something just as ironic), so I checked other products of that brand. They were all “Made in China”. A few weeks later, I was at another European deli that had the same products.

Don’t assume your “gourmet” food is anything special. Read the labels.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 46  1

jojo Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 10:08 am 30

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

painted turtle
do you eat Canadian Beef? good luck to you. you brainwashed idiot.

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 6  17

silverfish city Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 10:29 am 31

Hmm, looks like the 50-centers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_Cent_Party) have shown up, as they do on all message boards that criticise China. Notice the busted English and the new usernames. Fun stuff!

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 40  4

G Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 10:34 am 32

@an observer:

Anyone wants to predict what price will Philip chan sell his townhouse eventually?

Hot debate. What do you think? 13  0

T Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 10:35 am 33

@Turtle

The CFIA allowed the “made in Canada” term because the wine industry was complaining. They couldn’t bottle their imported grape juice as made in Canada and petitioned to have it changed.

I believe “product of Canada” hasn’t been changed yet and still means 100% Canadian production line.

Coffee beans are the biggest example of this flaw. Coffee beans can’t be grown outdoors in Canada but yet, almost every brand is labelled “Made in Canada”.

Hot debate. What do you think? 14  0

Not much of a name... Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 10:49 am 34

@silverfish city: I’m as white as they come. It just needed to be pointed out that there are the exact same issues within our own borders.

Hot debate. What do you think? 9  7

lsd Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 10:54 am 35

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

@silverfish city

I am white as well, though not Canadian born. I am sick and tired of direction of this board.

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 6  19

asalvari1 Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 11:05 am 36

@an observer:

Uh isn’t 1,348,000 kinda expensive for fiat ? They used to be cheaper…

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 30  0

Bailing in BC Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 11:15 am 37

@T:

I just bought some olive oil from Tunisia because it was the cheapest extra virgin I could find. I don’t waste money on the stuff labeled “Product of Italy” because the olives are not grown or pressed in Italy (and for all I know not bottled there either). Italy barely produces enough oil for it’s own consumption. If I’m going to be buying oil from Nth Africa I don’t want to pay an Italian premium. This type of labeling is very deceptive

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 31  1

Domocrass Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 11:17 am 38

@Crikey:

“Let’s face it, Canada has corruption too.”

This is the stupidest comment of the day.

Do you really think that Canadian public servants can come anywhere remotely close to taking $600 billion? Or even one billion? Even $100 million is outlandish to expect for Canada. What about even $20 millino for Canada? I don’t even belive that.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 46  12

Morris Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 11:27 am 39

@Patiently Waiting:

Does made in Italy make it any better?

Just buy local.

Hot debate. What do you think? 6  5

boogeybear Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 11:27 am 40

Reading everyone’s comments about the millionaire Chinese immigrants. I don’t know if I would want to live near one. Someday, someone from mainland China is going to show up at their door and want the money back. And I don’t want to be around when the bullets start flying.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 40  5

logic Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 11:28 am 41

@boogeybear:

Will Tsur Sommerville forever be known as the the only economic prof. who didn’t see the “bust” coming?”

Remember that Tsur is NOT an economist. He is a Real Estate prof in a Business School, a very different beast than en Economist.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 38  0

M- Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 11:43 am 42

With regards to Maple Leaf Foods, that didn’t happen due to government corruption– it happened because new government regulations (aimed at reducing government expenditures) reduced oversight at Maple Leaf Foods, a private company. A few weeks later, the listeriosis outbreak occurred. Oops, looks like we can’t trust that company to police itself– evidently, as soon as government inspectors were out of the place, they cut back on maintaining sanitary facilities. I haven’t heard any allegations of government corruption or bribery associated with MLF.

With XL Foods, we know that they had deficient cleaning/sanitary practices. Beyond that, we don’t know to what extent the failures were incompetence, intentional cutbacks, or bribery of government inspectors (if that even happened). And I’ll point out that now that an incident occurred, it’s not like there’s any cover-up going on– it’s fully in the public eye, their operating license was pulled right away, and over a million pounds of meat have been disposed of by XL. You can bet that XL, much like MLF, will undergo a major company-wide shift in attitudes– they can’t ever let something like this happen again, or criminal liability could hit the company’s officers & directors.

In China, don’t forget this is a country where *government* dairies (as well as private dairies) watered down milk and added melamine to fool tests into showing that the milk wasn’t watered down. Far worse that not sufficiently cleaning their equipment, these required *intentional* acts from dairy personnel to deliberately dilute and put toxins in the milk.

I work for a government-owned company in Vancouver. We take safety very seriously– there’s no incentive to *anybody* here to do things in an unsafe manner, or in a manner that might endanger public safety. There have been incidents that have happened here over the years, but all have resulted either from a single employee’s ignorance/incompetence/laziness, or defects in equipment supplied to us. None have been intentional.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 30  1

Anonymous Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 11:53 am 43

@Morris: “Just buy local.”

Yep, global village. The world is local.

Like or Dislike: 1  5

FlipFlop Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 11:55 am 44

RE XL Meats and Maple Leaf Foods:

This is a perfect example of the difference between Canada and Chine. These issues were not swept under the rug; they were dealt with (and very publicly at that).

Fines have likely been levied, and given that there was no intent, I don’t think anyone should be going to jail for these issues.

I’d be more concerned with the health of the cows, than the processing facility. Most of the meat coming out of that plant is grain fed cattle. For those who are unaware, cows were never meant to eat grains. In fact, it makes them quite unhealthy. The goal of the farmer is to fatten the cow up enough on grain, before it drops dead from being fed grain (so, you’re eating an animal that was about to die from being so unhealthy; YUM). One top of that, they stick a pill in the cows ear that screws with its hormone levels to increases the feed efficiency (meaning they gain more weight from less calories). This is stored in the fat and consumed by you and me (well not me really), meaning WE gain more weight from fewer calories.

Go grass fed, and tell your local MP that we need to abolish the Canadian Dairy Board. Canadians deserve access to grass fed butter and milk, and unpasteurized and un-homogenized dairy as well.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 25  2

VMD Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 12:02 pm 45

Not sure if this had been posted yet:
Kenney defends bid for power to block foreigners
Oct 25, 2012
Bill would allow minister to bar foreigners from entering Canada for ‘public policy’ reasons

The power is contained in the contentious new Bill C-43, dubbed the Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act, which would also create stiffer terms for the deportation of non-citizens who commit crimes in Canada.

The guidelines stipulate the immigration minister could bar:

1.People who promote terrorism, violence or criminal activity.
2.Corrupt foreign officials
3.Foreign nationals from countries against which Canada has imposed sanctions.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 57  1

Crikey Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 12:13 pm 46

@Domocrass:
“This is the stupidest comment of the day.
Do you really think that Canadian public servants can come anywhere remotely close to taking $600 billion?”

Thank you for your knee-jerk reply to the first sentence in my post.
In fact, I invite you to actually read my entire original post – you might learn something.

I start my post stressing that all races and cultures are susceptible to bribery — to emphasize that this is not an issue that can be taken as a racist or discriminatory one. And if you don’t think that some people are otherwise going to scream “racism!” at any criticism of Chinese culture, you should lay off your crack pipe.

If you had read my entire original post, you would have seen that I then credit our freedoms as the reason that our society is far, far less corrupt than China’s.

Make no mistake, if our media and freedoms were as tightly controlled by government as they are in China, yes public servants would be taking billions.

Hot debate. What do you think? 19  4

Crikey Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 12:22 pm 47

@lsd:
“are we talking about same media that allowed to be shamefully bought/bribed whatever by developers”

I do hold our local media in contempt for being largely reporting on real estate interests for the last couple of decades, and cheerleading the Vancouver-is-best snobbery/illusion ad nauseum.

That said, imagine BC without a Vancouver Sun or Province newspaper, or major TV news organization. How would the big public interest stories get out, such that there is a proper public backlash? (eg. Christy Clark’s husband being handed a high-paying job).

Sure, there are lots of local blogs, but do any of them have the critical mass of readership required to actually make somebody care about a story of corruption being reported?

Major media organizations are definitely flawed in their reporting. And I won’t be surprised if/when most major media organizations in their current form fail. But I wonder if/how a very fragmented web/blogosphere can take their place… to keep our leaders/government/businesses accountable.

Hot debate. What do you think? 13  1

Anonymous Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 12:24 pm 48

Breaking News

Moody’s is placing 6 Canadian banks on review for downgrade. The 6 banks under review are Bank of Montreal, Scotiabank, Desjardins, CIBC, National Bank and TD Bank.

http://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-places-Canadian-banks-on-review-for-downgrade–PR_258611?lang=en&cy=can

Oh yeah, and Royal Bank is being subpoened by the States of New York and Connecticut in the LIBOR case. Sounds like a stormy day for Canadian banks.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 32  0

Anonymous Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 12:31 pm 49

From the Globe and Mail:

Moody’s reviews 6 Canadian banks, could downgrade

“Rating agency Moody’s Investors Service is reviewing the long-term ratings of six Canadian banks and cautioning the public that the financial institutions could be downgraded…The rating agency is now reviewing the other banks because they “face challenges not fully captured in their current ratings,” including concerns about consumer debt levels, housing prices, macro-economic risks and the weight of their capital markets divisions within their business mix.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/moodys-reviews-6-canadian-banks-could-downgrade/article4687294/

Hot debate. What do you think? 10  0

Yalie Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 12:47 pm 50

@lsd:

I am white as well, though not Canadian born. I am sick and tired of direction of this board.

For the millionth time, why is it so hard to see that criticizing someone who happens to be Chinese is different from criticizing someone because they are Chinese? Do you think, for example, that VMD is a self-hating anti-Chinese racist? I don’t. I think he posts stories about corrupt “communist” billionaires from China because he would prefer that immigrants who come to Canada be hard working, ethical, and honest, regardless of which country they come from. These corrupt douche bags are none of those things, and contribute nothing to Canada other than raising the price of west side houses. I think we can survive without that particular “benefit”.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 57  1

VMD Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 12:50 pm 51

@Anonymous:
re: the potential cdn bank downgrades, it’s also interesting to note that:
“Moody’s said it will also consider the removal of government support from the ratings of the institutions, a move that would have significant negative implications on the country’s major lenders which have traditionally enjoyed an implicit promise of rescue by the state if ever they got into serious trouble.”

- removal of CMHC guarantee from ratings of Canadian Banks? fun times ahead.
http://business.financialpost.com/2012/10/26/six-canadian-banks-on-review-for-moodys-downgrade/

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 22  0

rksleung Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 12:55 pm 52

http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2012/09/central-london-property-bubbles-again/

When will the London bubble burst?

Of particular interest is that the premium areas in London are up a lot more than the average area. The reason is none so other than the rich is getting richer. This is in large part due to the loose monetary policy around the world. Right? If you are a buddy to a bankers, do you think you will be more likely to get hold of 1%-2% interest large-sum loans? Or if you have connections to those officials, more insider info about where a re-zone will be happen?

Given that loose monetary policy is here to stay, the rich will get richer, right? Does that mean those Premium real estate in London like Kennsington, Knightsbridge, etc will just be bid up forever? Thanks. Please critique my logic.

Hot debate. What do you think? 12  0

G Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 1:08 pm 53

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

@Yalie:
People here are not racist. They just dislike rich people. Some Chinese immigrants happen to be wealthy and that bother them.

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 2  25

Veni Vidi Vci Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 1:13 pm 54

@G: Odd but true fact: many people actually make the distinction between wealth gained legitimately and that gained through corruption.

The latter not viewed as positively as the former.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 33  0

space889 Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 1:24 pm 55

Interest tidbit in this ZH article – 75% of foreign purchases in Miami is done by Canadians…wonder how those people feel about HCM that comes in buy up their town and leaving the houses empty for most of the year, and don’t contribute anything to the local economy. Hmm…just like people here complaining about HAM.

http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2012-10-26/modern-day-feudal-system-real-estate

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 29  3

jesse Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 1:27 pm 56

@G: “Chinese immigrants happen to be wealthy and that bother them.”

In a nutshell, what I think bothers many is that residents are unable to own their country’s land without incurring substantial debt. Land is there to be used to, ultimately, generate economic output. When that gets shorted out, people are going to feel they don’t have admittance in their own country.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 32  6

Bag it and tag it Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 1:35 pm 57

@space889:
Most canadian that I know, that bought in The States, renovate the place, then rent it out using an American property management company. The reno’s and maintenance is all done by Americans. Nobody I know is letting their place sit vacant.

Hot debate. What do you think? 17  1

Rocky Balboa Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 1:50 pm 58

@Bag it and tag it : “The reno’s and maintenance is all done by Americans.”

yeah right, what a BS, his name is Jose and speak 5 words of English and pays taxes on time. Only Canadians can be so naive.

Hot debate. What do you think? 9  16

tonic Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 1:54 pm 59

jesse: “In a nutshell, what I think bothers many is that residents are unable to own their country’s land without incurring substantial debt. ”

but even in Saskatoon, Calgary, Winnipeg you would have incur substantial debt.

Hot debate. What do you think? 5  11

VMD Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 1:58 pm 60

On headlines of several Chinese media:
“All Canadian banks will introduce new mortgage rules by November 1st, 2012”
- OSFI will require lenders to limit maximum LTV ratios of “nonconforming residential mortgages” (eg. Self-employed without adequate income verification) to 65%, meaning the borrowers will need to put >35% down payment.
- New immigrants will be impacted due to inadequate income documentation, which looks at average income of the last 2 years.
- (Previously new immigrants were required to put down 30% DP)
- HELOC LTV limitations will be implemented by Nov 1st as well.

IMO, the new CMHC/OSFI rules implemented in 2012-H2, together with ongoing global & local economic uncertainties (potential Cdn bank downgrades, BC/GVA unemployment rate, China slowdown, Euro crisis), are all variables that can negatively impact 2013 sales.

New immigration rules and restrictions (and Kenney’s not done yet), population aging (first wave of boomers hitting 67 years old in 2013), and ongoing inter-provincial population outflow (Jesse has all the details) will also impact demand in the coming years.

Also, MSMs have just started becoming more bearish this summer. Ian Watt bearish in September, Tsur Somerville in October. These are all strong negative predictors of investor confidence ; )

Projecting 2013 sales as equal to 2012 might be on the optimistic side..

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 58  0

Anonymous Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 2:05 pm 61

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

@Yalie: “For the millionth time, why is it so hard to see that criticizing someone who happens to be Chinese is different from criticizing someone because they are Chinese?”

We see most of the latter around here. Please let me know how the original post regarding a Chinese leader being worth billions is relevant to Vancouver real estate? I think you would find most of the dictators around the world are worth a lot of money but around here people only seem to focus on one race. That would be criticizing someone because they are Chinese IMO.

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 3  16

Vote Down The Facts Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 2:11 pm 62

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

@Yalie: “For the millionth time, why is it so hard to see that criticizing someone who happens to be Chinese is different from criticizing someone because they are Chinese? ”

What about criticizing somebody because they’re presumed to be Chinese, such as the uninsured Lambo driver?

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 3  15

HFHC Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 2:15 pm 63

New Listings 143
Back On Market Listings 3
Price Changes 109
Sold Listings 64

All lower mainland

so far

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 67  0

Anonymous Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 2:36 pm 64

@HFHC: Another great day for the bears…maybe the hams are having dim sum and don’t like to buy when it rains.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 21  1

west side observer Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 2:46 pm 65

@ Vote Down The Facts: Presumption based on observation is not unreasonable (although of course certainly not conclusive). In my observation, the great majority of very young (<25 years) drivers of Lamborghinis in Vancouver are Chinese.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 27  0

Many Franks Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 2:48 pm 66

Capital Economics predicts a 25% national correction (presumably meaning lots more for Vancouver).

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 26  0

Yalie Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 2:52 pm 67

@Anonymous:

Please let me know how the original post regarding a Chinese leader being worth billions is relevant to Vancouver real estate? I think you would find most of the dictators around the world are worth a lot of money but around here people only seem to focus on one race.

How is it relevant to Van RE? Are you serious? If you haven’t noticed, house prices in places like Richmond and the west side have tripled in the last 10 years due at least in part to a large influx of extremely wealthy ruling party officials from…. where? South Africa? Nope. Belize? Nope. Liechtenstein? Nope. What’s that country again? Oh yeah, China. Not everyone is so blinded by political correctness that they can’t see that huge fecking elephant in the room.

And for the record, as I’ve stated before I believe low interest rates and government insurance have had a far bigger effect on the overall housing bubble, but that doesn’t change the fact that the influx of large amounts of stolen money from China has made a significant contribution to RE appreciation in parts of Vancouver.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 62  2

Many Franks Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 2:55 pm 68

…and This Just In! Mortgage Professional Recommends Use Of Mortgage Professional.


It’s never a good idea to try to time your home-buying decision based on what the market is doing, Haque said.

…because if buyers are paying attention to the market you may be staring down the barrel of a grim few years, Farhaneh.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 22  0

Rocky Balboa Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 3:04 pm 69

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

Yalie Says: “the west side have tripled in the last 10 years due at least in part to a large influx of extremely wealthy ruling party officials from..where”

You don’t have numbers. It’s just generalization. I for one sold my west side property and moved to Boca Raton, Florida to a Chinese of second generation. My neighbors on the left and right were also Chinese. One is lawyer and the other is doctor with practice in Kerrisdale. Again no party officials.

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 5  26

Anonymous Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 3:10 pm 70

@Rocky Balboa: Of course it is a generalization but if one corrupt official purchased in the westside, it is one too much!

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 23  3

vangrl Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 3:16 pm 71

speaking of….

“I think they thought we had money in that house, because we’d had it Feng Shui’d,” says Elaine. “And if it was up to just me, I would have taken the higher price, no problem.”

Read more: http://www.vancourier.com/House+hunter+stays+cool+heat+moment/7451366/story.html#ixzz2ARiLsgYC

Like or Dislike: 8  0

Anonymous Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 3:29 pm 72

@VMD: “2.Corrupt foreign officials”

Ooooops, there goes Dunbar.

Like or Dislike: 8  1

Rocky Balboa Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 3:30 pm 73

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

foreclosed hm i guess i will rather stay in multi-culti Florida then return to bigoted Vancouver

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 7  19

Veni Vidi Vci Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 3:30 pm 74

@Yalie: I’d also like to point out that one of the loudest voices in blaming HAM for the rise in real estate prices has been the real estate business itself.

Marketer Bob Rennie said that 90% of $2 million-plus homes on Vancouver’s West Side were being sold to buyers from Mainland China.

Realtor Edith Chan said “Nowadays, I tell you, when you open the door selling a house, 99% it’s Chinese.”

Property tax expert Paul Sullivan said “The selling broker is an agent out of a small little shop out of Richmond, and they don’t speak English. They bring in these buyers for $3 million, $4 million, $5 million houses. They pick them up at the airport, bring ‘em through and buy a few houses.”

CREA economist Gregory Klump said “Foreign investment in Vancouver residential real estate is showing no signs of slowing.”

Marketer Cam Good said “There are literally planeloads of Chinese coming here to buy real estate.”

..And believe me I could make this list go on for pages, but I think you get the point.

It was people directly involved in selling real estate that made the most noise about ‘chinese buyers’ in Vancouver, making anecdotal claims over and over again across the media with absolutely no data to back any of it up.

The next time you want to accuse someone of racism because they talk about foreign money in Vancouver real estate you can start with the names in bold above.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 80  3

Bo Xilai Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 3:30 pm 75

@Many Franks:

“Ignore Markets, Focus on Affordability”

“You really want to be looking at your life stage, your affordability, your down payment and your cash flow to make that buying decision,” Haque said, adding that it really doesn’t matter what happens to the value of your home in the next year, but rather over the long-term.
————————-
What about what happens to your mortgage payment in 5 years when you have to renew your mortgage? Is that thinking too “short-term” or “market” oriented?

Hot debate. What do you think? 12  1

west side observer Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 3:33 pm 76

@ Rocky Balboa: Yes, we all have our little local stories to tell. As for my Chinese neighbours, more than half have no visible means of support and have little or no command of English.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 26  6

Anonymous Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 3:42 pm 77

@Crikey: “That said, imagine BC without a Vancouver Sun or Province newspaper, or major TV news organization. How would the big public interest stories get out,……”

I think your missing the point. If the papers and other media are clearly promoting whoever buys the most Ads…. RE pumping is easy to spot, what about the other stuff that not so easily spotted which is also just pumping for advertisers. What’s in it for them to report anything that doesn’t generate advertising?

At one time, readers paid for newspaper subscriptions and advertisers helped offset the cost. In today’s multimedia world, subscriptions have dropped like a rock and now Advertisers pay the entire shot and they don’t want negative stories about their industry, products, or markets.

Don’t trust anything you read in the Vancouver Sun particularly when it comes to Real Estate, Cars, Sports, Travel, Lifestyle, or Business, it’s all being back funded. Well, thee is nothing else in that rag so why read it at all?

Hot debate. What do you think? 11  0

patriotz Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 3:46 pm 78

@Anura Femur:
“Sounds like our own over hyped former high-school teacher, Justin Trudeau.”

Justin Trudeau has already won 2 more free elections than any politician in China.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 36  7

djb Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 3:48 pm 79

I am so confused! Tsur calls for a 10% decline in prices yet Muir is predicting a 8.3% increase in sales for 2013. (with all the usual data points like: strong full-time employment growth, persistently low mortgage interest rates and an expanding population base point to more robust consumer demand)

I guess the Kool Aid is flowing freely at Larry’s office on a Friday afternoon.

http://www.yattermatters.com/2012/10/b-c-housing-sales-to-grow-in-2013/

BTW Mr. Muir the lotto is for $100 million tonight can you predict the winning numbers for me?

Hot debate. What do you think? 7  5

/dev/null Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 3:49 pm 80

@FlipFlop: To conclude a post about XL Meats with a recommendation to eat unpasteurized dairy is a bit odd. It’s akin to deliberately choosing to eat contaminated meat.

Hot debate. What do you think? 8  3

patriotz Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 3:50 pm 81

@VMD:
“The guidelines stipulate the immigration minister could bar:

1.People who promote terrorism, violence or criminal activity.
2.Corrupt foreign officials
3.Foreign nationals from countries against which Canada has imposed sanctions.”

That’s right, “could”.

Note that it would be solely at the discretion of the immigration minister who’s allowed in and who isn’t. This means the Cons could bar any foreigner from entering the country simply because they don’t like their views.

This is the same immigration minister who let Conrad Black, a convicted felon, return to Canada.

Hot debate. What do you think? 21  8

tonic Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 3:53 pm 82

@patriotz
re Trudeau
just for you George Carlin..garbage in..garbage out in Canadian elections as well
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIraCchPDhk

Like or Dislike: 3  3

patriotz Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 3:55 pm 83

@space889:
“75% of foreign purchases in Miami is done by Canadians…wonder how those people feel about HCM that comes in buy up their town and leaving the houses empty for most of the year, and don’t contribute anything to the local economy. ”

Florida imposes huge property tax surcharges on non-residents. I’m sure that Floridans are quite happy to have Canadians pay for their schools.

You think they’d rather have the houses and condos sit empty, period?

Hot debate. What do you think? 24  6

bearacha Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 3:56 pm 84

Just got an e-mail from MC2 (marine and cambie #2).
They are giving away $25 gift cards to the first 200 people in the line-up.

At least now they are being honest about paying people to stand in line…

But seriously, the media will highlight all the hype around the line-up. Sickening.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 43  5

Anonymous Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 4:00 pm 85

@patriotz: “This is the same immigration minister who let Conrad Black, a convicted felon, return to Canada.”

Well, we let Gordan Campbell back in after being convicted of drunk driving, (I guess he prefers to drive drunk in jurisdictions where he wouldn’t be a felon) we even re-elected the douche.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 27  1

Turkey Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 4:01 pm 86

@patriotz:


Justin Trudeau has already won 2 more free elections than any politician in China.

…both of them in Papineau, a predominantly francophone riding not considered a “safe seat” for the Liberals (and especially a Trudeau.) You can argue JT comes from privilege, but he’s also fought hard for his position.

If you wait long enough, you’ll be represented by someone that aligns with your political views. When that happens, don’t be too cynical to notice or enjoy it.

Hot debate. What do you think? 12  15

patriotz Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 4:11 pm 87

@Anonymous:
“Well, we let Gordan Campbell back in after being convicted of drunk driving”

Didn’t have any choice. The voters did have a choice in re-electing him, twice.

Hot debate. What do you think? 21  7

No Noise Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 4:11 pm 88

@Patriotz

The bill just needs to be re-written so that we have a democratic and non-partisan process for barring/deporting:

1.People who promote terrorism, violence or criminal activity.
2.Corrupt foreign officials
3.Foreign nationals from countries against which Canada has imposed sanctions.

Some would say we already have this process in place. Whatever we have in place is not working.

Hot debate. What do you think? 11  3

patriotz Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 4:29 pm 89

Tory MP says government should do something about anonymous online comments

Parliament should look into how to raise the level of online discourse by making anonymous commenters identify themselves, according to Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro…

Mr. Del Mastro, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, first brought up the issue on his Facebook page Thursday. Mr. Del Mastro has rarely spoken publicly in recent months, as Elections Canada probes allegations of campaign spending irregularities by his 2008 campaign.

Hot debate. What do you think? 9  4

More Data Please Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 4:37 pm 90

@tonic: re: Justin Trudeau George Carlin..garbage in..garbage out.

On the other hand, on election day one could make a good effort to determine the leading candidate and vote against them to promote democracy. The incumbent or shoe-in with nothing to fear is exactly why one would bother to expend a vote. A person of good conscience should always resist complacency even if it means voting against the political party which best matches one’s own personal philosophy!

Like or Dislike: 6  1

G Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 4:41 pm 91

@jesse:
“@G: “Chinese immigrants happen to be wealthy and that bother them.”

In a nutshell, what I think bothers many is that residents are unable to own their country’s land without incurring substantial debt. Land is there to be used to, ultimately, generate economic output. When that gets shorted out, people are going to feel they don’t have admittance in their own country.”

My original comment was ” Some Chinese immigrants happen to be wealthy”, you forgot to include “Some”

Hot debate. What do you think? 9  2

jesse Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 4:42 pm 92

Sun: Ignore the market, focus on home affordability

First-time homebuyers should ignore market fluctuations and focus on what they can afford over the long term regardless of the purchase price, says Farhaneh Haque, director of mortgage advice at TD Canada Trust.

It’s never a good idea to try to time your home-buying decision based on what the market is doing, Haque said. What really matters is when you’re ready to buy and if you can afford the payments on your mortgage, she said.

“You really want to be looking at your life stage, your affordability, your down payment and your cash flow to make that buying decision,” Haque said, adding that it really doesn’t matter what happens to the value of your home in the next year, but rather over the long-term.

“Home ownership is a long-term plan, not a short-term investment. You want to have a long-term view,” Haque said.

She said when people are considering making the leap into home ownership, the first thing they should consider is their affordability. “What are you paying in rent today?”

That’s some mighty controversial advice. Down south they called this article’s target audience “Joe Howmuchamonths”.

There are huge risks in only looking at payments. Markets turn illiquid and not everyone will be able to ride out the drought. She is advocating that if someone plans to stay in a property “long-term” they should “[make] the leap”. Line up 100 of owners with the fanciest of “long-term” plans against the wall and I guarantee a handful will not make it.

I am feeling some added temperature to real-estate-related discussions and articles of late. Looks like this sales drought and curtailment of credit is starting to evoke some spooky scenarios.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 27  2

jesse Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 4:45 pm 93

@G: “you forgot to include “Some””

Doesn’t change my statement, which is agnostic to country of origin. I believe it’s primarily a wealth disparity and civic contribution issue.

Hot debate. What do you think? 12  1

Contrarian Lemming Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 4:47 pm 94

Condo life is rife with conflict

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/bc2035/Condo+life+rife+with+conflict/7455024/story.html

Until 2009, big-ticket repairs such as replacing plumbing, decks, windows, elevators, roofs and renovating common areas had to be financed through special levies, which require approval by three-quarters of the owners at a general meeting.

They’re difficult to get passed.

Some owners are tapped out, with some already spending half or more of their income on mortgage payments and strata fees.

There’s also a cultural gap, Gioventu says.

“It’s a foreign concept for some ethnic groups to repair and maintain buildings … There are some specific ethnic groups who will run a building to failure rather than maintain them to longevity.”

He declined to name the ethnic groups.

There is also an increasing number of owners on limited pensions.

Gioventu cited a recent case where the mainly retired owners in one North Vancouver condo all agreed that balconies and decks in the aging building had to be fixed. But the special assessment was defeated because more than half said they couldn’t afford it.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 30  0

paulb Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 4:52 pm 95

New Listings 134
Price Changes 112
Sold Listings 77
TI:18851

http://www.paulboenisch.com

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 126  2

Makaya Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 4:59 pm 96

Sign of desperations…

http://winnipeg.kijiji.ca/c-ViewAdLargeImage?AdId=425938935&ImageIndex=2

Hot debate. What do you think? 12  5

Rider Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 5:05 pm 97

@Makaya
this kind of advertisements are all over Saskatchewan ..builders are scraping the bottom of the barrel

Like or Dislike: 9  0

painted turtle Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 5:12 pm 98

For those who put Canada and China on the same level when it comes to corruption, politics and tainted food, please take a moment to reflect on the following facts:
Why do so many rich Chinese seek a Canadian passport?
If you had the choice between eating Canadian food or food made in China for one year, which one would you pick?

Romanticizing what happens in dictatorships is fun only for those who do not live there.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 48  5

RaggedyRenter Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 5:33 pm 99

You might not like the Conservative government or Jason Kenney, but you have to admit he’s done a lot in the past year to fix the immigration policies. You might argue that the changes aren’t fast enough but that’s about as fast as we can get. There’s no way the other parties would change the policies.
Now if he could only sign a couple of extradition treaties and more authority to freeze assets of suspected corrupt foreign officials and criminals, you can throw jesse’s and YVR2ZRH’s model out of the window. Look out below!

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 29  7

Groundhog Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 5:33 pm 100

Did a walk around my neighbourhood today in south surrey and noticed 3 houses that have been for sale since at least spring no longer have for sale signs as of today. Guess gave up, im sure theyll be back trying to sell in the spring… Inventory will probably drop off significantly Nov 1 after october expirations.

Hot debate. What do you think? 14  5

Bo Xilai Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 5:46 pm 101

@Turkey:

“Predominantly Francophone Riding – Papineau?”

Sorry dude, I know Montreal and Papineau is VERY multicultural… Here are the stats from Wikipedia…

“At nine square kilometres, it covers the smallest area of any federal riding in Canada.[3] As of the 2006 census, this riding had the lowest average family income in Canada. Linguistically, 45% of residents list French as their mother tongue, 8% list English, and 47% list neither English nor French, with large groups speaking Spanish, Italian, Greek and Arabic. The total immigrant population is 40 per cent.”

Hot debate. What do you think? 8  3

More Data Please Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 5:56 pm 102

@patriotz: re: Conservative MP’s sensitive to anonymous online comments.

I can beat that. Check this one out. LOL!

PM and Cabinet Ministers consorting with known fugitive in photo opportunities:

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/national/Fugitive+businessman+custody+Toronto/7455526/story.html

Next month, [Minister] Kenney was scheduled to appear with [fugitive] Jacobson at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, where the minister will receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Haifa. Jacobson, who was to be the master of ceremonies, withdrew after his legal troubles became public.

Equal opportunity.

He also donated $1,100 to to the federal NDP on election day in 2011.

This time our guys nabbed the perp. Remarkable how often the Americans have to both indict the slime and track them down. FDA also had the bead on XL Foods with inspectors in the facility that CFIA didn’t have staff or time to visit. Often US SEC, CFTC, and FTC actions are also way ahead of our scattered and sleepy regulators.

Hot debate. What do you think? 10  8

VMD Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 6:30 pm 103

Richmond Market Report by Shuchat group
Oct 26, 2012
As of today, there is $1,529,028,092 in asking price value of single family detached homes for sale in Richmond, BC comprised of 1,087 properties. The average listed price is $1,406,649 and the median asking price is $1,198,000. Only 35 single family homes sold in the last 30 days and the median value of those sales was $938,000. The sales to active listings ratio for single family homes is 3.2%. This is very low and significantly favours buyers. It is a BUYER’S MARKET NOW! (If we really end up with only 35 sales, it’s MOI of 31 months)

There is $617,663,651 in asking price value of attached properties (condos and townhouses) for sale in Richmond, BC comprised of 1,411 properties. The average listed price is $437,749 and the median asking price is $428,000. 71 of these attached properties sold in the last 30 days and the median sale price was $410,000. The sales to active listings ratio for attached properties is 5%. This is also very low and significantly favours buyers. It is also a BUYER’S MARKET NOW for condos and townhouses!
(If we really end up with only 71 sales, it’s MOI of 20 months)

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 71  3

Crikey Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 6:48 pm 104

@Anonymous:
“…Don’t trust anything you read in the Vancouver Sun particularly when it comes to Real Estate, Cars, Sports, Travel, Lifestyle, or Business, it’s all being back funded. Well, thee is nothing else in that rag so why read it at all?”

Yes, I agree that I have to hold my nose when I read the Vancouver Sun. But I also recognize the value it has to publicize important stories about local government and businesses.

If the Vancouver Sun describes facts about a politician/company’s slimy doings, you can bet that they are trusted to have researched the background facts thoroughly. And as a result of their reputation, you can bet that a public clamour will result.

But if only “Joe’s Blog” reports the same facts, who is to say that enough people will even care enough for the story to make a difference to the guilty parties involved? The story might not even get any traction anywhere else.

Non-MSM sources simply have very little cred. That is what worries me about the death of the MSM — wherefore the role of public accountability?

Hot debate. What do you think? 11  9

george Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 7:41 pm 105

The Perils of Bubbles and Speculative Finance

Like or Dislike: 4  0

Anonymous Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 7:55 pm 106

@Yalie: “How is it relevant to Van RE? Are you serious? If you haven’t noticed, house prices in places like Richmond and the west side have tripled in the last 10 years due at least in part to a large influx of extremely wealthy ruling party officials”

LOL you racists are very creative in your thinking.

1. House prices have tripled in Edmonton and Surrey too.

2. I never seen any evidence ‘extremely wealthy ruling party officials’ have come to Vancouver.

Next…

Hot debate. What do you think? 21  22

Anonymous Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 7:57 pm 107

@Anonymous: “Of course it is a generalization but if one corrupt official purchased in the westside, it is one too much!”

We are still looking for one shred of evidence even one purchased a house here in Vancouver.

Hot debate. What do you think? 12  18

Anonymous Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 7:59 pm 108

@Veni Vidi Vci: “I’d also like to point out that one of the loudest voices in blaming HAM for the rise in real estate prices has been the real estate business itself.”

They are not blaming anyone. They are grasping for reasons to justify the high pricing. And you fell for it hook, line and sinker…

Hot debate. What do you think? 13  11

Anonymous Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 8:03 pm 109

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

@painted turtle: “If you had the choice between eating Canadian food or food made in China for one year, which one would you pick?”

Hmm how many Chinese food restaurants are there compared to Canadian? Does that answer your question?

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 13  21

Alberto Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 8:15 pm 110

@Anon
ha-ha-ha-ha you are killing them stop it please ha-ha
canadian restaurants bhawaaaaaaaa

Hot debate. What do you think? 13  10

west side observer Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 8:44 pm 111

@ Anonymous

I am afraid that it is you who are naive. As a resident of Vancouver’s westside for many decades, I can assure you that today’s prices effectively exclude all but the criminal: dirty, mostly foreign (and now mostly PRC) money and the local drug trade. When I meet a new owner whose wealth is apparently legally gained, I am pleasantly surprised. There are some, but often even that money is inherited/family money.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 42  11

UnagiDon Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 8:47 pm 112

@logic: “Remember that Tsur is NOT an economist.”

Although I’m loathe to defend Tsur, he does have a PhD and MA in economics from Harvard.
http://strategy.sauder.ubc.ca/somerville/Profcv2010a.pdf

Hot debate. What do you think? 19  3

Anonymous Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 8:49 pm 113

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

@west side observer:

The funny thing is people around here take your delusional paranoia as some sort of fact.

You need psychiatric help.

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 10  20

No Noise Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 8:53 pm 114

So how come the cost of gas is all of a sudden 121.9 instead of the usual 125.9 plus? Or 145?

Hot debate. What do you think? 11  4

JR Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 9:03 pm 115

@UnagiDon: Most econmists no matter their credentials (Shiller one exception) are far better at summarizing what has been than they are at predicting what will be. Tsur is the poster child for this syndrome. He has never said anything controversial about housing; it’s all been pap that panders to his financial masters and to his own hope, which is despite the fact that there is absolutely no reason for prices to be anywhere near this high, they will somehow stay there.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 28  4

VHB Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 9:16 pm 116

Total days	22
Days elapsed so far	19
Weekends / holidays	7
Days missing	0
Days remaining	3
7 Calendar Day Moving Average: Sales	90
7 Calendar Day Moving Average: Listings	166
SALES	
Sales so far	1697
Projection for rest of month (using 7day MA)	270
Projected month end total	1967
NEW LISTINGS	
Listings so far	3929
Projection for rest of month (using 7day MA)	499
Projected month end total	4428
Sell-list so far	43.2%
Projected month-end sell-list	44.4%
MONTHS OF INVENTORY	
Inventory as of October 25, 2012	18851
Current MoI at this sales pace	9.58

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 39  1

VHB Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 9:16 pm 117

@VHB: That should read October 26th at the bottom, of course.

Like or Dislike: 5  0

VHB Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 9:23 pm 118

If you look at the chart I posted here at the forum, you’ll see the sell-list upswing over the past couple weeks is just the normal seasonal behaviour.

Hot debate. What do you think? 12  1

jesse Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 9:35 pm 119

@VHB: The consistent offset is fascinating! Thanks for doing this.

Hot debate. What do you think? 12  1

RaggedyRenter Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 10:52 pm 120

@Anonymous
Dude, the Chinese officials are just the latest addition to the cast of characters here in Vancouver.
Fair or not, Canada for decades have a reputation of easy entry, cheap citizenship, good social and health care, and we NEVER EEEEVER deport anyone. Not for expired visa, criminalities, illegal entry, arranged marriage etc. We’re the most gullible country in the world.
How long does it take us to deport one Lai Changxing?

Like I said, Chinese officials are just the latest addition (and the richest). We have had corrupt despots/public officials, criminals, swindlers in our midst for a long time. From the Tunisian despot, corrupt HK police officers, all the way back to Soeharto cronies, Marcos friends, South East Asian swindlers, retired crooks. Where in the world would they go if they want store their proceeds? Best place on Earth of course.

You can argue that it’s all Chinese PR/citizen who bought REs, but it doesn’t matter if the money comes from foreign sources anyway. After all our PR/citizenship is very cheap. Kenney tightening up the rules on immigration sends a message that we’re smartening up.

Does easy credit play a factor? Of course, easy credit both here and abroad is a huge factor. We’ve seen historical rise in household debt, all can be attributed to the housing sector.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 31  4

VMD Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 10:54 pm 121

Hong Kong government imposes 15% duty on overseas property buyers (including Chinese non-HK residents).

“HONG KONG, Oct 26 (Reuters) – Hong Kong is to introduce new property cooling measures, including a new 15 percent tax on overseas buyers, to curb a rise in prices to increasingly unaffordable levels, Financial secretary John Tsang said on Friday.

It will also raise stamp duty on short-term property transactions to dampen speculation, the first time the government has taken such direct measures to curb what many see as excessive overseas buying, particularly from mainland Chinese buyers, for driving the market beyond record 1997 levels.

Tsang said these were extraordinary measures at an exceptional time, describing the market as “going against the economic fundamentals of Hong Kong”, fuelled by low interest rates, easy credit and a flood of mainland Chinese buyers.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/26/hongkong-housing-idUSL3E8LQ5WA20121026

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 66  3

FlipFlop Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 11:12 pm 122

@ /dev/null

The problem is you kill the good bacteria at he same time, and we homoginize milk so well now that the body has a hard time processing the fat molecules, because they’re so small.

This is why lactose intolerance is out of control. It’s the good bacteria in the milk that helps your body digest it.

Consumers deserve the right choose. I have no problem with pasteurized and homogenized milk on the market, but I have a serious problem with farmers getting fined for making these products available to consumers that want them.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 23  3

Chip Says:
October 26th, 2012 at 11:36 pm 123

@patriotz:

“Parliament should look into how to raise the level of online discourse by making anonymous commenters identify themselves, according to Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro…”

If parliament has time for this kind of crap we obviously need to reduce their number, cut their pay and have them sit for just six months of the year.

Any any politicians who make such stupid and unnecessary attempts to constrain the free speech of canadians should get the tar and feather treatment.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 39  0

UnagiDon Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 12:02 am 124

@Anonymous: “We are still looking for one shred of evidence even one purchased a house here in Vancouver.”

You can stop looking now:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lai_Changxing

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 31  1

UnagiDon Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 12:15 am 125

@JR: “Most econmists no matter their credentials (Shiller one exception) are far better at summarizing what has been than they are at predicting what will be.”

I completely agree and I respect Shiller immensely. I just wanted to point out that Tsur does indeed have respectable economic credentials (and a booming baritone). It’s no wonder the MSM is drawn to him.

Cameron Muir on the other hand…

Hot debate. What do you think? 10  0

space889 Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 1:30 am 126

@Domocrass: Maybe not the rank and file civil servants, which one would expect from a mature development economy, but the politicians sure are cheap to buy. I read somewhere that campaign donations have like 1000%+ return and let’s face, what’s most of campaign donations for anyways? Good of democracy, or just a form of bribe in disguise?

Hot debate. What do you think? 10  0

space889 Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 1:36 am 127

@M-: Funny, I hear some pretty interesting stories of corruption for personal gains within BC Hydro’s PowerSmart program. Maybe not on a scale of tens of millions but quite a bit anyways.

As for safety, I think the Maple Leaf and XL incidents proves that safety takes a second seat to profits. Will XL be better as you say? I doubt it. Unless and until the directors and executive go to jail for a few years with massive fines, I don’t see things getting better for more than 1 or 2 years.

In US, when there was that big E Coli outbreak a couple years back in the largest meat processing company, that company went bankrupt. That might have actually do some good in changing discipline. Here in Canada, not so much.

Hot debate. What do you think? 12  1

patriotz Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 4:45 am 128

@UnagiDon:
As I’ve pointed out, the syllabus of Tsur’s RE investing course at UBC indicates that he teaches the same methods of analysis as the bears on this forum use.

If somebody says something that sounds stupid to you, that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s stupid. It might mean that his intended audience is stupid people.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 23  2

patriotz Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 7:00 am 129

Mid-life couple need to set their financial priorities

“From an asset allocation standpoint, they have about 64 per cent of their wealth in real estate,” Mr. Davis says. “As a benchmark, pension funds tend to target 10 per cent to 15 per cent.”

This comparison is a lot worse than it appears, because pension funds only buy commercial and multi-unit residential RE, not individual properties whose values are wildly inflated.

This couple stands to lose half their net worth in the BC RE bust, yet the “expert” does not give them the obvious advice to sell now. What does he say instead?

f they sold their existing real estate, they would have enough money to buy a three-bedroom house in Vancouver if they chose to, Mr. Davis says.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 22  1

for reals Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 8:31 am 130

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

@jesse: Oh, yes. VHB’s analysis is so valuable. His ability to predict price changes and timing is amazing.

I have benefited a great deal from following first his blog ( 2005 ? ) and now his posts here.

Sure I missed out in the biggest bull market in Canadian real estate, but a lower net worth and lower standard of living is the price u pay. At least now I can come on this blog and act like an arrogant know it all prat, despite having been wrong for half a decade and having made no money in the biggest boom this country has seen. That’s what’s really important in life.

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 6  19

More Data Please Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 9:06 am 131

@for reals: re: “…biggest boom this country has seen…”

Funny. Here’s one that made 500-600% with plenty of room to get out at the top. You could have made another 600% if you shorted on the way down too! 1000%+! What did you make? A measly 100%-150%?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2009/01/14/nortelbankruptcypro.html

BTW ‘for reals’, did you actually book the 100% (sell), or are you still living in it?

Hot debate. What do you think? 18  0

logic Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 9:17 am 132

@logic: “Remember that Tsur is NOT an economist.”

Although I’m loathe to defend Tsur, he does have a PhD and MA in economics from Harvard.
————

This does not make him an economist. I have degrees in Marine Zoology, but I work in another field now. I am not a marine zoologist.

He’s a RE prof, and has been for quite some years now.

Hot debate. What do you think? 18  2

Dan in Calgary Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 9:43 am 133

@unagidon, “Although I’m loathe to defend Tsur, he does have a PhD and MA in economics from Harvard.”

Clearly we want to give due respect to those who’ve worked hard to earn higher degrees. Otoh, I have a PhD in Microbiology and — candidly and sincerely — I don’t think my degree means a whole lot in terms of competency. And that’s the issue … not how hard I worked or how smart I am but … what’s my (or anyone’s) track record for competency / accuracy / batting-average? In this context, a degree doesn’t mean as much as some believe.

I was acquainted with two young Harvard MBAs who essentially inherited a $100 million dollar a year (in sales) business that had been around for 100+ years. They ran it into bankruptcy, and it was so unnecessary. Their street-smart great grandfather knew a whole lot more than they did.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 35  2

jesse Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 10:13 am 134

@patriotz: “It might mean that his intended audience is stupid people.”

I think Doctor Somerville needs to come out and explain to the media why Doctor Bob Shiller is wrong about Vancouver.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 21  0

Anonymous Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 10:39 am 135

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@UnagiDon: #124

If a Chinese business man who came to Vancouver long before the bubble and is now wanted in China for corruption is the best example you have of communist party official coming to Vancouver inflating the housing bubble then you just proved my point.

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 10  30

TNT Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 11:08 am 136

Same rule applies everywhere -The golden Rule- he who has the gold or tungsten rules.

The ole shell game.

Canada is no different.
Do you think that our housing market is ridiculously overpriced by chance?
RE spun numbers,daily.

Tight fisted bankers lending large amounts of money to people when their demographics say there will be failure?

Thats what has happened here,also, banks have financed unsubstainable debt levels.

Banks don’t lose money they “bet against it”

Not a mistake its calculated pillage.

Global engine slow down, people losing jobs, QE infinity, 6-9% inflation, low rates…

Be very careful.
Canada is no different.

Hot debate. What do you think? 10  3

west side observer Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 11:41 am 137

@ Anonymous: I will not respond to your scurillous characterization of me as mentally ill -> paranoid as it does a disservice to you, me, and most importantly, this excellent blog.
However I will respond to what I infer to be your point by asking you a question: who do you think IS buying the upper half of SFH in 2011-12 on the west side of Vancouver (i.e. north of HPI = roughly $2.1 million)? Let me assure you before you answer that it is not the traditional buyer of the 1970′s, such as UBC faculty, well-compensated professionals, successful small business people, etc of any ethnicity, citizenship or religion.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 35  4

AngloMan Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 11:46 am 138

http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=184232 it seems that the Canadian bubble warrants its own thread on the other side of the Atlantic, over at housepricecrash.co.uk.
The ‘big fat Greek thread’ is an example of how big this thread is going to become. I have already skimmed it and there are some interesting links to be checked out.
Watch this one – these folks back home like ‘chewing the fat’ and providing their analysis – may give a new perspective for some

Hot debate. What do you think? 9  3

YVR Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 12:29 pm 139

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

TNT Says: “Global engine slow down, people losing jobs, QE infinity, 6-9% inflation, low rates…”

Restaurants are fool, planes to sun destinations are packed, Cancun and Scotsdale are full of Canadians, car dealers sell more cars then ever, iphone and samsung are breaking sales every day…
Where do you live?

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 3  17

patriotz Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 12:35 pm 140

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFGMEDeytO8

Like or Dislike: 5  2

TNT Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 12:53 pm 141

@YVR

A large percentage of these purchases are done with leverage,heloc.. on credit, the average Canadians debt load is between 165-173%

This was one of Flaherty’s main reasons for tightening lending practices.

6 Canadian banks being reveiwed for a downgrade by Moodys because of exposure to the housing market

Debt is not an indicator of prosperity it only creates the illusion.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 31  0

TNT Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 2:04 pm 142

@140 Patriotz Says

Great link have you ever heard or dealt with this company?

Like or Dislike: 1  1

Oh Oh Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 5:14 pm 143

Drove by MC 2 this morning, didnt look too busy , lots of salespeople standing around. Anyone know if they “Sold Out” lol

Like or Dislike: 3  0

Anonymous Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 5:41 pm 144

@west side observer: “who do you think IS buying the upper half of SFH in 2011-12 on the west side of Vancouver”

People like this guy who thought they could flip it to rich Chinese that never came.

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/van/apa/3368681183.html

Like or Dislike: 5  3

YVR Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 6:04 pm 145

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

@TNT

man you are so pessimistic. I was in the mall today, packed, packed..people with bags everywhere..the other day tried to book vaca to Barbados sold out for dates that i wanted…called Pan Pacific hotel for Sunday brunch. full.. damn it…people were telling me about MAD MAX scenario from 2008..we are all alive and well
Credit is for spending..we live in debt based economy so it is new normal chill peace

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 5  14

Bob123 Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 6:27 pm 146

I’m confident that Tsur possesses the credentials to be considered a legitimate academic; however, the question is whether or not he has the independence to publish unbiased opinions constructed from arguments which are based on evidence that is applied with logic?

Hot debate. What do you think? 13  0

IamTheChimpman Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 6:32 pm 147

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BUY you WIMPs, BUY.

It’s the ONLY WAY TO WIN.

Just capitulate already.

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 2  16

Muff Diver Mike Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 6:36 pm 148

@YVR:

Did ya read? Canadians with a debt to income ratio of 163% and climbing. Who’s going to bail these folks out. Just keep buying, buying, buying…

Like or Dislike: 6  0

YVR Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 7:09 pm 149

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“Did ya read? Canadians with a debt to income ratio of 163% and climbing.”

Didn’t US had that ratio in US and what happened? Few big investment bank fold and thats it. They reset the system and start growing again. Look at NFL games, packed, $300 tickets. Look at number of cars that they sell annually, growing huge..SUV are still on the roads..look at preps for Christmas season ..they are hiring a ton of extra people..unemployment %7,8 Brrrr I am scared

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 3  13

T Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 7:22 pm 150

@YVR ever been to a Washington mall in 2009? The majority of the time there were more employees inside than there were shoppers. Discretionary spending is cut once reality kicks in and not before.

Like or Dislike: 4  0

M-dash Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 7:30 pm 151

@Anonymous: how do you know that house isn’t owned by a foreigner?

Recently when I was looking for a new rental, I came across numerous examples of recently-purchased foreign-owned houses that were being rented out. The most extreme example was a house on Wesbrook Cr that had just sold for $7M. It was a crappy house being rented for ~$2K/mo, but it was on a fantastic piece of land. I spoke to the rental agent, it had been bought by a family from China that was planning to hold the property and eventually build on it.

Hot debate. What do you think? 21  4

YVR Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 7:35 pm 152

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@T

after reset shock it was a slowdown but it lasted only 6-8 months. have you been recently? I bet is buzzing.

i was in NY and LA in the last 6 months and i have not seen any signs of depression. Flight were full, in NY can’t find a cab as usual. In LA i was shopping in West Hollywood & Santa Monica and it was buzzing.

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 3  17

Jack Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 7:36 pm 153

@west side observer: “who do you think IS buying the upper half of SFH in 2011-12 on the west side of Vancouver”

———————————–
This guy is one of them:

Lululemon Founder Chip Wilson stays close to his retail roots with $37 Million home in Kitsilano

http://www.kitsilano.ca/2012/01/07/lululemon-founder-chip-wilson-stays-close-to-his-roots-with-37-million-home-in-kitsilano/

Like or Dislike: 3  1

kenny Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 7:38 pm 154

“Lululemon Founder Chip Wilson stays close to his retail roots with $37 Million ”

OMG, and he is one of us, pale face!!!

Like or Dislike: 5  2

Anonymous Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 8:05 pm 155

@M-dash: “how do you know that house isn’t owned by a foreigner?”

Because a foreigner wouldn’t accept a 1.5% return on investment. Only someone from Vancouver fully brainwashed by the real estate industry would do something so stupid. Foreigners look at Vancouver and laugh.

Hot debate. What do you think? 8  15

VMD Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 8:33 pm 156

M7.7 earthquake strikes Masset, BC
Tsunami warning triggered
…A TSUNAMI WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT WHICH INCLUDES THE
COASTAL AREAS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALASKA FROM THE NORTH
TIP OF VANCOUVER ISLAND BRITISH COLUMBIA TO CAPE DECISION
ALASKA/LOCATED 85 MILES SE OF SITKA/…

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
PEOPLE IN LOW-LYING COASTAL AREAS SHOULD BE ALERT TO
INSTRUCTIONS FROM THEIR LOCAL EMERGENCY OFFICIALS. EVACUATIONS
ARE ONLY ORDERED BY EMERGENCY RESPONSE AGENCIES.
– IF IN A TSUNAMI WARNING COASTAL AREA MOVE INLAND TO HIGHER
GROUND.
http://www.tsunami.gov/text.php?id=alaska.TSUWCA.2012.10.28.0307

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 22  2

jesse Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 8:47 pm 157

@YVR: “i have not seen any signs of depression”

Amazing… a significant price correction and life carries on for almost everyone. The same would seem to be true for Canada, hence no reason to fear the consequences of not throwing good money after bad.

Hot debate. What do you think? 18  2

VMD Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 9:13 pm 158

tsunami advisory lifted.
however Chinese RE forums now abuzz.
another confidence shaker.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 30  6

jesse Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 9:21 pm 159

@VMD: Plot Richmond sales versus the Japanese tsunami. The market turned sour in April, other areas continued to be strong through the spring and summer. Not that I know anything about it but it’s amazing how a protected river delta with a remote chance of flooding due to a tsunami could so strongly react to something almost half a world away. I think they call it “recent event bias” or some such thing.

Hot debate. What do you think? 13  2

Liquefaction Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 9:29 pm 160

@jesse:

It’s probably cause an earthquake caused the tsunami, as one would cause liquefaction in Richmond.

Hot debate. What do you think? 6  4

YVR Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 9:32 pm 161

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

@jesse: “a significant price correction and life carries on for almost everyone.”

get out the bunker…it’s safe to travel..i am going to Vegas for convention in december and received the info that they are back to pre-recession number in terms of visitors and convention business…life goes on

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 6  17

jesse Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 9:41 pm 162

@Liquefaction: Liquefaction perhaps, an event in Japan hardly seems a relevant event for anyone familiar with Vancouver being on the west coast of North America, close to a major fault line. That Richmond suddenly turned sour (I assume based on earthquake risk) indicates to me not all the speculators coming into Richmond are thinking rationally. The sudden sales pestilence riding into Richmond shellacked on another coat of certainty for me that this whole speculative mess is unsustainable.

Hot debate. What do you think? 10  3

jesse Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 9:45 pm 163

@YVR: “they are back to pre-recession number in terms of visitors and convention business”

They are also back to 1990s house prices in real terms. Life goes on, it’s a matter of who gained and lost wealth — something of which I would think Las Vegas should be eminently familiar.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 32  7

YVR Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 9:53 pm 164

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@Jesse
So what? It goes up it goes down. Somebody lose, somebody gains. But business is back in Vegas. Phoenix is recovering nicely so Vegas will eventually recover. Some people went through bankruptcy and system gets reset. Anybody died?

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 9  18

jesse Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 10:22 pm 165

@YVR: “Some people went through bankruptcy and system gets reset”

If anything your comments about the US are uplifting because it shows how a severe housing correction does not impede economic growth forever, which is great news for those buying after prices fall.

Hot debate. What do you think? 21  6

Liquefaction Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 10:26 pm 166

@jesse: @jesse:

Agreed. I’m sure a large majority of speculators weren’t irrational. Imagine if all the speculators decided to sell.

Like or Dislike: 1  1

Jeff Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 10:30 pm 167

Wow! Did you guys feels that? I’m pretty sure the ground shaking was our housing bubble bursting…damage is radiating outward! Even the USGS picked it up!

Hot debate. What do you think? 13  10

jesse Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 10:39 pm 168

@Liquefaction: ” Imagine if all the speculators decided to sell”

Imagine if few speculators decided to buy, which is exactly what has happened since April 2011.

Hot debate. What do you think? 18  4

/dev/null Says:
October 27th, 2012 at 10:53 pm 169

@FlipFlop: So, I don’t want to be “that guy” and it’s off topic so I’ll drop it after this. But unpasteurized dairy is a significant public health risk and its right that its sale is restricted. Read this about how the rate of outbreaks is at least 150x higher with its consumption: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/18/3/pdfs/11-1370.pdf

The problem with letting consumers decide is that they hear a bunch of unsupported claims about good bacteria, small fat molecules and lactose intolerance and then they go ahead and feed it to their kids which is a fantastically bad idea. There isn’t any bacteria in the milk inside the cow, only after it comes out, so the sources aren’t too hard for everyone here to imagine. Milk is healthy for you, but only if it’s pasteurized.

Hot debate. What do you think? 16  7

Oh Oh Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 12:22 am 170

Watch for another immediate 10% price declines due to wake up call the big quake is looming.

Glad everyone is safe

Hot debate. What do you think? 9  7

rp1 Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 1:37 am 171

#164 @YVR: “Anybody died?”

Just all the people who lost their houses and blew their heads off.

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/27/suicides-outpace-car-crashes-as-leading-cause-of-deaths-from-injuries/

Hot debate. What do you think? 15  3

Rusty's Ghost Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 4:00 am 172

@YVR:

“tried to book brunch at pan pacific on sunday”

have a gander at the crowd

bring your RE flyers, they’re buying!

Hot debate. What do you think? 7  3

YVR Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 7:57 am 173

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

@rp1
yes doomers, malls are filled with dead corpses because of slashed shopping budgets. brrrr

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 1  16

Makaya Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 9:01 am 174

@YVR: How is your business doing these days? Nobody showing up at your open houses?

With all this spare time you have now that sales are so low, why don’t you go and have a look on 4th and count the number of closed business and For Lease sign?

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 26  2

patriotz Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 9:28 am 175

Australian Banksia Securities Assets Frozen As Mortgage Lending Scheme Blows Sky High; Six Canadian Banks on Moody’s Review for Downgrade

You’ve already read the part about Canada, but the Oz part is interesting:

In Australia, the collapse of “non-bank” Banksia Securities has affected thousands of investors fools who put $660 million in a guaranteed to blowup mortgage-lending scheme that chased high yields.

Lesson for Canada is there is no way that private capital is going to go near Canada’s mortgage market at high ratios.

Hot debate. What do you think? 13  2

Anonymous Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 9:28 am 176

@YVR So what? It goes up it goes down.

Much like the fortunes of used house salespersons. 10 fat years, 10 lean years. Have fun over the next decade buddy.

And speaking about karma – M7.7 earthquake strikes Masset, BC – Tsunami warning triggered

Karma for dumping 100 tonnes of iron into the ocean?

Hot debate. What do you think? 8  6

Anonymous Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 10:10 am 177

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@Liquefaction:

Is liquefaction scare mongering? Any examples of a city anywhere in the world at any time sinking after an earth quake? Appart from Atlantis…

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 4  13

UnagiDon Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 10:37 am 178

@Anonymous: Seriously? Try Kobe.

Hot debate. What do you think? 8  3

YVR Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 11:22 am 179

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

@Makaya,
Look who is talking the guy who could not make it in Van and moved to miserable Peg LOL

I am doing fine in my field..mining is booming, lot’s of M&A, lot’s of new investment.. lot’s of traveling, conventions…fantastic time…
feel sorry for people like you that expect everybody should suffer in todays market.. hope it will pick up for you

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 5  16

Arthur Fonzarelli Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 11:24 am 180

For those interested in a more indepth and technical analysis of comparative corruption measurement, Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries based on survey responses from thousands of multinationals on questions to gauge corruption levels, including the necessity of bribes/payments for expediting decisions, rule of law, standardization of payments/taxes, etc. They also assess other factors like existence of financial controls and international anti corruption treaty participation.

http://www.transparency.org/country

I did some grad work in this area, and my conclusion was that while the metrics and broader methodology aren’t perfect, they sure provide a deeper layer of intelligence on corruption facilitation mechanisms and potential policy responses.

FYI – China is 75th in the world for transparency out of 183 countries, but most outside the top 50 or so are pretty damn corrupt. Interestingly of the 28 countries on the Bribe Payers Index it ranked second to last (ie second most common for bribes). This is primarily where personal fortunes are made.

Hot debate. What do you think? 10  2

Groundhog Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 11:28 am 181

@Anonymous “Is liquefaction scare mongering? Any examples of a city anywhere in the world at any time sinking after an earth quake? Appart from Atlantis…”

Before you make stupid smart-ass comments maybe try a quick search on google or wikipedia. Idiot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_liquefaction

Although the effects of liquefaction have been long understood, it was more thoroughly brought to the attention of engineers after the 1964 Niigata earthquake and 1964 Alaska earthquake. It was also a major factor in the destruction in San Francisco’s Marina District during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, and in Port of Kobe during the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake. More recently liquefaction was largely responsible for extensive damage to residential properties in the eastern suburbs and satellite townships of Christchurch, New Zealand during the 2010 Canterbury earthquake[2] and more extensively again following the Christchurch earthquakes that followed in early and mid 2011.[3]

Hot debate. What do you think? 15  5

Anonymous Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 11:59 am 182

@Anonymous:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_liquefaction

According to the above article liquefaction causes some problems but you can’t extrapolate a conclusion fr that article that Richmond will be destroyed in an earthquake. Maybe ricoms will have 20% more damage.

Hot debate. What do you think? 6  13

Jerry Boyle Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 12:24 pm 183

@/dev/null

Read this about how the rate of outbreaks is at least 150x higher with its consumption: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/18/3/pdfs/11-1370.pdf

That was an interesting paper — thanks for posting it. While it does show the higher rate of outbreaks with unpasteurized products (and also shows the danger is higher for those under age 20), it also provides enough detail to estimate the risks of consuming such products.

The paper shows 2 deaths in the US over a 14-year period from consuming unpasteurized dairy, or 0.14 deaths per year. They assume a maximum of 1% of dairy consumption is unpasteurized. If we cut that in half, (to be conservative, and since not everyone eats dairy) those deaths are spread over a population of approximately 300 million * 0.005 = 1.5 million. That would put the yearly risk of death for an individual consumer at 1 in 10.7 million.

We might also compare that death rate of 0.14/year with other legal consumer choices:
tobacco: 443,000 deaths/year
NSAID painkillers such as aspirin: 7,600 – 40,000 deaths/year.

It’s hard to see how the level of risk associated with raw milk merits government prohibition.

Even if all health claims are entirely bogus, the risk seems so small, I find it an acceptable tradeoff simply based on nothing more than taste.

Hot debate. What do you think? 9  11

Rusty's Ghost Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 1:07 pm 184

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

@rp1:

they were just stupid pale faces anyway

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 1  13

Rusty's Ghost Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 1:11 pm 185

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

@YVR:

@YVR

if you were really in mining, you would have a background knowledge of geology and therefore would know that liquefaction is a serious risk.

is your specialty long wall mining? if so, fuck off back to wherever

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 6  15

YVR Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 1:19 pm 186

@Rusty’s Ghost
Who is shaking your cage?

Hot debate. What do you think? 3  10

More Data Please Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 1:33 pm 187

@Arthur Fonzarelli: re: China Bribe Payers Index

Wow! This confirms and reinforces my earlier posting on the Canada China investment deal. For Canada, take note of the box category “Anti-Bribery Convention” for Canada. It says, remarkably:

“ENFORCEMENT: LITTLE OR NONE”.

http://www.transparency.org/country#CAN

Canada’s reciprocal deal with China (where bribery and corruption is the cultural business norm) doesn’t seem like a very good idea in light of the available information. The biological analogy would be like introducing a massive dose of a disease into an organism which has no immune response to that disease. For the outcome, think of this simple question:

Do we think on the whole, that Canada will change China’s business culture or will China change Canada’s?

The Canada China FIPA’s main selling point is that Canadian interests will get a fair deal in China in exchange for giving Chinese interests rights to sue Canadian governments for lost profits due to adverse Canadian laws. This may be bad, but supporters of the deal argue it is managable.

Unfortunately though, the agreement is silent about remedies where laws are circumvented by cultural norms like bribery. Should we accept more bribery and circumvention of Canadian cultural norms (eg: respect for the law) for the small chance that Canadian interests MIGHT get more standing in Chinese courts?

This is a terrible deal I’m afraid.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 26  3

patriotz Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 1:48 pm 188

China plays by one set of rules, Canada and other open economies by another

Hot debate. What do you think? 20  4

More Data Please Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 1:52 pm 189

@Jerry Boyle: aka Milk Feces Apologist.

Jerry Boyle, please keep your shit milk out of the dairy case and away from sterile milk that is safe to consume without having to boil it.

I know I’m going to get voted down for the profanity but holy crap, what a twisted pile of crap logic you posted. Tobacco is sold from a locked cabinet and only to adults. Aspirin deaths are due to overdose, not normal use! Your post comparing simple death risk is an outrage!

I hope others on this forum will understand and excuse my profanity, but Jerry Boyle’s assassination attempt on scientifically valid and vitally important public health information is beyond the pale and needs to be called out as strongly as possible.

Hot debate. What do you think? 17  15

Anonymous Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 2:31 pm 190

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

@More Data Please: “away from sterile milk”

Sterile milk? Where do you buy such a thing.

Forget about milk and lets shoot down China for no reason other than we are jealous of the wealthy and successful. Man that makes me mad I can only drive a Honda and that Chinese guy drives a Mercedes. Damm I am mad. He must be a criminal.

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 3  15

Anonymous Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 2:35 pm 191

@Jerry Boyle: “It’s hard to see how the level of risk associated with raw milk merits government prohibition.”

Personally I have no interest in drinking raw milk but I would bet every meat or sea food product has a higher health risk than raw milk. Should we ban the sale of raw chicken, beef and sea food? Hell we even see deaths associated with lettuce. Ban it too unless it is precooked?

Hot debate. What do you think? 8  6

patriotz Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 2:55 pm 192

@Anonymous:
Seem to be lots of people in China itself who are “jealous of the wealthy and successful”. For example:

China protesters force halt to Zhejiang factory plan

Protesters gathered again in Ningbo on Sunday, marching on the offices of the district government. They are opposed to the expansion of the plant by a subsidiary of the China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation.

“There is very little public confidence in the government,” protester Liu Li told the Associated Press.

“Who knows if they are saying this just to make us leave and then keep on doing the project,” she added.

Guess by your standards they are just a bunch of losers.

Hot debate. What do you think? 12  6

Rusty's Ghost Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 2:56 pm 193

@Anonymous:

“for no reason other than we are jealous of the wealthy and successful.”

simpleton

Like or Dislike: 5  4

Jerry Boyle Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 3:25 pm 194

@More Data Please

I posted some numbers from the CDC’s paper on non-pasteurized dairy, and your response is nothing more than profanity? Man, did you ever choose the wrong pseudonym.

Here’s a little more data from the CDC’s paper, covering the 14 year period they examined:

deaths from unpasteurized dairy: 2

pounds of unpasteurized products consumed: 27 billion pounds

American per capita consumption of dairy (2009): 607 lbs

Assuming you consumed 607 lbs of dairy for 80 years, your lifetime odds of death from raw dairy:

1 in 278,000.

If the government banned everything with an equivalent level of risk every citizen would have to be confined to their own little sterile bubble — except those bubble plastics are probably too toxic to pass muster.

Which brings us back to aspirin, and NSAIDs. Only a handful of deaths from those drugs are due to overdose. An estimated 99% of NSAID deaths are caused by gastrointestinal bleeding when those drugs are used as intended, for pain control.

The following reference (from the FDA) gives a fairly conservative estimate of 3,443 deaths per year from NSAID-caused bleeding:

http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/02/briefing/3882B2_02_McNeil-NSAID.htm

Hot debate. What do you think? 8  4

YVR Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 3:31 pm 195

@Jerry
tell us the scoop, what is the reasons for prohibition? who is lobbying?
i drank unpasteurized on the farm when i was the kid. it was fine.

Hot debate. What do you think? 4  7

More Data Please Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 3:42 pm 196

@Jerry Boyle: raw milk.

Good luck with that Jerry. Personally, I’m not opposed to selling the product if it carries appropriate biohazard labels and preparation instructions similar to those on packages of raw meat.

Like or Dislike: 4  2

Anonymous Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 4:13 pm 197

@patriotz: Seem to be lots of people in China itself who are “jealous of the wealthy and successful”

Do you think they are posting about it on real estate forums?

Like or Dislike: 2  1

Billy Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 4:30 pm 198

@Anon
he-he LOL stop making fun of the resident xenophobes he-he

Like or Dislike: 2  3

mac Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 4:32 pm 199

@VHB: Thank you.

Like or Dislike: 2  1

YLTNboomerang Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 4:33 pm 200

Sorry to be off topic but I just wondered if anyone has advice in dealing with our amateur landlord. We just moved out and had the place professionally cleaned however it turns out that a plant pot leaked and damaged the carpet in a circle about 6″ diameter. Our damage deposit is 2K; is this normal wear and tear and if not what does carpet repair cost? The unit is 4 years old and we were there 3 years (with a proffessional landlord now)

Hot debate. What do you think? 8  2

mac Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 4:38 pm 201

To the moderator:

Hiya. I was wondering if maybe you would consider upping the number of likes before a post goes to yellow highlight and/or green box, yellow highlight? I think the setting right now is too low as most posts are being highlighted–even the ones about meat, paint and olive oil!

I used to enjoy a quick scroll through the site before. Food for thought. Many thanks for keeping this site going.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 24  2

Rusty's peaceful rise Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 4:52 pm 202

@Anonymous:

“do you think they are posting about it on real estate forums?”

They arent allowed to post about it at all – they do so at their own risk

Like or Dislike: 6  1

More Data Please Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 5:08 pm 203

@YLTNboomerang: Security Deposits

The inspection report is the critical document all else being equal. See the link below on the process in BC. There are a number of forms you can file to reclaim unjust damage deductions for example.

So, if you’ve effectively admitted the damage is due to your action or inaction, then I would suggest getting some quotes from firms you would find using the online queries “vancouver carpet repair” vs “vancouver carpet cleaning”. My experience suggests that the owner, no matter how professional, will not use the entire award to cut out and replace the damaged piece of flooring if a cleaning might suffice. Professional cleaners I’ve found are less worthwhile than bonafide cut and stitch repair firms. Cut and stitch will require a good piece of matching carpet though…

You might be able to negotiate it down to partial repair cost or best effort cleaning cost, depending how bad it looks to new tenants. A four year old carpet isn’t going to be perfect for one thing. Experimentally you might first try some cleaning work yourself. Hopefully others on this forum can advise on the most cost effective cleaning method/chemistry. [Kudos on the very good post about ozone treatment of odours some time ago.]

http://www.rto.gov.bc.ca/content/rightsresponsibilities/security.aspx#1214

Like or Dislike: 4  1

Patiently Waiting Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 6:03 pm 204

@More Data Please: “You might be able to negotiate it down to partial repair cost”

Assuming cleaning doesn’t work, its best to try to work it out informally. How long is a carpet in a rental expected to last? That would be a way to determine a share of cost.

Like or Dislike: 3  0

boogeybear Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 6:12 pm 205

@More Data Please:

The car was likely purchased using a prepaid credit card in order to get money out of the country.

Like or Dislike: 2  0

Makaya Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 6:40 pm 206

@YVR: Look who is talking the guy who could not make it in Van and moved to miserable Peg LOL

It’s funny how, for the BPOE cult follower, it’s not conceivable to want to move out of Vancouver. Before I left, I was told: “I wouldn’t wish that to my worst enemy” or “have you been punished”. You’re not original. The thing is, I’m a contrarian for a lot of things, and that has served me very well in the past.

As I said it here before, I moved out because I chose to. Same company, same job. It turns out that I could, if I wanted to, move back to Van. I move to the Peg where my main client is at the moment, which allows me to spend more time with my family. Being constantly ripped off in Wetcouver was also not so much of a great value proposition for me. I talked about how my car insurance premium was divided by more than two here a few days ago. Here is another one for you: the day care cost for my toddler has been divided by three. I could go on and on, but you get the point. There’s more than nice mountains and ocean in life… and you know what: Winnipeg is not that bad

One last word, I’m not sure you’re full of it or you really work in mining, but if you do, I would advise you to enjoy the party while it lasts (and unload your RE assets in Van while you can)… The Next Global Crash: Why You Should Fear the Commodities Bubble

Hot debate. What do you think? 21  3

More Data Please Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 7:36 pm 207

@boogeybear: Getting RMB Out of China as Cash Cards

On topic: I am replying to your theory on the grounds that high value instruments like prepaid cash cards might be used to finance big ticket purchases in Canada like real estate. The mechanics of gray/illegal transnational money transfers are also generally interesing. For the purpose of this discussion I am talking about Chinese RMB money.

http://www.china-briefing.com/news/2011/11/11/getting-cash-money-rmb-out-of-china.html

Chinese nationals face a US$50,000 annual ceiling when exchanging RMB into foreign currencies while foreign nationals do not face such restrictions.

Thus we had that case of the British national who was murdered for not cooperating with certain corrupt officials who wanted to move money. To the credit of the authorities, the perpetrators were subsequently prosecuted by Chinese authorities rather than disappearing the body. The Chinese capital controls regime certainly creates some strange incentives. Capital controls are understandable from the point of view of the ruling party not wanting their assets devalued by massive uncontrolled currency leakage. Not a good thing, but understandable.

Stored value cards I know of are usually limited to $10,000 and bear the beneficiary’s name (please comment on this). And such cards do have the feature of not having to be declared as cash or negotiable instruments at Canada/US entry points. I suppose you could have a box full of these cards and if they are chip cards, matching identification might not be required to redeem them. Presumably they are still traceable.

It is an interesting to imagine how one might create these cards in China and then simply mail them to Canada. The article suggest recruiting many local Chinese and adding their limits together. Theories on why one would buy an expensive car instead of precious metals, casino chips, etc would be interesting to read. Maybe the car is just one of many structuring/laundering methods for the same big bag of cash.

Like or Dislike: 4  0

Makaya Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 7:46 pm 208

Times are tough for Realtors across Canada…

Here is the joke of the day, courtesy of Kijiji:

Why Rent When You Can Buy?

Many renters don’t realize they have the means to purchase their own home or the benefits of home ownership as compared to renting. owning a home can be a great investment for your future. For the majority of Canadians, their home is their largest financial asset and a major player in their investment portfolio.

Building financial equity is one of the greatest advantages of owning a home. Home ownership is how many Canadian families begin to accumulate wealth.

Renters are the ideal clients for home sellers because their offers are not dependent on selling their own home first. There are a number of mortgage and downpayment assistance programs available to buyers. And owning a home has intangible benefits too. Owning a home adds value to communities and gives you a setting to enjoy your lifestyle with the ones you care about.

With mortgage rates as low as they are you can buy your own home for much the same amount as renting, except you arent wasting all your money, your building up equity.

Let me help you find your home.

Matt Plett Century 21 Bachman & Associates
REALTOR®

lol…

Hot debate. What do you think? 16  4

IamTheChimpman Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 7:47 pm 209

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

I bought my first place in 2000 and have bought and sold eleven properties since then, as well as buying and renovating a cabin and a cessna.

And I’m now wealthy beyond imagine.

How about you losers?

Wake up and smell the coffee, get onboard before it’s too late.

I’m trying to help you. I’ve lead you to water – now drink up!!!!

Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: 2  15

Jerry Boyle Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 8:14 pm 210

@YVR asks “what is the reasons for prohibition?”

I think the argument would be that large-scale factory-farming dairy operations produce very unhealthy milk — their conditions create many sick animals, pumped full of antibiotics and confined in their own filth. Pasteurization is absolutely necessary to make their milk safe.

Raw milk, on the hand, tends to be marketed by small-scale organic producers. Healthy, pastured animals in clean conditions produce milk that is safer to drink without pasteurization.

Since the large-scale producers are unable to produce milk that is safe without pasteurization, prohibiting the sale of raw milk removes a competing product (that many might see as superior) from the marketplace.

Hot debate. What do you think? 8  5

Vote Down The Facts Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 8:32 pm 211

@Jerry Boyle:

All Canadian milk is antibiotic free by law. Conversely, all Canadian dairy cows are given antibiotics when they’re sick – even when producing ‘organic’ milk.

Hot debate. What do you think? 9  2

Vote Down The Facts Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 8:34 pm 212

@Makaya: “Winnipeg is not that bad”

Let us know how your first winter goes

Hot debate. What do you think? 7  13

Chabar Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 9:04 pm 213

Hi YVR, is this you?

http://condohype.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/stella_tn.jpg

Whenever I read something you wrote I see this guy. Smart, successful, wealthy, capable, good-looking, educated but street-smart too, well-dressed, chickmagnet, savy…

Like or Dislike: 8  0

FlipFlop Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 9:18 pm 214

Anyone know of any jurisdictions that don’t allow the use of particle board and chip board for roof and exterior wall sheeting? Ie. require actual plywood.

Amazing the number of developments I see in surrey with soggy sheeting on the outside of the building, before they cover it with siding.

How is this legal?

Like or Dislike: 7  0

YVR Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 9:38 pm 215

@Jerry
thanks Jerry. yeah i think you are right. sad, sad.

Like or Dislike: 1  3

YVR Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 9:50 pm 216

@Makaya ”
” I’m not sure you’re full of it or you really work in mining, but if you do, I would advise you to enjoy the party while it lasts (and unload your RE assets in Van while you can)…”

What is the big deal with mining? it’s industry like any other industry. I did not say that I am NASA engineer.
I enjoy EVERY MOMENT of my life regardless if my portfolio is GOING UP or is GOING DOWN. and why I would sell my place? I love it, i raise my family in it, and will be paid off in 10 years.

Like or Dislike: 2  7

Anonymous Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 9:59 pm 217

@FlipFlop: “How is this legal?”

As with anything you can buy different quality. Until buyers demand more than granite on the counter tops saw dust houses will continue to be built. Most people don’t know the difference. Consider yourself as having an advantage when you do buy because you already know more about construction quality than 99% of other buyers.

Like or Dislike: 4  1

Anonymous Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 10:03 pm 218

@Vote Down The Facts: “Let us know how your first winter goes”

Winter are the good months in Winnipeg. When the snow melts it is mosquito season.

There was a summer about three or four years ago when the mosquitoes were just terrible. We like to go camping with our family and friends [near Gimli], and the mosquitoes were so bad that after three hours we were ready to pack up and go. You literally could not function.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/04/27/winnipeg-is-bracing-for-an-early-mosquito-invasion/

Like or Dislike: 0  3

Chip Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 10:11 pm 219

HAM goes missing?

“[SINGAPORE] The number of private homes in Singapore bought by Chinese citizens in the first nine months of this year has fallen to half the figure for the same period last year. Malaysians and Indonesians – the other two major groups of foreign home buyers – have seen smaller declines.”
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/premium/top-stories/china-nationals-private-home-purchases-down-48-20121029

Like or Dislike: 2  0

Yalie Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 10:21 pm 220

@YVR:

I enjoy EVERY MOMENT of my life regardless if my portfolio is GOING UP or is GOING DOWN. and why I would sell my place? I love it, i raise my family in it, and will be paid off in 10 years.

Great, you are financially secure due to the good fortunes of the housing market since you purchased several years ago. But why are you on this blog encouraging others to buy at the very peak of the most over-valued housing market in the world? Do you wish financial hardship on others? Or, perhaps, are you just a little more worried about your own house falling in value than you care to admit?

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 24  1

Anonymous Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 10:23 pm 221

@Anonymous: I went to Manning Park for a hike last year and had the same experience with mosquitoes…

Like or Dislike: 7  1

Vote Down The Facts Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 11:47 pm 222

@Anonymous: “As with anything you can buy different quality.”

There’s this thing called building code which defines a minimum standard…

Like or Dislike: 3  3

RaggedyRenter Says:
October 28th, 2012 at 11:55 pm 223

@More Data Please
Re: Cash cards
How many cash cards do you have to carry ? Wouldn’t it be easier to setup a numbered corporation and import salmon/lumber/wine/what-have-yous from BC and jack up the price by 200%?
Why do you think there’s a huge spike in export? From 2002 to 2008 we did about $100-200 million increase in export to China, a really good increase by itself. Since then, increases of 500m, 1.3b, 1b in each of the last three years.

Like or Dislike: 4  0

More Data Please Says:
October 29th, 2012 at 12:25 am 224

@RaggedyRenter: re: “[export] salmon/lumber/wine/what-have-yous from BC [to China]”

Good point, but for taxes on this side and the risk of operating a business with tangible goods that must be shipped and can be lost/pilfered or might not sell as well as anticipated. The cards are pretty efficient by comparison even if you have drawers full of them and the redemptions are a bit awkward (many cards per purchase) on high ticket items. Cards at $10,000 per piece are smaller than 20 dollar bills and can pass through customs/mail without cash limits and sanctions. A legitimate business of that sort would also need high initial cash, Canadian operating loan, employees… etc. Lots of attention, risk, and paper trail.

I also wonder if the bulk BC trade export increases might be more easily explained by increased shipments of bulk raw materials rather than finished products.

Like or Dislike: 1  0

Strataman Says:
October 29th, 2012 at 7:16 am 225

@Vote Down The Facts: Building code is not applicable to developers. Building inspectors never set foot in developments signed off by engineers hired by the developers. Reporting a major building code violation to a city inspector will result in them saying it was signed off by a qualified engineer and they retreat. The “minimum standards building code” is as real as the tooth fairy!

Like or Dislike: 5  0