Open Topic

FFFA! debt! sales! developers! buyers! $350k!

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142 Comments

It’s that time of the week again!  Lets round up the recent news links and have our open topic chat thread for the weekend.  Here are few recent links to kick things off:

–BC overboard in debt
–Conditions favor buyers
–Fewer hoops for developers
–What $350k gets you
–Teranet index is out
–MOI / price change update
–Bottom Calls!
–Transit drives condo demand
–Skytrain spread poverty
–Fleeing debt for Canada
–CMHC Tweets!
–Island sales steady
–

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

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Con-Rad

@patriotz: Higher level professionals saw effective raises well above the mean, either by raises or favourable tax treatment on earnings (dividend payments from corporations can be deferred for example). Realtorbulls are no exception but you get no argument from me that they had it really good and the bad ones need to be culled.

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patriotz

@Con-Rad:
“It’s not just police and firefighters, bears.
Doctors, dentists, lawyers, engineers, real estate agents (until this year).

The ones the most quiet are the ones taking YOUR tax money.”

Of the above only doctors are paid by the taxpayer and I don’t they they are paid too much across the board.

You seem to have a general grudge against educated professionals (no I don’t mean RE agents 🙂 )

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patriotz

@real_professional:
“If property values drop by 30%, do you believe that their will be enough political capital available to raise property tax revenue should the RCMP push through another 4% wage hike?”

Property taxes kept going up the last time Vancouver saw a decline that big.

It comes down to whether people are willing to pay an extra 1 or 2% of property taxes or see their community centre close. In the end most of them will decide they’d rather pay the tax increase.

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Con-Rad

It’s not just police and firefighters, bears.
Doctors, dentists, lawyers, engineers, real estate agents (until this year).

The ones the most quiet are the ones taking YOUR tax money. Clawing these gains back is probably the hardest thing society will have to do over the next generation if they can. It might get worse.

Sorry, baristabears. Healing and arresting the sick is a tough job and not everyone is cut out for it.

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Anonymous

If it is such a wonderful overpaid job, go for it! And stop whining.
Can we go back to real estate?

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Tony

It appears the main problem with public sector salaries is the amount of overtime they can easily make and being able to bank vacation/sick time and then go on 3 month vacations. I know a firefighter and even he thinks it’s hilarious.

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Guy Smiley

That’s for real police work of course. Firefighting doesn’t either. I’d be surprised if Transit Cop showed up in the top 50.

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Guy Smiley

“With a driverless system it’s important that there’s at least some security presence.”

Agreed, but do we need to pay them $158k/year on average?

It’s not clear but i think the numbers in this sun article include the costs of benefits. I sure hope so anyway. I wonder if these guys get bankable sick days like the rest of our heroes. And yes – for $200 k/yr i’d be happy to be in a job that doesn’t even show up in a listing of the top 5 most dangerous jobs.

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real_professional

@ got down the facts,…..

I never said otherwise, I did say, ” inability to increase property tax revenue.”

If property values drop by 30%, do you believe that their will be enough political capital available to raise property tax revenue should the RCMP push through another 4% wage hike? In fact there will be political forces arguing taxes should go down with asset values and cuts must be made.

Dropping real estate values will limit government withdrawals at the real estate ATM

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Vote Down The Facts

@real_professional:

Property taxes can rise and fall independently of real estate values.

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Anonymous

@Guy Smiley: “And why the hell are transit cops making 6 figures anyway?”

Are you kidding? Do you know the health toll from eating all those donuts?

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real_professional

@Post number 129

That is just stupid! Would you go out and pay $300 for a toaster? Probably not. Then why are you over paying for police salaries? I wouldn’t care if I wasn’t paying for the salaries or the toaster, but with regard to the police sadly I am and you are too.

They provide a service worth, generously, 80K a year and should be expected to retire at 65 even if they started working at 23. Plain and simple.

I personally believe the Canucks get paid too much, but I don’t care, because I don’t watch hockey, go to games, or buy their merchandise… therefore I don’t pay for their salaries

Your post was one of the dumbest I’ve read on here despite containing so few words.

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Anonymous

I would not be interested in a police job even at 200k…
If someone is envious of their salary, s/he is welcome to apply 🙂

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real_professional

Police get paid by municipalities, municipalities generate revenue from property taxes, a real estate correction will slow growth in property development and de value real estate, the result will be, at the least, an inability to increase property tax revenue.

At which point, public waste will be addressed. Let’s face it, Global TV is so irrelevant when it comes to investigative journalism that they wont cover this topic until it is after the fact.

The fat of real estate runs deep.

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Extend and Pretend

@Ralph Cramdown: Transit Pursuit Cars

That’s one of the few vehicles with enough horsepower to fly off a ramp over skytrain and land on the track in front of the train.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFEirq5u0bc

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Ralph Cramdown

I got a laugh recently visiting your fair city when I noticed that your transit police mount up in Dodge Charger Police Pursuit models??!?!? A 5.7L, 370HP, 4,440 lb. ride? Green, practical and economical! Well played, Transit Police, well played.

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RaggedyRenter

@RealityCheck:
”
To live in a Single Family Detached home in Metro Vancouver will become a privelege in the coming decades, as most will live in Condos/Townhomes…aspiring to own a detached home. Condos/Townhomes prices will track incomes…but not detached homes.”

As much as I hate to admit it, this is probably true. The reason being we continue to destroy existing SFHs and rebuilding a denser living arrangement in their place. This will skew the demand for land and push price for existing stock upward. I’m not sure about what will happen during the crash, but after we reach the bottom, SFH and attached will probably have a different trajectories.
This is of course there is an increased demand for density via population growth, or people who doesn’t necessarily need SFH.

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Extend and Pretend

Canadians bored with stagnating RE price increases on the CMHCasino, need other forms of gambling.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/senate-to-debate-single-sports-betting-bill-approved-by-house-1.1052959

This is good news. CMHCasino is a tax on everybody in terms of high prices and unproductive capital allocation. But gaming taxes are only a tax on the stupid. I hope the Senate passes it. The objection of game fixing is illogical. The games are likely already fixed. The only difference will be that bookmaking proceeds will flow into general revenue instead of the pockets of criminals.

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Vote Down The Facts

@Anonymous:

The people checking fares on the Canada Line are wearing green – they’re not transit cops. With a driverless system it’s important that there’s at least some security presence.

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patriotz

@Anonymous:
“Transit cops know they have an image problem. That’s why they recently hired Anne Drennan as their spokesperson–she is well like by the public and has credibility. ”

Your wording suggests that Drennan was hired by the police officers themselves. She works for Translink just like they do.

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Anonymous

I forgot to include the link to the globe and mail article on the sword brandishing maniac on skytrain:

http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/vancouver-police-taser-tackle-sword-wielding-man-who-rode-transit-train-for-10-stops/article2040401/?service=mobile

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Anonymous

Those Transit Police who are raking in 6 figures on top of their pensions are afraid to do any REAL police work. All they want to do is check fares and issue tickets. But if there’s ever a security issue on skytrain, you need the REAL police–VPD or RCMP. Case in point: Last year, skytrain police allowed a crazy man to ride skytrain all the way from Metrotown to Burrard brandishing a sword and threatening people with it. Transit Police were informed he was on the train and they did nothing. At the very least, they could have prevented more insisted people from getting on the train at the stations between Metrotown and Burrard. In the end, it was the VPD who took down the man with the sword. This is from the Globe and Mail: “The man flashing the… Read more »

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bonfire

“Explain then the last 9 months during which we’ve seen consistent a price drop and sales numbers crater”

does stocks always go up? No. they have sometimes corrections. but point is will houses EVER be affordable in Vancouver? No they will NOT.

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Anonymous

@Reality Check

Explain then the last 9 months during which we’ve seen consistent a price drop and sales numbers crater.

And we’ve had that program for years – it’s called the investor class visa.

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