Good news!
There was a big jump in full time jobs in February!
The bad news?
Some people think this is ‘unsustainable‘ because most of the jobs were in construction or ‘public sector’ and the recent drop in oil prices may have an effect on these parts of the economy.
But in the meanwhile if you’re looking for work and want to know who’s hiring find your nearest construction pit or government office.
Read the original article over at wolfstreet.
[…] this month -All about those rates? -Vancouver is the next… Calgary?!? -Economy shrinks -Over 55? Stop paying property tax sucker! -Who ya gonna blame for this crazy market? -What is the Difference between bulls and bears? -An […]
Reading through these posts and considering the MSM mania I’m reminded of an old adage “its always darkest before the dawn” Can’t really articulate why, but I feel we’re at a tipping point. I think the craziness is analogous to Icarus and its all about to fall back to earth. God help us if I’m even partially right.
“Can’t Afford a House? There’s a Bright Side to Renting”, Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/jeffrey-schwartz/renting-vs-buying-a-house_b_6977714.html
“Conventional knowledge is clear — stop feeding your landlord, and start building your own equity.”
“That logic is not entirely false, and rising home prices add to the urgency. The sooner you hop on board, the higher you’ll soar. But what good is conventional wisdom, if you can’t afford to follow it? Is any advice worth following if it puts you at risk?”
“Renting isn’t so bad, and until you’re absolutely, positively ready to afford a house (and the seemingly endless costs that come with it), you should probably focus on the brighter side of tenancy.”
“Borrowers lock in, lenders offer choice in competitive spring housing market”, Yahoo Finance
“A growing number of Canadians are calling the bottom of the mortgage-rate market and choosing to lock in monthly payments, a new survey suggests.”
“The survey results come amid a renewed price war among mortgage lenders, many of which are offering rates of around 2.79 per cent for a five-year, fixed term.”
“Rates to rise”
“Economists are less convinced these days that the BoC will cut rates again this year.
“The odds of another rate cut coming in April are lower than we previously thought, though we still wouldn’t rule it out completely,” said Capital Economics Canada economist David Madani in a recent note.”
At Starbucks at 16th and Macdonald a couple of years back and there were two middle aged guys, maybe mid-60s and one was telling the other that he’d be stupid to pay his property taxes if you could defer it. Interest free loan, yada, yada, yada. They didn’t like they were hurting. How this type of policy gets set, who knows? If you are going to have such a policy, it should be means tested.
From Garth’s blog: (we are sooo screwed). All the special interest groups have eaten at the public trough till they are ready to burst. Specifically, millionaire home owning wrinklies who don’t feel like paying their property taxes any more. They’ve started to cost taxpayers a bundle, thanks to a weirdo program BC has to capriciously punish the young at the expense of the old. It’s called the BC Property Tax Deferment Program, and it more or less legalizes tax evasion on the local level. Here’s the deal: if you’re 55 or older, you can stop paying the taxes on your Vancouver house, even though it’s worth a million or two and you’ve benefited from a windfall gain in property values, spiraling your net worth. You have the right to waive the tax bill and instead pay just 1% annual interest… Read more »
I was advised this site by way of my personal relative.. jobs My business is not certain if this set up is compiled by method of your pet seeing that nobody have an understanding of this sort of accurate somewhere around the dilemma. You might be wonderful! Thanks!
Again?
Con-Rad Says:
December 9th, 2012 at 10:02 am
Vancouvers market has gone full retard
http://vancouvercondo.info/2012/12/fffa-bubble-battle-plummet-onni-ohno.html#comment-189158
WEVE GONE FULL RETARD!
There is Sooo much money being laundered in West Van real estate the streets smell of TIDE washing powder.
if they fall back 33% then you are right back to 800K and if you’ve been socking away more money renting then you would have paid off in principle then you will be better off.
But ya a 33% decrease right now just seems unimaginable.
It is strange that the market is so hot right now, it feels frenetic, like the dot com craze.
Rates were not that much higher a few years back, and houses were a lot cheaper, why was it not as crazy back then? it was kind of crazy, but this is unbelievably crazy!
Couple of $4 + Million plus mainland buys in west van. We know the money was obtained lawfully and required bribes …eh sorry I mean taxes were paid.
Vanrant ” Are people buying crazy or am I crazy not to be buying?” It would certainly appear that it is YOU (and I) who were crazy not to buy. 4-5 years ago I got renovicted from my last Burnaby SFH. Houses sold for about 800k then and I wondered if I should give up and just buy. My wife would have fully endorsed that plan. I held off because a) 800k was a stretch, and b) I was convinced prices were probably near the peak and I didn’t want to be the sucker buying at the top. Well the same houses are 50% more expensive and all the people who bought are feeling relieved they got in when they did. I guess if prices do crash 33% they I can feel vindicated because prices will fall back to …… Read more »
1.2 million gets you a lot on the 1300 block of East Broadway!
watch it go for over asking..
New Listings 254
Price Changes 81
Sold Listings 246
TI:13389
how much does it cost to build a house these days? average cost per s.ft?
House down the road was listed for 1.5 teardown dunno what it sold for. Its already boarded up. Proposed to make 2 duplexes, not 2 units, 2 duplexes and not even on a huge lot.
Crazy times. We are all screwed either way.
@ Ulsterman and Space
I hear you too. I feel like the captain of the Titanic after hitting the iceberg lately. Are people buying crazy or am I crazy not to be buying? Is there no sanity or there so much money in Vancouver which I am not part of.
@Ulsterman – I hear you, it is indeed unbelievable. It almost seem like there is a magic spring that gets stronger with each mortgage rate cut and simply releases a new torrent of buying frenze here. Realistically the difference in monthly payments and total mortgage amount between 2.7% and 2.25% isn’t that much. However, there seem to be some sort magical power here allows buyers to push house prices much more than what seems reasonable.
Btw, $1M Van East house are so last year. I think the new benchmark price for large part of Van East is now $1.5M to $2M now. A lot of newer Van East 1260 sq ft duplex are asking almost $900K to $1M now.
I’m struggling to find anything positive in the local real estate news. After many, many years following this market it would appear that, incredibly, it is getting worse and an accelerating pace. Just when you think the madness can’t get worse, it gets much, much worse. Houses in crappy East Van are now million dollar conversation items. Van West is not even worth discussing. My North Burnaby neighbourhood is on fire. Every block has a couple of old timers knocked down to be replaced with a $2m monster. Houses on busy streets in my area that were selling for 900k a year ago are being listed for $1.2m. Now i read in Vangrl’s post that: “Growing numbers of both international and interprovincial migrants will be arriving in Vancouver over the 2016-2019 period. While some 30,000 people a year have been… Read more »
Everyone is an internet millionaire 🙂
If I had 1 million in cash and thought it was HAM bubble I sure as hell would buy a SFH on the west side.
Local couple – 40 years old, $600K on a $2M house, $1M+ in RRSP and TSFA, $100K+ in RESP for kids, and they want a bigger house cuz $2M house just don’t cut it for them.
Worse case scenario if things go south? Well, just sell it.
This is the attitude and passion that drives local housing. It doesn’t fit the HAM narrative people here like to bash but too bad. These are the kind of people you are competing against for “working family” SFH here, not HAM.
Paulb, please could you instead post information on the number of “for sale” signs you see on your way to the grocery store – apparently your daily market stats just don’t cut it 😉
Love that graph – manufacturing tanks while condo construction takes off. Dutch Disease, Canadian style!
“I’m not seeing more signs pop up, and the listings don’t signal people cashing out, but I have seen a fair amount of comments of different articles where locals have said they’re cashing out, or are thinking of selling soon & asking advice.”
they are selling and HAM is buying. if plan to stay, learn mandarin.