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Friday Free-for-all! Outta-here edition.

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Hey! You made it to the end of another beautiful work-week!

Welcome to another Friday Free-for-all, our regular end of the week news round up and open topic discussion thread for the weekend.

Here are a few recent links to kick off the chat:

–FOR SALE: City Hall
–Going?
–Going.
–Gone.
–Is that an elephant?
–Bogus Analysis
–Dichotomy
–Who wants data?
–BC majority now expects drop?
–

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

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realist
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@ 74 Shlomo

All parties come to an end, but as many a tired host has observed, it’s hard to say when, when you thought the guests would already be long gone.

On this blog, everyone agrees that historically low interest rates have been a major cause of the increase in RE valuations; disagreement lies only in whether low rates are the foremost cause or the only significant cause. Other than the fringe economic-doomster crowd, no one in 2008 accurately predicted the subsequent course of rates. And they still can’t, although admittedly there are indications in the past 2 months of a potentially violent reversal.

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4 years 8 months ago
Slagathor
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….So now is the gay community and not ham….

GLAM: Gay & Lesbian Ardent Money

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4 years 8 months ago
Shlomo
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Was at dinner tonight and met an acquaintance from West Van. Owns a house there, fully paid off, so was good to get some perspective from the moneyed crowd. For years, this guy has been denying the very existence of a bubble, citing all the usual excuses: scarcity of land, immigration, rich foreigners etc. But today he offered slightly different advice: don’t buy a condo as you won’t see any growth, or maybe even a townhome. If you can swing the monthly on detached, go for it, as it only ever goes up. I expected the last bit about SFH always going up, but was surprised to hear about the condos/townhomes. All I can think is that if even people like him think condos and townhomes won’t go up, then the game is very close to being up. When a… Read more »
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4 years 8 months ago
would-be buyer
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Well, duh – no locals believed the child poverty stat:

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Part+Ritzy+Richmond+neighbourhood+where+many+poor/11136169/story.html

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4 years 8 months ago
#mushroom
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4th one found hiding in GVRD.
Wife emigrated from China in 2003, and he landed in mid-2005. She gave an interview to Singtao reporter, saying her husband was then only 22-23 years old.
Singtao found out that they purchased their Chilliwack property in 2006, perhaps with daddy’s money.
http://tinyurl.com/pooe232

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4 years 8 months ago
history
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Royce,
more and more, todays business in Canada is conducted from yachts tooting around the Salish. SKOOK needs to update us on Pender Harbour. Alberta money is hell bent on exploiting every conceivable knook and cranny on the coast, but it is the aboriginals, who only collect rent, that are doing any of the breeding. Vote with your feet.

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4 years 8 months ago
Royce McCutcheon
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My brother lives in the Midwest in the US – in a place with population of ~250k, so not super-tiny. Yeah, yeah. Who would want to live there. Still, he is probably buying a small house with an unfinished basement for about 185k. They’re currently renting the place at ~1300/month and the price is lower because they’re dealing directly with the owner. Household income is about 90-100k. It’s kind of skull-rattling to see. Real reason to post today though is a question about Calgary. I now know a few people who have moved there in the last few years, two actually following the oil price collapse. It seems the city has become a bit more diverse and appealing to young people (on the ground reports from someone who grew up there). By being at the forefront of price corrections –… Read more »
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4 years 8 months ago
barbs
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see the parallels ?

Americans turning Against Free Trade

… are they xenophobic ? rational explanation, same as Vancouver RE summarized in the sub title:

When the proceeds of growth are not widely shared, the consensus in favor of pro-growth measures cracks.

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4 years 8 months ago
Westside Realtor
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At the moment, it seems buyers are more interested in enjoying the sunshine then trying to out bid one another.

Weakness building under the radar.

WSR

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4 years 8 months ago
@#62
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gathaca says: “There was also a mouldering old mansion in Vancouver’s exclusive Shaughnessy neighbourhood, which he had spruced up and which is now worth about $14 million. For reasons unknown, Yuan decided to keep the house empty”

While Shaughnessy house was being refurbished, he bought and lived in 963 King Georges Way. 3333 The Crescent has been on sale since 2012. Technically, it is an investment, but of course his lawyer can argue and establish that it was his principal home.

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4 years 8 months ago
Oracle
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The reason Apple is approaching a market cap of $1 Trillion Canadian dollars is it, along with Google, has the potential to become the “Great Filterer” of information.

Then the bottom 99% are really screwed.

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4 years 8 months ago
Oracle
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The masses can bring the business system to its knees by boycotting one business in each sector.

The only defence is keep the masses uneducated and divided and confused…it’s working.

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4 years 8 months ago
joe
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Canadian and world elite meeting this weekend in a secluded Austrian mountain resort behind police checkpoints…..you can’t make this stuff up…….

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/10/at-g7-we-journalists-pampered-bilderberg-we-harassed-by-police

http://bilderbergmeetings.org/participants.html

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4 years 8 months ago
Chip
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The English were “dumb” to vote for Thatcher?

When we left England for Canada in the 70s my mom had to hide her meager savings in her stockings, because the country was so destroyed it banned people from leaving with their money.

What’s that saying about people ignorant of history doomed to repeat it.

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4 years 8 months ago
gathaca
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Just a regular HAM looking for healthcare and education. ” You hid yourself in Canada and dared not come back. Do you want me to help you so that you will lose your Canadian resident (sic) status? … You told me over the phone that you had a fake marriage with somebody in order to immigrate to Canada. I heard it with my own ears.” http://www.vancouversun.com/news/national/assume+want+kill+something+messy+mysterious+life/11132421/story.html Yuan left his native China for Canada in 2007, the year he turned 34. Reasons for his move are still shrouded in mystery, as are certain details from his personal life: his living arrangements, the women and children he kept sequestered, and the source of his enormous wealth, estimated at $50 million. Before his murder in West Vancouver last month, Yuan received a threat. “Trust me, it is not difficult to make your affairs… Read more »
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4 years 8 months ago
@#52
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If you want to move to Quebec, do so now before they cease the $7-a-day daycare and the free infertility treatments.

btw, despite some Quebec developers cancelling projects due to diminishing demand, others claim amongst their clientele are the buyers from China, the Sheik-land and the New Orleans.
http://ici.radio-canada.ca/regions/Montreal/2015/06/10/004-condo-vente-difficile-marche-montrealais.shtml

Be careful that you are not jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.

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4 years 8 months ago
tonoo
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#54

‘Sponsored Content’ in local Ontario newspaper.

At least they clearly mark it as sponsored, unlike the Vancouver Sun where they print whatever RE industry orders them and put it as ‘news’ or ‘editorials’.

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4 years 8 months ago
gungho
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Was sampling the free treats at Costco, trying to stretch a dollar like the rest of the herd, when around the corner comes this interesting conversation: Man with European accent: Everything goes up in price but wages, ja? Canadian man: Yep, only one word for it: inequality? Man with European accent: Yes, that is a good word, inequality. You think the people are getting fed up with it though, it seems like it Canadian man: Yes, they are upset. It’s because trickle down doesn’t work, only trickle up Man with European accent: Yes, I agree. You seem like an intelligent person, I’m glad we talked Canadian man: Yes, okay, have a good day Canadian man went off to meet his wife, a Nordic-looking blonde, while the European man went off with his Asian wife. Warms the cockles of my heart… Read more »
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4 years 8 months ago
history
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do you know anything about Election Astrology, ditz?

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4 years 8 months ago
Son of Ponzi
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#56
someone once said “People deserve the Government they elect”.
Kristy and her merry band really take the cake and have us eat it, too.
What were people thinking?

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4 years 8 months ago
patriotz
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@55: “Fucking dumb right wing policies which began in the 80s w Reagan and Thatcher and collapsed in 2008.”

Nothing dumb about them, they achieved their intended goals handsomely.

As I’ve said, it’s the voters who are dumb, not the politicians.

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4 years 8 months ago
BCKrustyLiberals
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Krusty’s biggest blunder of course was when she told the Vancouver taxpayers recently that the dummies who purchased Van RE in the past couple years should be protected (when every sane economist was saying otherwise) and use their Helocs to “fund other projects”. Great idea Krusty – everyone in Van should pay insane RE prices and add to that even more debt. Fucking dumb right wing policies which began in the 80s w Reagan and Thatcher and collapsed in 2008. The only reason IT didn’t happen here is because the Liberals will sell their soul to corrupt off shore interests. And yet the 99% are so brainwashed to think laisse-faire capitalism works while the 1% continues to take more and more of new wealth. It’s time for the middle class to use their votes to get the power back to… Read more »
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4 years 8 months ago
southseacompany
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“Low interest rates make it a great time to buy a new house”; ‘Sponsored Content’ in local Ontario newspaper http://www.theifp.ca/shopping-story/5555146-low-interest-rates-make-it-a-great-time-to-buy-a-new-house/ ” Interest rates remain at historic lows and that puts home buyers in the driver’s seat. A low interest rate environment allows home buyers to afford larger, more expensive houses; keeps monthly mortgage payments down; and enables people to pay off their houses faster. This means that it is a great time to buy the house you’ve always dreamed of owning. Houses have never been more affordable.”‘ “But there is no guarantee that interest rates will remain low, and it is important for home buyers to take advantage of low interest rates while they can. If you’ve been thinking about making the leap and buying a new house, now is a great time to act.” “If you’ve been wanting to… Read more »
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4 years 8 months ago
southseacompany
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“The national lust for home equity lines of credit: should we worry?”, CBC News http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/the-national-lust-for-home-equity-lines-of-credit-should-we-worry-1.3106533 “Low interest rates. High credit limits. Lines of credit can turn your home into an ATM” “Murad Ali and Arsheen Haji live large thanks to easy access to their home equity lines of credit, joining the many Canadians succumbing to the same temptation.” “For the Toronto-area couple, it all started back in 2009 with a lavish $78,000 wedding. Then came numerous overseas vacations. When touring Egypt, Ali bought four souvenir papyrus scrolls for $6,000. In Italy, Haji picked up a $7,000 Chanel bag.” “After the birth of their daughter, the couple moved into a newly built home and spent more than $100,000 on upgrades” “The wedding, trips and high-end purchases were made possible with cash from two home equity lines of credit secured against a… Read more »
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4 years 8 months ago
BCKrustyLiberals
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Christy Clarke’s latest blunder – the Burrard Bridge Yoga fiasco, The healthcare workers firing/suicude before that. Easy ethnic votes was a while ago but the list goes on and on and on. And yet for decades the BC voters are so brainwashed that this 1% government will do something for the middle class that their arrogance has no boundaries. Krusty never pays the price for her/Liberal blunders. If the Liberals are still in power in 2 years myself wife and kids will be gone. Quebec is looking great right now. We would be emigrants that would actually stay where we plan to – not some HamScam that Canadian Government “trusts” to do the right thing.

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4 years 8 months ago