Open Topic

Friday Free-for-all!

172
172 Comments

Hi, how are you?

It’s the end of another week and that means it’s time for another Friday Free-for-all!

This is 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:

–Small tweak to downpayment
–Illicit financial flows
–Richmond HPI up 24% in 1 year
–Free Rent! (in Calgary)
–Tourism set to break records
–New rules won’t cool Vancouver
–

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

(comment voting will be back in the new year)

172 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
tedeastside

.

0
0
BPOM ex-boyfriend

Confession time – BPOM and I had a “short” fling as he is a much smaller of a man than he claims thus the resulting bitterness. He is a very tiny angry loser. I left him because he was afraid I would expose him to the various neo nazi groups he belongs to (online membership only because he is still living with his mom….don’t take a shower if you are in his house). Any acknowledgement of his insanity would give this woman/ immigrant hating loser much more respect than he deserves….

0
0
bullwhip29

Globe and Mail: Investors should brace for lower returns, big price swings in 2016 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/investors-brace-for-lower-returns-and-big-price-swings-in-2016/article27909475 >>>couldnt agree more. the writing has been on the wall for some time and the anecdotal evidence is everywhere if one just opens their eyes… -retail in both cda and the US is flat on its a$$ due to consumers either not able to spend any more or worse yet, not willing to -the high USD is killing off business in all the major US vacation hot spots -no money down subprime lending is back in the US -the tax on foreign RE investors in the US has been eased after 35 yrs -major US stock indices will be lucky to break even or finish slightly up this year (after going straight up for 6 yrs in a row) with only a handful of big… Read more »

0
0
space889

So just so I get this right: 1 – Calling a region Mainland China a shit hellhole and everyone from there who happens to belong to “Chinese” ethnic group scums, locusts, thieves, etc is NOT racist, cuz it’s about a group of recognized people from only a certain region. 2 – Calling Chinese locust, scum, thieves, dirty bags, human garbages, etc is NOT racist – cuz we aren’t talking about all the Chinese world wide, just those from mainland China, and that one reporter from HK used the term locust first. 3 – Justin Trudeau not naming any chinese MP to his cabinet is NOT racist 4 – Cheering point #3 as a Liberal message of how Canada will progress in the future, where there is no place for Chinese scums is NOT racist – cuz again we are only… Read more »

0
0
patriotz

Calgary’s problems mount as oil prices slide

(25 year old new grad) was one of the lucky few of her graduating geology class to secure full-time work this year, at oil company ConocoPhillips. She bought a house with her boyfriend, also a newly graduated geologist with a job, before they both became victims of the cuts.

0
0
bullwhip29

FP: Canada’s economy unexpectedly stalls, setting uncertain tone for end of the year http://business.financialpost.com/news/economy/canadas-economy-didnt-grow-at-all-in-october Reuters: Canada retail sales up less than expected in October http://ca.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idCAKBN0U61DI20151223 >>> makes you wonder what all the so called experts have been smoking all these months to even suggest the Cdn economy was turning around. although it has taken some time, the precipitous decline in the loonie over the last 4 yrs is starting to have a significant impact on both the psyche and the balance sheets of average cdns. the fact that the three largest mkts in canada happen to be near the US border has actually lessened the blow to cdn retailers somewhat, but i think this effect will be short lived as regular cdns grapple with how to stretch those paychecks in an environment where prices for many essentials are going parabolic… Read more »

0
0
patriotz

@137: “no other insurance provider would take on 95% of a loan with so little collateral.”

In fact an FHA mortgage can be obtained with only 3.5% down, but this requires a high credit score.

Also FHA, Fannie and Freddie have mortgage ceilings much lower than Canada’s – $625,500 in San Francisco and $517,500 in Seattle, for example.

0
0
space889

@StupidityCheck – So why are you complaining if you deserve it?

0
0
space889

@137 – So what does Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do in US? Just 2 more run of the mill banks?

0
0
space889

I guess it’s like that Henry Ford saying, you are free to vote for anyone you want on the strata council as long as they speak English at strata council meetings.

And apparantly for not voting for someone who can’t speak a certain language is now racism.

Principles of democracy, right?

0
0
StupidityCheck

This city has the real estate market it deserves. Apathetic voters, corrupt politicians, greedy homeowners, assholes like B!B!B!, SIDA and spaceshit…

0
0
I'm with Stupid ^

Had a few drinks with a local guy over the weekend, hes a small time developer. Does SFH’s and duplexes usually in Richmond cause you can get permits in a couple weeks where as in Vancouver there is a backlog of 4-6 months.

He was complaining about how crazy prices are now and how housing is too expensive for local incomes. I was just rolling my eyes the whole time and wondering how the hell was he so clueless that he is part of the problem.

0
0
vangrl

#158

God no, there is definitely a trickle-down affect.

0
0
Yunak

@153

Good stuff they published addresses of those philanthropists. If shit hits the windmill confused locals will know where to look for help and understanding.

0
0
Shut It Down Already

“locals are gorging themselves on cheap debt mainly because they are in total fear of being priced out of the City by Mainland Chinese.”

So you’ve given up on the “trickle down” theory then, and now agree that it’s the locals who are mostly responsible for price increases? Congrats, I guess.

0
0
Aggregator

#132

Australia had a government-backed mortgage market like CMHC in the early 1990s. It was privatized later in 1998. Now their mortgage industry (Genworth Australia) is lobbying for government insurance again.

0
0
Shut It Down Already

Indefensible? This owner feels discriminated because a meeting that he has no right to attend will be conducted In a language he cannot speak, despite the fact that the minutes of that meeting will be produced IN ENGLISH. There is no story here, no discrimination, no racism – except in the minds of those who childishly jump on any headline that’s even remotely linked to China.

0
0
Best place on meth

@153 Cameron Muir, best friend of money laundering tax evading mainland chinese crooks chimes in with his usual nonsense: While most of the media attention on the “foreign money” flooding into Vancouver real estate has focused on the negatives, realtors we talked to emphasize the positives—particularly the money injected into the local economy via shops, restaurants or services. These homebuyers, says realtor Saito, “are real people with real families and real needs.” Moreover, some industry observers think the very idea of the “foreign” investor is a red herring in today’s global economy. “If you’re a landed immigrant, you’re pulling in money from somewhere else,” says Cameron Muir, economist at the B.C. Real Estate Association. “And if that’s the definition, then we’re all foreign investors. Of the money that you and I and everyone else have invested in the Canadian pension… Read more »

0
0
Best place on meth

@151

You seem tired.

Tired of trying to defend an indefensible position, and it really is indefensible.

What part of china did you say you’re from?

0
0
Hamsteronwheel

Apologies if already posted. From BC biz mag. A must read.

http://www.bcbusiness.ca/real-estate/who-is-buying-homes-on-vancouvers-angus-drive

0
0
vangrl

If we didn’t have Chinese buying here and Developers & Realtors telling us everyday – “It’s only going to get worse”, “we are now a top Global City” (Barf), “Capital outflow is at record rates”, “locals should settle for Condos, cuz it ain’t gonna change”, “Vancouver is actually underpriced” etc.. does anyone honestly believe that anyone would pay 1.8 million for a Vancouver special on Kingsway?

0
0
Shut It Down Already

148, they didn’t exclude people who weren’t Chinese. Read you own post again, as many times as you need.

0
0
vangrl

locals are gorging themselves on cheap debt mainly because they are in total fear of being priced out of the City by Mainland Chinese.

They’re also not selling for the same reason.

Thumbs up BPOM

Happy Holidays everyone.

Can’t believe SpaceShit managed to disable the voting system. Why not just ban him instead?

0
0
ostritch

This should conclude the test of removing voting. It’s not the racism, it’s how boring and repetitive it is on both sides. Before I only read pink and yellow posts. That helped.

0
0
Best place on meth

@144

“There’s no racism here. There’s not even discrimination.”

Wow. You are the gift that just keeps on giving.

You actually think that deliberately excluding people who are not Chinese from the strata council isn’t racist.

What they are saying is that to be on the council you must be Chinese, nobody else is allowed – and you don’t think that’s racism?

Holy shit. Amazing.

Please, tell me more.

0
0