Tag Archives: investors

BC, Canada, debt, economy

Investors bet against Canada

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43 Comments

Why is everybody picking on us?

Investors are betting against our dollar, equities, even our bank stocks.

Markets also see further declines for the loonie, which was quoted buying 84 U.S. cents at 11:35 a.m. and has dropped 8.4% against its U.S. counterpart over the past year. Wagers against the currency outnumbered those for it — so-called net shorts — by 17,087 positions as of Jan. 6, the most since Dec. 5,  according to data from the Washington-based Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

For Merrill Lynch, the risk is the slowdown in the oilsands will seep into a housing market “already saddled with near-record levels of household leverage.”

Canada’s ratio of household debt to disposable income rose to a record 162.6% between July and September, according to data released last month. Benchmark interest rates of 1% have fanned a house-buying frenzy that sent 2014 sales up 6.7% in Toronto and 16% in Vancouver.

Read the full article in the Financial Post.

Open Topic

Friday Free-for-all!

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127 Comments

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

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:

–Assessments and sales
–Canada in ‘serious trouble’?
–Optimism Fading?
–Rent vs. buy math
–High debt a way of life
–Oil brings doubt
–Chinese investors not afraid of ghosts
–Realtor Hunger Index at 68%
–Prices down in Yuan
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So what are you seeing out there? Post your news links, thoughts and anecdotes here and have an excellent weekend!

BC, Canada, data, debt, economy, opinion, prices

Politicians shouldn’t meddle with housing market

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33 Comments

This is probably the first housing editorial in The Province that most readers here can agree on.  Well, the headline any ways:

Politicians shouldn’t meddle with the housing market.

Imagine a world where the government didn’t meddle with the housing market.  There would be no CMHC insuring close to $600 Billion in mortgages, instead lenders would loan based only on their own assessment of risk.  There would be no HBP, no HOG. In 2006 there would not have been the rule change that allowed zero down 40 year mortgages with interest only payments for 10 years. After 2008 the CMHC wouldn’t have purchased $69 billion of mortgages off bank books.

But of course you’ve probably figured out that this Province editorial isn’t about that. No, this editorial is about someone suggesting we should levy a tax on vacant properties, likely the tiniest possible example you could find for ‘meddling’ in the housing market.

Wong is not alone in unfairly blaming foreign investors for Vancouver’s high housing prices. The reality is that real estate is a commodity whose price is set in a free market, appropriately, through the forces of supply and demand. No one has a “right” to own a house in a particular city or neighbourhood, and it’s about time that people like Wong and her COPE and NDP pals stopped promoting such notions, especially when it involves taking money from one group and giving it to another. You want a house? Work hard and buy one — or move somewhere cheaper.

Read the full editorial here.

 

opinion

Your racism is boring us all

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76 Comments

Yes, yes, I know you’re not a racist.

But see the thing is it’s easy to get worked up over perceived issues of unfairness and drift into blaming entire cultures for your woes.  Are there wealthy Chinese assholes buying real estate in Vancouver?  Well yeah.  Are there wealthy assholes from other countries buying real estate?  What about wealthy asshole Canadians?  Uh huh. check and check.

But what does this have to do with the price of that leaky house in east van you’ve got your eye on?  Do you really think the global elite are competing for that unit and pricing you out and that the insane growth in Canadian debt loads and bubble prices across the country is not a factor?  If so you’re the ideal sucker for a real estate marketer.

The fact is that even if you’re on welfare in Canada you’re probably better off than most people in China.  Heck, you’re better off than the majority of people in the world.  But it’s a lot easier to notice that teenager in a Lamborghini than to be thankful for what you’ve got.

Now clearly not everyone agrees that an endless discussion over ‘HAM’ is mind-boggling boring, but if you do please consider down-voting repetitive blame comments and trolls but up voting informative fact filled comments.

For a site without active moderation we’ve been remarkably lucky to have interesting conversations and generous people sharing information and data that is hard to find anywhere else.  Lets try to keep that way.  Our hope is that the community comment rating system can be used by you the reader to shape the discussion away from blaming cultures and down to blaming the real drivers of a housing bubble: speculators, buyers, government and lenders.

 

 

Open Topic

FFFA! We (heart) weekends edition!

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93 Comments

Hey, you made it to the end of another work week, congratulations!

And here at VCI, 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:

–Wish I never downsized to a condo
–Mortgage changes in 2014 budget
–Wealthy moving to Vancouver
–Ooops, maybe not
–Every city is just like Vancouver
–Consumer debt keeps swelling
–25 cent Crack pipe vending machine
–Next crisis not from emerging markets
–Craigslist aids crackdown on illegal suites
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So what are you seeing out there? Post your news links, thoughts and anecdotes here and have a great weekend!