exx at vancouvercondo.info 18 May 2010 2:04 pm -
“One of my co-workers listed his Burnaby townhouse at the beginning of this month. All it took was one open house and he received an offer from a couple that absolutely loved the place. Even better, and much to his surprise, they offered him what he was asking (low $300’s). Today he learned they couldn’t get financing…
In ‘08 I only knew one person selling (and he chased the market down until he sold for 20% below list). Today I know 3, and all of them admit that this market is going bad and regret not selling sooner – 2 have priced their properties sharply as a result, the other is counting on a real sucker but is willing to pull the trigger on a big reduction.”
The idea that RE might not be all it’s cracked up to be seems to be creeping into the minds of the masses. Even a month ago when I said I was selling people were surprised and confused. Now a few look at me with a worried look of understanding.
I had a strange encounter the other day though. I meet a woman who has to relocate for family reasons and so is selling her house. I suggested that that might be a good thing as house prices looked like they were going to go down. She volunteered that she thought house prices would go down about 30%. Thinking that she was of the same opinion as I, I told her that we had sold and were going to rent and that she should rent too. Her reply was “Oh no, we would never rent”. I really didn’t know what to say. This woman’s house is worth about $600k so a drop of 30% is $180,000. Assuming that she buys another house of a similar price, she would rather consciously lose $180k than be a renter!
Did you see this story?
http://www.greaterfool.ca/2010/05/19/the-lesson/
Yes, I did, thanks. Will likely headline it.
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