jesse at vancouvercondo.info February 14th, 2011 at 11:48 am – “An investor friend of mine is actively involved in spec building on the west side of Vancouver. According to her, there was significant activity amongst investors who are buying teardown lots and building to suit (this was late last year). There is a large backlog at the City for permit applications that is just now being cleared. She does not see the market as strong: the margins are very thin right now and the quality of builders and contractors is oscillating. In her words the market is “competitive”, meaning land prices are high and profits for spec builders are getting razor thin, given the effect of carrying high land prices for the construction period. She thinks 1/2 the SFH volume right now is investor/flippers.”
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“She thinks 1/2 the SFH volume right now is investor/flippers.”
Fairly normal characteristics from inexperienced players, who suddenly think they know it all.
Whether it is the stock market or the property market at the end of every boom, the experienced players get out, and the newbies get smashed.
Sounds good! Sooner we move through this implosion the sooner life can get back to normal.
(Unfortunately it will take longer than most think and a lot of people will get smashed while this happens.)
However the market doesn’t differentiate between the greedy, the stupid, the innocent, or the naive.
“She thinks 1/2 the SFH volume right now is investor/flippers.”
One could say the same for Richmond. However, the pool of buyers will continue to arrive in the form of investor immigrants or wealthy newcomers.
Local speculators are relying on that, the “pool of buyers” who will “continue to arrive”, stoking prices ever higher and higher.
vreaa, a bit OT yet interesting as how we all read the same news but 6 months to a couple of years later, we recall the same piece of news but each from a different angle. Take the case of the missing Ontario’s realtor. The latest, he has been kidnapped and a kidnapper is named by the RCMP. But some media is asking if kidnapping is the case, why was he seen shopping 3 days after he went missing.
ctvbc and cknw both reported that a Macau casino is suing a Vancouverite for a gambling debt around $450k. They omitted:
- creditor seeks court injunction to block debtor from selling his 2 houses in Shaughnessy and VW.
- BC assessment of house in Shaughnessy is $3.3M.
- house in VW is listed in the MLS, A/P is $3.98M; the sales history:
2004 April, sold for $668k
2005 July, sold for $1.848M
current BC ass: $3.047M
According to me, everyone bought the houses in Van West in Cash. No Mortgage involved.
MHL -> Please elaborate. Do you have first hand information, as you’re implying? Please share more specifics, if you will.
Don’t suck. You don’t have to believe anything you read.
Of course I understand that, jesse.
But my preference is to take everything at face value, and ask for verification.
False claimants usually go away, those with substance usually elaborate.
[Very recent successful example of this approach on the newbie landlord thread.]
It’s a librarian approach.