This story got wide coverage in the media. Some saw it as a ‘shoe-shine-boy moment’ for the market….
From ‘Vancouver pizza boy: Sell your house now!’, Steve Ladurantaye, G&M, 24 Jun 2011 -
“As far as anecdotes go, it’s pretty damning: A pizza delivery boy knocks on the door of one of Vancouver’s best known money managers and tells him that he should sell his house to a property hungry Chinese investor.
And he doesn’t stop there — apparently the well connected pizza boy has contacts in China and has even seen Chinese buyers show up at the very houses he delivers pizzas to with briefcases stuffed full of money.
The story comes from the latest research note from Odlum Brown Ltd.’s Murray Leith. While the pizza boy’s connections may be questionable, it is an interesting snapshot into the way real estate has taken over the city’s psychology.
“With Chinese money flooding into the city, the pizza guy offering to broker homes, and people approaching homeowners with suit cases full of money, it is fair to say that the situation is getting a little crazy,” Mr. Leith says.
“Mr. Leith suggests that tightening credit in China could curtail its citizens’ investing activities abroad. And with Canadian household debt at all time highs, he said prices could soon moderate or start to decline.
That sounds a lot like calling the market’s peak, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to sell at the top. Even if the pizza boy thinks it’s a good idea.
“To take advantage of the high prices, someone fortunate enough to own a home has to downsize, relocate to a region with lower real estate prices, or rent,” he said. “Those options do not appeal to my family.”
—
Individuals with higher net-worth, where the value of their home makes up only 25%-40% of their net-worth, may very well be more comfortable sitting put through the coming price crash. Most of them will be able to tolerate a downdraft in paper wealth of 10%-20% of net-worth. All other owners may find the price drops harder to stomach. – vreaa
All those great contacts in China, all the money flowing through the Vancouver RE market and he is still delivering pizza?
i find this article racist
you’re all just haters
and racist haters gonna hate.
That last bit is very illuminating. How many will miss out because of the stigma/inconvenience/[insert reason here] of renting?
I’m incredibly lucky that my wife and I are in complete agreement on the benefits of being renters in the current environment.
my gf is japanese and knows about bubbles – in fact, mentioning a bubble to a japanese person is like mentioning 9/11 to a new yorker.
***** hyperbole do not attack plz
we are lucky, aren’t we? i just watched my buddy spend a year renovating their SFH for his wife in poco – this should get ugly.
Maybe lucky is the wrong word, if my wife was some vacuous bimbo who wanted a giant McMansion and a couple of shiny new cars in the driveway (and the associated debt to go along with all that) then she wouldn’t be my wife.
Oh the shame, we don’t even own a car!
you’re a bitter, jealous, basement dweller!
stupid canadian, get a job
[Note to historians from the 23rd century: Derp Derp is 'making jokes'; an ancient form of playfulness. -archivist.]
i’m making jokes?
this isn’t a joke, son
this is INVESTING SRSLY
would you like a fine bouquet of my Chinese Tulips?