“The threat of a bubble has largely dissipated. But, really, there never was one.” – Robin Wiebe, senior economist, Conference Board of Canada, speaking of Metro Vancouver; as quoted in ‘Metro Vancouver resale market ‘balanced’: conference board report’, Vancouver Sun, 29 Nov 2011 [hat-tip Smokin' Jayne; added to the 'What Bubble?' sidebar archive as suggested.]
In light of what is happening around the world, it is remarkable that anyone with a training in economics could look at Vancouver’s RE market and not want to issue at the very least some words of reservation. – vreaa
Kendra Todd, The Donald’s apprentice, September 2006
http://oi39.tinypic.com/2cxt8at.jpg
Check out this interview from CBC radio.We are not alone!!!!!!!!!
http://www.cbc.ca/onthecoast/episodes/2011/11/30/housing-bubble/
How can a supposed “non-existent” threat dissipate?
Looks like Robin Wiebe failed first year Philosophy – Logic…
Burnaby Newsleader cover story today is “Unreal Estate: Would a curb on foreign buyers cool this crazy market?”
Sorry if this has already been posted.
A peek across the border:
Poll: If your household income were $100k, how expensive a home would you be comfortable buying.
Most common answer: $300k-$399k
http://seattlebubble.com/blog/2011/11/27/poll-if-your-household-income-were-100000-how-expensive-a-home-would-you-be-comfortable-buying/
This from the country where you can lock in a mortgage at <4% for 30 years, and where your interest payments are tax deductible, and from the state with no state income tax.
3x your income with 25% down. Maximum. From a country that found out the hard way.
Don’t forget that mortgage interest is tax-deductible in the United States.
Vancouver residents are going to have to learn the hard way.
Meanwhile, in Seattle…
Seattle home prices down 6.5% from a year ago
What’s the difference between Vancouver and Seattle again? Oh yes, they have Boeing and Microsoft over there, aka real jobs… At least we have lululemon!
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2011/11/29/seattle-home-prices-down-65-over.html
Seattle is home to head offices of major world class corporations like Starbucks, Costco, Amazon, Weyerhauser, Nintendo America, T-Mobile USA, Providence Health. WOW.
The only globally known company based in Vancouver is EA.
EA’s headquarters is actually in Redwood City, California.
Arguably, in the future, initial high level game design could be done locally but most of the development/debugging jobs can be performed in lower cost centers such as China and India. The internet facilitates this trend of global outsourcing of labor.
Then there really is no economic activity in this rain forest town.
Grow-ops and the enabling criminal contract labour business. Plus getting up and making each other breakfast.
Who cares where the head offices are. Ontario’s economy was built on the back of auto plants – all of them branch plants.
It’s an nWo. Move over McMahon.
What’s worse is that none of these promoters will be held accountable for their shameless promotions, nor will the MSM be vilified for their negligence.
The best we can do is keep a record.
But that doesn’t seem to make any difference, either.
Witness, for instance, all the shameless dot-com bubble promoters who now have high paying media or financial services jobs.
Groups of people have no memory, even when you remind them with hard facts! And perhaps little capacity for logic, too.
So, as you say, none will be held accountable.
(sigh)
Best picture ever
I guess he doesn’t read the Economist.