Cam Good – “If You Can’t Beat ’em… Beat Somebody Else.”

Posted on 6 January 2012 | 30 Comments


‘Are Canadians the New Chinese?’
“So the Christmas season is upon us. It’s time to build a fire in the fireplace, brew up some mulled wine and spend time with the family. A good conversation starter at this time of year might be last night’s Christmas party or upcoming vacation plans.
But if you’ve had enough sugar and spice and everything nice and feel like ruffling some turkey feathers then try dropping the following comment into conversation:
“I welcome Chinese investment in Vancouver real estate”
Mouths will fall open, the music will stop with an exaggerated record scratch and the fire in the fireplace will be mysteriously snuffed out.
These words are guaranteed to start a raucous debate, especially if the booze is flowing. The soaring price of Vancouver real estate is the topic on everyone’s mind. Unfortunately speculation is plentiful, with little concrete fact—just open a newspaper or scroll the Vancouver Real Estate Anecdote Archive for the latest horror stories and heated opinions.
Is Vancouver’s housing bubble about to burst? Is there even a bubble? If so, what’s behind it? Etc. It has our heads spinning and our wallets quivering in fear.
Some feel that the Chinese are to blame for the hefty price tags on Vancouver homes. Recent economic prosperity in China has led to the emergence of a huge class of ‘new rich’ and they are buying up Canadian real estate, sight unseen, to the chagrin of many.
And yet, Canadians are doing the exact same thing in the States, in places like Las Vegas, Florida and Arizona. The economic fallout from the sub-prime mortgage crisis combined with the overall tightening of US credit markets has led to a dramatic drop in real estate prices. The bottom line: American real estate is an accessible and potentially lucrative investment and many Canadians are already taking advantage of the opportunity.
If a house is for sale, whether it be in Arizona or Vancouver, and somebody has the money to buy it, should it matter where they come from?”
– Cam Good, local real estate salesman, post at The Key marketing group website, 16 Dec 2011 [hat-tip Gord]

We’re touched by the VREAA mention. But “horror stories”? We haven’t even started running the ‘horror stories’ yet; they, unfortunately, come later.
And they will be that much more horrific given the heights from which prices have to fall. And just one factor that promoted those price heights was the shameless pumping of real estate by local RE hucksters. And self-anointed poster-boy for local RE promoters would be….?
Anyway, that sub-plot aside, let’s look at the current advice Cam is giving:
If you’re Chinese, invest in Vancouver; if you’re a Vancouverite, invest in… Arizona.
Why the inconsistency? With the love for Vancouver, why bother with Arizona?
Is Vancouver in a bubble or is it not? Cam scorns those who ask, but he doesn’t answer the question.
The rest of us all know the answer.
– vreaa

This entry was posted in 01. He Said, She Said, 05. Where do Buyers get the money? and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

30 responses to “Cam Good – “If You Can’t Beat ’em… Beat Somebody Else.””

  1. Nemesis | 6 January 2012 at 5:42 pm | Reply

    Ship. Rat[s]. Sinking.

  2. bubbly | 6 January 2012 at 6:04 pm | Reply

    Cam Good is puke.

    • jholt | 29 June 2012 at 9:49 am | Reply

      Cam Good is NOT puke. Please don’t give puke a bad name by putting them in the same group as Cam Good. Cam Good is a profiteering scumbag.

      I don’t hold it against him that he is getting rich. But the fact that he is doing it at the expense of other peoples’ misery. He’s just a raper and pillager in a fancy suit, and ads in media but has no better sense of ethics than an email scammer.

      I have no doubt that he would tear down the last Brazilian rain forest if he could make a tidy profit. Sadly like many business sociopaths he will never see past his own subjective wants and greed.

  3. Joe Q. | 6 January 2012 at 6:06 pm | Reply

    Absolutely Cam. Because investing in a market that is at or near its low, where good money can be made from rental income, is just like investing in a market that is at or near its high, where money is lost every month through negative cash flow.

  4. MM | 6 January 2012 at 6:13 pm | Reply

    “If money can be made on a house sale, whether it be in Arizona or Vancouver, it doesn’t matter whether they have the money to buy it, or where they come from”

  5. Renters Revenge | 6 January 2012 at 6:20 pm | Reply

    Let foreigners buy, fine with me. But let’s ensure that government revenue is collected in the form of a Land Value Tax, not via income and consumption taxes.
    “LVT is a tax almost impossible to avoid, while money can income can be moved offshore, land is pretty solidly in one place. As it only taxes value of the land not improvements it should be easier to assess than a property tax that relies on the full value of the land plus improvements. That’s important as for any property tax to be fair, even in it’s own terms, the valuations need to remain up to date. As it charges for the full rental value of the land whether the land is developed or not it encourages efficient use of land, discourages speculation and empty sites and provides a natural impetus for regeneration and against sprawl.”
    http://brightgreenscotland.org/index.php/2010/04/why-we-should-be-talking-about-land-value-tax/

  6. bubbly | 6 January 2012 at 6:28 pm | Reply

    In Vancouver, you can do everything right when buying a house and still get burned: http://benry.net/2011/07/26/a-fire-story/

  7. interested | 6 January 2012 at 8:23 pm | Reply

    “Unfortunately, speculation is rampant…” By George! He’s hit the nail right on the head!

  8. M- | 6 January 2012 at 9:49 pm | Reply

    What surprises me the most is that Scam Good reads VREAA!

    • bubbly | 6 January 2012 at 10:58 pm | Reply

      We knew that already. One of his ass-istents commented here in the past. And I suspect that certain regular commenters may be affiliated with him too.

      • SimeonG | 20 January 2012 at 1:05 pm |

        By ass-istents who were you referring to? I don’t actually think He reads VREAA. Either way, most of the ‘news’ that is put out there by Cam via the media is a ‘chicken-before-the-egg’ type scenario.

        I would be happy to answer any specific questions you have about real numbers behind the scenes though.

  9. 4SlicesofCheese | 6 January 2012 at 11:35 pm | Reply

    So apparently one section of the cambie corrider has been sold out!

    The block south of Queen Park has a big sold out sign on it when I was passing by this morning.

  10. Loon | 7 January 2012 at 7:49 am | Reply

    Hey VREAA, a new report links high house prices as the top reason new immigrants have declining health in Vancouver:

    http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2012/01/07/why-is-vancouver-bad-for-immigrants-health/

    I feel a cough coming on…

  11. E.G. | 7 January 2012 at 9:02 am | Reply

    Anecdote alert! (In the Vancouver Sun, none-the-less):

    http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Laptop+hobos+face+crackdown/5959499/story.html

    “‘Laptop hobos” may soon pay more for the privilege of Wi-Fi as cafés begin to crack down on users who overstay their welcome.

    Free Wi-Fi has become the norm in café culture — even MacDonald’s started offering it this year — but like any real estate bubble, this one may be about to burst.”

  12. chubster | 7 January 2012 at 9:37 am | Reply

    don’t know cam good but in the end, of course responsibility is the buyer’s. he sees a market and is facilitating supply to demand for a fee. it’s a service; whether a good one, or worth the price is a separate matter. if successful, he will have competition and that will improve the service.

    meanwhile elsewhere, check out what you can get for about $3M in Carmel Valley CA. area is bpoe-worthy.

    http://www.jamesburgearthstation.com/

    after the fallout, similar situations in vcr and bc will arise on a smaller scale.

  13. kc | 7 January 2012 at 10:57 am | Reply

    interesting little blurb about comparing US and Vancouver prices and monthly costs.

    “Home ownership affordability in the US versus Vancouver: very different stories”

    http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2011/12/13/home-ownership-affordability-in-the-us-versus-vancouver-very-different-stories/

  14. jesse | 8 January 2012 at 6:14 am | Reply

    If it wasn’t “Chinese” investment it would be something else. BC just needs an excuse to gamble. Cam is the messenger, not the problem.

  15. jesse | 8 January 2012 at 6:30 am | Reply

    One passing anecdote, friend has flipped a few condos in Vancouver, now renting in Toronto. Has presales coming due Jan 17, needs to sell because cannot afford neg carry costs on it.

    But funny part is her attitude to owning. She is from Vancouver originally and says she cannot bring herself to rent in Vancouver, with her family there. Renting to her would be like a failure. She would rather live at home than rent. For personal reasons she prefers to live away from parents. So in some bizarre fit of logic the only way she can opt for renting is to leave the city. She’s about 24 years old.

    Social pressures and bubbles? Yes.

    • VanCity Guy | 10 January 2012 at 2:12 pm | Reply

      is your friend Asian?

      I have a friend in the same situation… they are renting in a different city, but would live at parent’s house or at a condo she owns if she lived in Vancouver.

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