(Conversation overheard today at the gym. Two boomers.)
Man: Is your daughter still renting?
Woman: Don’t tell me… It gives me anxiety. Who is renting those days?
Man: I do not know. Every one I know owns. Why doesn’t she jump in?
Woman (looking at the far away horizon with empty eyes): She is waiting for things to change…
Man: What ?!?!?!
Woman: This is what she says….
Man: Do you really think things could change? This is Vancouver.
Woman: No…uhhghgh… maybe, who knows?
– jumpin in at VCI 4 may 9:26pm
Most Recent Comments:
- Maria Ter on “Over the years, we refinanced our home a few times to pay off our debts. Now we’re selling our home as we can’t keep up with mortgage payments. In this market, we’re not sure if we’ll break even.”
- space889 on “I’m surprised that everyone else is so surprised to hear anyone talk about a housing bubble” – “Canadian RE 2021 worse than U.S. bubble at 2006 peak” – David Rosenburg
- amitamv on “I’m surprised that everyone else is so surprised to hear anyone talk about a housing bubble” – “Canadian RE 2021 worse than U.S. bubble at 2006 peak” – David Rosenburg
- Keith on “I’m surprised that everyone else is so surprised to hear anyone talk about a housing bubble” – “Canadian RE 2021 worse than U.S. bubble at 2006 peak” – David Rosenburg
- Judy Green on “I’m surprised that everyone else is so surprised to hear anyone talk about a housing bubble” – “Canadian RE 2021 worse than U.S. bubble at 2006 peak” – David Rosenburg
- space889 on “I’m surprised that everyone else is so surprised to hear anyone talk about a housing bubble” – “Canadian RE 2021 worse than U.S. bubble at 2006 peak” – David Rosenburg
- Seeking Knowledge on “I’m surprised that everyone else is so surprised to hear anyone talk about a housing bubble” – “Canadian RE 2021 worse than U.S. bubble at 2006 peak” – David Rosenburg
- vreaa on “I’m surprised that everyone else is so surprised to hear anyone talk about a housing bubble” – “Canadian RE 2021 worse than U.S. bubble at 2006 peak” – David Rosenburg
- space889 on “I’m surprised that everyone else is so surprised to hear anyone talk about a housing bubble” – “Canadian RE 2021 worse than U.S. bubble at 2006 peak” – David Rosenburg
- space889 on “I’m surprised that everyone else is so surprised to hear anyone talk about a housing bubble” – “Canadian RE 2021 worse than U.S. bubble at 2006 peak” – David Rosenburg
- Conflarian on “I’m surprised that everyone else is so surprised to hear anyone talk about a housing bubble” – “Canadian RE 2021 worse than U.S. bubble at 2006 peak” – David Rosenburg
- Conflarian on “I’m surprised that everyone else is so surprised to hear anyone talk about a housing bubble” – “Canadian RE 2021 worse than U.S. bubble at 2006 peak” – David Rosenburg
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Type of Anecdote
- 01. He Said, She Said (248)
- 02. Profiting from the Boom (446)
- 03. Changed my Life (106)
- 04. Changed my Career (39)
- 05. Where do Buyers get the money? (1,111)
- 06. Held my Nose and Leapt (97)
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- 11. Regrets about Investing in RE (417)
- 12. Effects of Development (279)
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- 14. Social Effects of the Boom (1,266)
- 15. Misallocation of Resources (967)
- 16. Missed The Boat? (237)
- 17. The Froogle Scott Chronicles (27)
- 18. Spot The Speculator (174)
- 19. BlastRadiusPostCards (17)
- 20. The Limitless Demand Argument For Ongoing Market Strength (70)
- 21. Vancouver RE-Verse [Found Poems] (8)
- 22. RE References In Popular Culture (45)
- 23. Jumping The Shark (1)
- 24. Policies On Housing (11)
- 25. Epigrams For The Bubble (1)
- 26. Premature Calls Of "Bottom" (3)
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- 29. Bubblespeak (1)
- Uncategorized (177)
Blogroll
- 01 Vancouver Condo Info
- 02 AmericaCanada [retired, no archive]
- 03 Housing Analysis
- 04 RealEstateTalks BC
- 05 Vancouver RE and then some
- 06 Whispers from the Village on the Edge of the Rainforest
- 07 Greater Fool
- 08 Canada Bubble
- 09 Rob Chipman's blog
- 10 YatterMatters
- 11 condohype [retired; archives available]
- 12 vancouver (un)real estate
- 13 Agent Will's Stats [retired]
- 14 Landlord Rescue
- 15 The Economic Analyst
- 16 Canadian Housing Price Charts
- 17 Hoodsurf [retired Jun 2011]
- 18 World Housing Bubble
- 19 Vancouver Price Drop
- 20 North American Economics
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Latest Anecdotes:
- “I’m surprised that everyone else is so surprised to hear anyone talk about a housing bubble” – “Canadian RE 2021 worse than U.S. bubble at 2006 peak” – David Rosenburg
- “Always the Right Time to Buy!” – Cheap Rope For Vancouver RE Buyers
- Mortgage Squeeze Anecdotes – “Two days ago my mortgage holder called and told me that, after 22 years, they would not renew my mortgage.”
- Wow! – CMHC CEO Evan Siddall Points To Unsustainable Debt & Calls For 18% Drop In Housing Prices – [which of course would mean a lot more off]
- Prediction: Vancouver RE Prices Will Not Crash… Unless They Crash
- Pre-Existing Disease – COVID Economic Stress Uncovers Longstanding Vulnerability in Vancouver RE Market
- COVID-19 the Pin for the Highly Debt-Leveraged Vancouver RE Bubble?
- Vancouver Sun Headline – ‘Five more Metro Vancouver homeowners hosed in a falling market’
- Vancouver RE Prices – Where is the Support?
- Money Laundering & Vancouver Home Prices
- “Psychologically, They’re Ill-Prepared” – “Canadian Chaos Looms”
- Keeping Up With Other Bubbles – Australia Suddenly Not Running Out Of Land Anymore – “Aussie House Prices Could Halve”
- Watershed? or Dam-Collapsing? – Mainstream Media Quoting Vancouver RE Bear-Tweets, and Predicting Shrinking Realtor Numbers – “What they’re used to is not what real estate is typically like.”
- “Within artistic communities in Vancouver it’s hard to spend more than 15 minutes at a social gathering without talking about the cost of rent or knowing of someone who is being evicted.”
- Macleans Wakes Up – ‘This is how Canada’s housing correction begins’ – “We’re not ready for what happens next”
- Vancouver Detached – Sales Down, Prices Down
- Bloomberg Calls Vancouver ‘The City That Had Too Much Money’
- “Our family loves Vancouver, but we’re leaving because the struggle to live here is simply too hard”
- Tendency Towards Corruption Is Inevitable – How Do We Minimize Its Existence?
- Hard Earned Home Savings? Hardly.
- “You know your real estate is in bad shape when there is a game app that displays Vancouver’s Science World and teaches you how to be a money hungry real estate developer.”
- “It’s sinking in that Vancouver is sinking” – “Westside prices have fallen 17% from 2016 & 11% this year; sales volumes down by 80%; 3 years worth of >$3 Million inventory”
- The Carrion Have The Carcass – “I’ve lived in Vancouver since 1968; my wife was born here; we are about to leave; this town has priced us out. All that is left are the investors and the very rich visitors.”
- All Time High, And Climbing… $251 Billion Personal Debt Borrowed Against Canadian Homes
- “I asked a group of young people how many of them thought they’d be in Vancouver in two years, and 17 out of 18 said that they would be moving.” – Mayoral Candidate Shauna Sylvester
- Off-The-Charts Unaffordable – Greater Vancouver Price-To-Income Ratio 28 (average home price: $1,071,800, median one-person income: $38,164)
- Conflicts of Interest – BC MLAs Heavily Invested In RE Making Laws About RE
- File Under Tags: ‘Tolerant Vancouver Renter’ and ‘YouGottaBeKiddinMe’
- Vancouver “an international housing-affordability basket case” with “RE bubble risk the worst in the world” – Maclean’s
- Vancouver Economy Over-Dependent On Debt Spending
- Vancouver City Councillors Wake Up To ‘Fierce Speculative Demand’ – “There is significant evidence speculative investment has the biggest impact on housing costs in the city.”
- The Dance Around Foreign Ownership of Vancouver RE
- Information From Outside The Vancouver RE Bubble – U.S. Senator Lives In (don’t laugh) $500K Home
- “The Position Remains Unfilled”
- Jessica Barrett – ‘I Left Vancouver Because Vancouver Left Me’ – “Like Living On An Abandoned Film Set.”
- “I’ve thought since early 2010 that Vancouver housing was in a bubble, and have refused to buy a house for this reason. I’ve felt that the risk of mean-reversion was far higher than the risk of missing the upside.”
- “It is very difficult to live here.”
- “We want young people to buy Real Estate.” – Vancouver’s Mayor
- “Vancouver RE Balloon Pricked; Median Price Detached Home Down >$500,000 to $1.7 million; Prices Need To Be Slashed”
- Detached Price Trend Remains Up, For Now. Speculators Hold Their Breath?
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“Everyone I know owns”
To be ignorant of one’s ignorance is the malady of the ignorant. – Alcott
Some days I wonder who is really going to bear the scars of Vancouver’s speculative excesses. That few can identify “subprime” in Canada is, perhaps, because of the predominant colour of the malfeasants’ collars blends better in the snow.
I just overheard a startling conversation while I was waiting for the bus at Broadway & Cambie (apropos “subprime”) – a 35ish couple just on their way home from an open house/discussion with mortgage broker. The female half of the couple was exalting over the fact that the interest on the “huge” amount of money they could borrow was only $1400 a month. She was quite excited over the fact that they would only have to pay the interest if they had money challenges at any time (aka – all the time). Neither of them seemed to think that interest rates would ever change from where they are now and that if they did experience “challenges” they could just pay the interest until they could sell for a profit. I am always amazed by how many of these delusional individuals there are, it really does not bode well for the future.
People on this blog must be real experts at eavesdropping. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a conversation that personal about money between two people I don’t know.
realitycheck,
I’ve never heard them either. In fact, the only anecdotes I hear are from renters – and the stories are decidedly negative. I’ve come to take them with a grain of salt given the all too familiar tone and considering the source of the information
“I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.” – Ernest Hemingway
Most of the topics here could very likely be made up. There are no evidence of these events even happening. It’s he said, she said shit talk.
Yes, nothing really matters but real declining prices…all the rest is background noise.
the question was asked: What do you find good about Vancouver?
Vancouver is ruled by Neptune, as is the whole West Coast. With Neptune in its dignity in Pisces, Vancouver appears to be set as a spiritual mecca. All those people on the road to pilgrimage need to be housed, right?
HilorySkott: “Vancouver is a very Neptunian city, in the astrology of location, astro-cartography, the entire west coast is along a Neptune Line, and the qualities of Neptune are embodied in the cities along this line. The glamour of Hollywood and illusions of film as well as the harsh reality of the junkies on the corner of Hastings and Main street; Aka, wastings and pain. The other side of the coin is escapism- always two sides. Neptune is as active in the charts of drug addicts as it is in the spiritual leaders, artists, musicians, writers; those that are inspired know the domain of Neptune.”
+ when it’s cold, dark and wet, you’re on a mission from god … to buy fruit, bread and milk … or you’re in blade runner
+ pinpointing exact place where they filmed that x-files
+ electric trolley buses … especially when they screw up running off the cables and the driver has to run out reset the fishing poles … or are they chopsticks?
+ az visitors on kits beach sun worship … “these have gotta the be the whitest people i’ve ever seen”
+ late summer day pitch&putt at sp – pretty shadows … and goose problems
+ almost nightly moron’s car fashions show, robson st catwalk … sideshow, people pretending to shop
+ who builds a 3 lane bridge and causeway?
if not clear, i thought these were all good things
Note to Realty Check – try taking public transit and you’ll be surprised at what you’ll hear.
Confirmed. Also, to any fellow transit riders to whom this might apply: I don’t need to hear about the antibiotics the guy sitting behind me needs to take nor how he acquired the infection. Yuck.
“Is it contagious?” “Hell yeah!”
VREEA,
got another one for you.
Here is a chart of Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Toronto, Ottawa and Canadian House Prices, Indexed to 1980 and adjusted for inflation. Most here would agree that the majority of cities in Canada are overvalued/ in bubble status, but only one city in Canada is in absolute bizarro land. Maybe two.
Kevin -> Many thanks.
Of course, we had Expo in 86 and Olympics in 2010, so all historical ‘norms’ are meaningless. 😉
way cool … 1980-ish totally worthy baseline period
For great justice
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