Crazy Rubs Off – “At that time, strangely, I recognized this was expensive, but did not consider it absurd. My expectations had been subconsciously adjusted to account for the fantastic/abnormal circumstances.”

Posted on 23 February 2013 | 15 Comments

“Just started reading your blog, after a brief foray into the 1-bedroom condo market.
I’m 28, a professional, and earn a high 5 figure salary. I moved to the city 3 years ago.
My anecdote is viewing condos on Fraser, considerably south of broadway in a new building. The building is nice but the street and surrounding area looks awful, particularly at night. Grimy, damp, rundown. Nondescript small business with algae growing on vinyl awnings. Saw a series of small single bedrooms (350k) and one slightly larger single bedroom (375k). At that time, strangely, I recognized this was expensive, but not absurd. My expectations had been subconsciously adjusted to account for otherwise fantastic/ abnormal circumstances. Crazy rubs off.
I started reading more and I havn’t looked at ‘property’ since. I don’t intend to buy in this city at anywhere close to current asking price. I’ll move before I do. That’s not said in a righteous or defensive way, its just true. Two weeks after the viewing I was contacted by the real estate agent with an adjusted price list. 350k was reduced to ~340k, 375k was reduced to 350k.”
– Poorprofessional, via e-mail to VREAA, 21 Feb 2013

I have no doubt that we have all been ‘conditioned’ by the absurd prices.
Even the most ardent and insightful bear has been desensitized to the actual meaning of the large figures.
How long does it take a Canadian to save $400K?
– vreaa

This entry was posted in 05. Where do Buyers get the money?, 08. Overextended Buyers and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

15 responses to “Crazy Rubs Off – “At that time, strangely, I recognized this was expensive, but did not consider it absurd. My expectations had been subconsciously adjusted to account for the fantastic/abnormal circumstances.””

  1. YVR Housing Analyst (@YVRHousing) | 23 February 2013 at 7:55 am | Reply

    I think the “removal of crazy” is the angle the industry is attempting to play as well. The UDI, for example, has elevated its communications strategy into attempting to sell lower quality units — in both size and location — by highlighting monthly payments and not value.

    Not that people need any help; after a few years of frustration the brain would seem to naturally adapt to new surroundings.

    • Ralph Cramdown | 23 February 2013 at 8:46 am | Reply

      Isn’t that the truth. In the early stages of a boom, the far suburbs are marketed as a place where you can get more land and more house for your dollar. By the end, they’re marketed as a place where you can afford to buy.

    • Nemesis | 23 February 2013 at 9:11 am | Reply

      “How long does it take a Canadian to save $400K?”….

      [NoteToEd: Speaking of CrazyRubsOff/Densensitization… Only in the ‘SwingingSixties’ could a spiritual/lament be repurposed as ‘upbeat’ variety TV fare… MerleTravis wrote it in ’46… TennesseErnie popularized it in ’56… The ‘dance ensemble’ go-go recording dates from ’65… What were the production designer/choreographer thinking (smoking)?]

  2. Nemesis | 23 February 2013 at 9:48 am | Reply

    Things that make you go “Hmmmm?”…. DearReaders, a strange juxtaposition in this morning’s QuantumFlow yields a ZenOpportunity to juicy by far not to share here/now…

    [REUTERS] – Radiation leak at U.S. nuclear facility (0:38) – Feb. 23 – State officials say there are six tanks leaking radioactive waste at nuclear storage facility with history of similar leaks

    http://tinyurl.com/azuva3l

    [REUTERS] – Giant goldfish have mysteriously found their way into the famously crystalline waters of Lake Tahoe, the nation’s second-deepest lake, alarming researchers and raising questions

    http://tinyurl.com/bcga4x6

    [NoteToEd: Might be a good time to reconsider any pending LakeTahoe RE purchases…]

  4. CanuckDownUnder | 23 February 2013 at 4:12 pm | Reply

    Sydney Morning Herald, 9 Feb 2013:

    ”They (Chinese) are good buyers to follow because they have a checklist of what they want, and they take emotion out of their purchasing decisions,” says the chief executive of development in NSW and Victoria for Mirvac, John Carfi.

    Sydney Morning Herald, 16 Feb 2013:

    After failing to sell their West Ryde home last year, Alex Echt and his wife Iris decided to totally rework their house so that it appealed to the Asian market. It sold, to a Chinese buyer, something the couple put down to good feng shui.

    The revamp included cutting back the hedges, putting a red doormat at the front door, placing wind chimes and lucky coins around the house and even using the energy of the property to determine the positioning of their signboard…

    At a recent inspection at 6 Kylie Avenue, Killara, the 80-year-old former owner turned up and was befuddled by the fact that the street address was no longer number four. In Chinese culture the number four is considered unlucky because it sounds like the Cantonese word for ”death”.

    The agent, Malcolm McCulloch of Belle Property Killara, said that house numbers could make all the difference to a sale campaign.

    ”If you have a house that is number eight you get a lot of Chinese coming to look at that because that is a very lucky number,” he said. The chief executive of the buyers’ advocate group Propertybuyer, Rich Harvey, said mainland Chinese had a ”strong wealthy middle class who love Australian property”.

    The Chinese community is particularly active right now due to the Chinese New Year, a time when many believe it is lucky to buy property.

  5. Realtor behavior | 23 February 2013 at 8:56 pm | Reply

    BTW, there are always two sides of the same coin. For the meaning of the Chinese “8”, it sounds similar to the “blast” in English! As we all can imagine, a blast can mean a “boom” or a “bust”! When it’s a bust, it means bankruptcy which every Chinese psychic just forgot to mention.

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