Is Economy Doing Well?

[Randolph Kinney]

San Francisco CEO flees to Oregon, can't afford Bay Area home

 

[normando]

What foreclosures? I haven't seen foreclosures here in past few years. The price increases and government help should have lessened any foreclosures. The foreclosed areas are fine now. If market allowed the foreclosures, there would be more inventory for sale and prices wouldn't increase as much in past few years. Government should butt out.There are not enough homes for sale to meet demand thus pressuring prices to increase. Sounds like a canned comment.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Coming to the Bay Area ...

Despite industry assurances that the hottest housing markets in Canada, particularly Vancouver, will always remain hot, and that it is physically impossible for prices to decline in this miracle economy, Canadians are now becoming aware that those assurances have just been another load of industry hype. And a larger share of them are starting to grapple with a new reality – a reality in an over-leveraged, inflated housing market where prices have come to rest on the edge of a cliff.

 

[normando]

Coming to the Bay Area ...

Despite industry assurances that the hottest housing markets in Canada, particularly Vancouver, will always remain hot, and that it is physically impossible for prices to decline in this miracle economy, Canadians are now becoming aware that those assurances have just been another load of industry hype. And a larger share of them are starting to grapple with a new reality – a reality in an over-leveraged, inflated housing market where prices have come to rest on the edge of a cliff.

Canada is too reliant on oil and low oil prices have devastated Canada's economy which can explain home prices going down. Good thing our economy is diversified and doing well.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Canada is too reliant on oil and low oil prices have devastated Canada's economy which can explain home prices going down. Good thing our economy is diversified and doing well.

No mention at all of oil being any factor in the economy of Vancouver. Lots of money is a big factor in its economy or was. It came from China. Bay Area have Chinese money flowing in?

City of Vancouver, is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada, and the most populous city in the province.

The 2011 census recorded 603,502 people in the city, making it the eighth largest Canadian municipality.[1] The Greater Vancouver area of around 2.4 million inhabitants is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,.[1] Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada; 52% of its residents have a first language other than English.[4][5] Vancouver is classed as a Beta global city.

With its location on the Pacific Rim and at the western terminus of Canada's transcontinental highway and rail routes, Vancouver is one of the nation's largest industrial centers.

Vancouver has become a centre for software development, biotechnology, aerospace, video game development, animation studios and television production and film industry.

Vancouver is the most stressed in the spectrum of affordability of housing in Canada.[131] In 2012, Vancouver was ranked by Demographia as the second most unaffordable in the world, rated as even more severely unaffordable in 2012 than in 2011.

Since the 1990s, development of high-rise condominia in the downtown peninsula has been financed, in part, by an inflow of capital from Hong Kong immigrants due to the former colony's 1997 handover to China.

 

[normando]

I have to admit I haven't been to Vancouver in over 15 years. I thought it was a quiet clean safe town. Very interesting facts. If there was a longer period graph of housing price trend, then I can support your claim prices are crashing. The graph only provide trend this year only.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

I have to admit I haven't been to Vancouver in over 15 years. I thought it was a quiet clean safe town. Very interesting facts. If there was a longer period graph of housing price trend, then I can support your claim prices are crashing. The graph only provide trend this year only.

B.C. Liberals To ‘Get The Blame' As Vancouver Home Sales Plunge 85%

B.C.’s Liberal government will likely take a political hit for their decision to impose a foreign buyer tax on the Greater Vancouver housing market, even though the city's housing correction began before the tax took effect, a report from Capital Economics says.



Vancouver Real Estate Bubble Has Burst and Home Owners Are Panic Selling

Vancouverites upset about being priced out of the housing market because of rising real estate prices fueled by foreign investors, are likely to be heard as the apparent bubble has just burst.

Greater Vancouver home sales have fallen 85% in the first half of August to a mere 87, down from 597 homes over the same time last year.

Meanwhile, Richmond was down 96%, Vancouver West down 94% and the North Shore’s West Vancouver down 90%.

Although the Johnny come lately are still listing homes to cash in on the capital gains, the buyers have dried up, thanks in part to the 15% tax the B.C. government introduced on property transfer’s for foreign nationals buying real estate.

The descent in housing sales is being perpetuated by China’s State regulated media which is warning Chinese buyers of the dangers of owning Canadian real estate.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

 

[normando]

I think starting this month, title companies in this area have to report to the IRS if the sale of a certain high amount to crack down on money laundering. It started in Miami and now in selected counties in U.S. I've see $2,000,000+ homes selling all cash and had helped push prices up in the high end. Not that many but lesser demand will affect prices.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Not that many but lesser demand will affect prices.

It sure did in Vancouver. Someone needs to ask the question, who buys $1,500,000+ tract homes built 40+ years ago?