Wednesday, January 4, 2012

The Outer Limits


If there is a theme to the 2011 year for Real Estate in British Columbia it is how Vancouver reached new all time highs while the Outer Limits (anything outside Greater Vancouver) languished.

And nothing highlights that trend more than Victoria.

The Victoria Times Colonist newspaper reports today that the city's home sales tumble to 11 year low.

According to year-end figures from the Victoria Real Estate Board, 2011 bore witness to the lowest total number of unit sales in 11 years. And last year's 3,069 single-family home sales was the lowest since 1990. 

Victoria Real Estate Board president Carol Crabb says the reason for the dramatic drop ranges from  global economic uncertainty to people waiting and hoping to see prices fall.

"The whole feel of the market has shifted a little," she said. "It has slowed down. People are taking longer to make decisions, though I'm not sure why when interest rates are so good. But there is some uncertainty out there."

It's a scenario that sounds eerily like the United States where record low interest rates have simply failed to resuscitate a collapsed real estate market.

One certainly has to wonder if the beginning of the collapse in, in fact, upon us.

==================

Email: village_whisperer@live.ca
Click 'comments' below to contribute to this post.
Please read disclaimer at bottom of blog.

9 comments:

  1. I lived in the US in 2007-2008. The feel here is the same now as it was there at that time. Willey coyote moment.

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Willey

    So second time around what would you do differently?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh yes, I'm sure the problem is just people waiting and there's no mathematical problem with this ponzi scheme.

    ReplyDelete
  4. even the rich feel poor and you will be shocked at the comments. lol

    http://www.urbanbaby.com/talk/posts/53801088

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks ANON 11:53 good links

    ReplyDelete
  6. Second time around? I would have shorted the shit out of BAC.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Capital Controls come to Italy

    The passing of an extraordinary edict making cash transactions of more than Euro 1,000 illegal (not subject to reporting – just plain illegal). Following Prodi’s own desire, the existing regime has indicated that this level will be progressively reduced to a limit as low as Euro 300. Hence cash is maybe for the first time in history no longer legal tender (over Euro 1,000, for now);

    A requirement that credit card companies report all transactions carried out by Italians, in Italy and abroad to the fiscal authorities;

    Delays and refusals by banks in allowing customers to withdraw cash balances of as little as Euro 10,000;

    Finance Police has placed cameras at the physical borders with Switzerland (see below) to register all license plates. In addition, currency-sniffing dogs have been deployed at the border

    http://www.cdt.ch/ticino-e-regioni/cronaca/56250/fiscovelox-riapparsi-no-mai-tolti.html

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-post-has-italy-gone-fascist

    ReplyDelete
  8. "cash transactions of more than Euro 1,000 illegal"

    This only targets the middle class as usual (especially the 300 e). Anyone that spends more than a 1000 euro cash has long since had their funds offshore (probably for generations).

    ReplyDelete