Freak out

For the past few days we have been showing you what could happen if panic sets in and people realize the bubble is starting to collapse.

There are lots of people who can - and will - move very quickly on price. And that's the one thing the real estate industry doesn't want you to do.

That point was driven home on the weekend by Peter Simpson, CEO of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders Association, who was headlined in this Vancouver Province article urging people: Don't fret or freak out, says homes veteran.

Peter Simpson wants to offer reassurance to new Lower Mainland homeowners worried about the shrinking value of their houses. Don't be dazzled or depressed by price changes. They go down, then they recover and rise over time, he says.

Clearly the industry is worried about people who are keeping close tabs on things.

Simpson believes people only hurt themselves if they become obsessed with tracking week-by-week house price changes. "They should not consider their home and its value as a pork belly future," he says. "That causes a lot of people angst. "Live in it, enjoy it and if you have to move somewhere else, sell it and move on."

If you must worry, Simpson wants you to channel you energy into helping his members develop more properties into high density housing: 

If you must worry about something, worry about the resistance from some people to letting their neighbourhoods evolve into a mix of single and multi-family housing, Simpson says. Densification is the key to providing affordable housing choices as the Vancouver region grows, he says. "We have to start building more high-density housing along arterials and even up side streets in existing neighbourhoods."

What ever you do, don't let affordable housing choices come about by letting the value of properties slide.

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