Comments for 0 at http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com , comment 1 to 1 out of 1 comments http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:21:00 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/20080704139317/local/news/average-selling-price-for-single-family-homes-up-slightly-in-city.html#comment-8564 How BC’s bubble grew far bigger than most and why the price corrections will spread out from the lower mainland to central and northern BC: - Olympics venue construction complete as of spring ’08 (2 billion of investment completed) - Housing speculation rampant in BC in the past three years - Widespread psychology of “things will continue to go up until well after the games” - American speculators begin cashing out to cover their losses south of border - Listings in the lower mainland triple in 2008 as speculators/investors try to sell - With multi-billions in mortgage defaults at stake, Canada’s banks release weekly reports pleading Canada is separate from the US (‘Canada will withstand US meltdown’, ‘Canada does not have a subprime crisis’) - Canada’s versions of subprime mortgages are 0% down, no income verification with 40 year amortizations (40 year mortgages merely inflated and prolonged the bursting of the bubble) - Most Canadians are now heading south for recreational and/or winter homes rather than west to BC (with their at par loonies they are presently able to purchase new resort homes for a third of what they would pay in the Okanagan, Lower Mainland or Victoria) - Forestry and tourism start to feel America’s economic pain - Construction, one of the pillars of BC’s recent boom, dwindles as developers stall projects - Possibility of NDP regaining power in the upcoming BC election erodes business confidence - Interest (mortgage) rates begin rising in late ‘08 eroding affordability - Housing affordability surpasses 70% of average incomes in many areas of the lower mainland - Migration patterns intensify as oil-powered Alberta/Saskatchewan entice workers from across Canada with exorbitant salaries and low costs of living/tax environments - Prices of energy (carbon taxes) strain potential buyers just as banks begin tightening their lending practices - The ripple effect’s first wave of significant home foreclosures and price declines commence in Vancouver autumn ’08 - lbeagle Sun, 06 Jul 2008 13:16:14 +0100