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It’s the same with people on this blog: most of them don’t want to admit that times are tough, and that the “irrational exuberance” is no longer around us (as much a some want it back).
I shared my story, where I bought R/E and lost. I will let you know the ending, too, though I don’t think its going to be pretty. If we were to have to renew our mortgage tomorrow, we would be forced to do something radical (either cough up more money into a depreciating property, or walk away).
Are there any people on this blog, who would like to share their OWN stories? People that don’t live in denial? Where is that fellow who bought in Bridgeland? I would certainly like to hear from him, to see how his purchase is for him?
Maybe a Realtor can educate us by sharing his/her own experience, with real facts and not red herrings?
I would love to hear from anyone.
Of course it takes guts to admit when you are wrong (which I did when bought an ”investment property” aka specu-condo). Anyone here with guts?
We were thinking of downsizing a couple of years ago. Had a realtor park his feet under the table and tell us about this condo buying investment deal. Said he had borrowed on his own house to do so. Being up front I told him I wouldn't bet the farm on that idea. Sometimes wonder how it is working for him now.
I am hoping that everything works out for you. Good or not so good...you strike me as the kind of fellow who will manage come what may and be the better for the experience.
On another note, inflationists have a flawed and fatal argument in front of them, simply thinking that Ben dropping dollars on debt ridden institutions constitutes inflation.
I suggest the following read.
Credit contraction dwarfs debt monetization, leaving us in a state of net contraction, even though we have just experienced a large rally lasting months, which should have been the most favourable condition for reigniting lending if such a thing were in fact possible. I would argue that it is simply not possible and that deflation is inevitable.
The scale of the problem has been temporarily concealed by a market rally and the shovelling of tens of trillions of dollars of taxpayer’s money into a giant black hole of credit destruction. This has done nothing to reignite lending, but the temporary (and entirely irrational) resurgence of confidence has restored a measure of liquidity. As that confidence evaporates with the end of the rally, that liquidity will also disappear.
->
The only possible way to keep the housing market "treading water" is to maintain the Government of Canada's SUBPRIME lending program "CMHC"......as well as have the Bank of Canada keep interest rates low. Both of which have very negative, and quite frankly, disasterous long term implications for the economy, unless we return to the 2005-2006 growth levels and stay there for the next 2 decades, which is absolutely impossible.
A home buyer's tax credit similar to the one used in the US would never get passed here in Canada, for a multitude of reasons, all of the political in nature (it would be an offical acknowledgement of the fact that things are really bad, it goes against conservative principles, it would enrage all the existing home buyers who pulled the trigger in the last 24 months and turn them against the government, it would cost too much, it would trigger an election)......etc.
The government and the REIC have really run out of options, but to wait for the inevitable.
->
Bull’s eye.
Worried about our teen kid too: they don’t teach any “buyer-beware”, or “why you should and how you can save for a better future” classes in school these days.
The capitalist society has deviated from the moral principles, there is no doubt about that.
I’ve seen too many cases during my work experience here where for the goal of making money, people/businesses cheat on other people/businesses; sometimes the process is borderline fraudulent. For example, I’ve met Realtors who would tell you it’s a good time to buy, when they were dumping every asset they held in R/E.
In fact, as I said this in one of my first posts on this blog, in all my years of Canada I have never met a salesperson who would tell me “don’t buy this, it’s crap”(unless they want to sell you the more expensive model) or “you could get it cheaper if you wait a month for the upcoming big sale”, not even whispered in a corner.
We can teach kids in school basic healthcare guidelines, but we can’t teach them how to be money wise??
I paid my teen $200 (as a mockery, but also because otherwise they wouldn’t) to watch the +2 hrs of “Zeitgeist Addendum”.. lol, and I’m sure I’ve planted the seed of “questioning things as they are”.
I’ve said it, and I’ll say it again: from a ”DP”’s perspective, Canada is loosing its core values: from “peace-keeping” became “following Bush’s invasion orders”, from “one of the most beautiful countries on the planet” (which is the reason we moved here), to “we’re not signing the Kyoto Accord”, and the list goes on, and on. For the ones about to say “Go Home” It’s not complaining. It is observation, and an invitation to do better collectively, through individual change.
Let’s be clear: Realtors didn’t invent themselves; we invented them with our way of being.. complacent, indifferent and greedy.
Who wants to throw the first stone?
I paid my teen $200 (as a mockery, but also because otherwise they wouldn’t) to watch the +2 hrs of “Zeitgeist Addendum”.. lol
What a sucker. You could have paid a Chinese or Indian teenager $2 dollars to watch it and saved $178. :)
You invested and you lost (so far), however you've never bothered to spend the time to educate self, so you can make an "educated"investment. You keep talking about how realtors should educate you, I mean c'mon man, those guys are sales dudes, their job is to sell stuff not to educate you or other people.
I have the feeling you have no clue what capitalism is all about. You talk about turning orders down and redirecting clients to competition cause is cheaper. You enter a $1 store and expect the guys there to tell that what they sell is garbage? Shoudn't you know all that already? What place you come from? Lala land?
Noone needs any guts to admit to anything, this is between you an yourself. You made a bad decision ... learn from it, make sure you don't do it again. You post here like this is an AA meeting or something ... and expect compasion, from whom? A failed "self called banker", turned used car salesman currently unemployed, who claims no interestest in RE markets whatsoever, yet spend most of his/her time on this (and other RE) blog? Don't get me wrong, nothing wrong with this blog, however the idea is to read and digest, self educate, don't just join a "cult like" ideology.
I'm sure you can do better than that.
I invested, I lost, I'm doing "mea culpa", but I'm sharing it with others to let people know they shouldn't follow blindly.
Ok, so what you’re saying is “everyone’s out to get everyone, I should live with it - and it’s the sucker’s fault if he gets suckered”, right? Fair enough.
What I’m asking you PERSONALLY, is: do you do anything to correct things around you, or you just slalom through the questionable aspects of the society?
You say that I should “spend the time to educate self, so you can make an "educated" investment”. You just like to throw empty words..
I mean, don’t you think that the reading of this blog (and others) and disputing ideas unequivocally shows that this is exactly what I am doing: informing/educating myself in the trends and practices of the R/E in AB.??? Duh!
Where do you want me to get my information from: Global TV, Calgary Herald, or CTV???
Besides this blog and others, here are just a few my sources of information: http://www.reuters.com/finance/commodities/ener...
http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/commodities/en...
http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/
http://www.stockwatch.com/swnet/utilit/utilit_s...
http://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=OIL+WTI
http://www.housepriceindex.ca/
etc.
You also take on CC because he used to sell cars.. that’s pretty low of you. I myself don’t have a great opinion about salesmen, but I have never referred to him because I feel he better than the crowd. He speaks against crooks.
In fact, I think I would buy a car from him, simply because he has proven that he is not just “empty words” like others. He is consistent, and rather honest in his posts.
If there would be a contest “Who’s Not Afraid To Reveal His Identity”, between you and him, I would put my money on him.
Usually, honest people don’t have anything to be afraid of..
Or, Das_auto why don’t you share with us any of your success stories? Or even failure ones? Or, that would be too much for you? You talk about/criticize others, but do you have the guts to talk about yourself??? I bet not. CC does, I bet. So, spare us of your condescending attitude.
great post and good for you for speaking you mind,
If schools taught the modern day consumer finance version of a course, similar to one we used to have decades ago that was called "Home Economics" and taught mainly to girls.......our economy would collapse because we'd have intelligent and educated students graduating, who could not only balance chequebooks, but utilize amortization tables and rent versus buy calculators to their benefit.
The banks would never stand for it.
As it is..........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VebOTc-7shU
All the fraud and manipulation that goes on is horrendous.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/warning...
I have seen all of the related topics on PBS Frontline, Bill Moyer and anything else on the web or none msm TV that I can find, and like you I say to my self all the time "the more I know the worse it is".
I think I know very little compare to what is really going on, everybody need to know what's going on, too many don't that's why we constantly see these moronic 'economists', real estate press release (I mean news) on the msm always saying things are great, it's never a bad time to buy, sell, trade houses, stocks or anything they can make money from.
As for the recession being over, these moronic 'economists' and govt only announce that we are in a recession when it's too obvious and a year later, but in July after a month of positive # because of spending Billions on "stimulus" they are very quick to announce that the recession is over.
Watching CBC Nation the other night they were talking about how the US GDP grow by 3.5% last quarter and they only need another quarter of positive # for the recession to be officially over, I had to laugh, in my mind I was say yes they only need another quarter of giving money to the banks and paying people money to spend so they could be out of the recession, that's the proff they are out of the recession by paying people to spend?
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Ron Paul once again seems to be one that understands the big picture. That would be the picture that you see when you ignore all of the cheerleading by those in the Financial and investment community who have every reason to try to convince you that that things are looking up........even if it is only based on massive government stimulus.
Be Prepared for the Worst
We've yolked ourselves to a filthy polluting industry and now that it's going bankrupt, we can see the results. When Copenhagen gets passed, you can kisss this province goodbyt
Just look at all the vacant offices in Calgary. It makes me laugh to think how much in denial everyone is.
I understand comparing GDP fall of 2005 sounds more dire than early 2006. Also, the GDP is also adjusted for inflation.
"Too bad, Canada didn't spend anything on stimulus plan. Oops...they did spend around $50 billion, but that wasn't enough to still get us out of recession."
Only a fraction of the $50 billion dollars has been spent so far.
"This is all happening when the commodities have not been routed at all-they have merely come down a bit from their all time high prices."
I don't think the energy industry has fully adjusted to the recent increase in prices. Part of the contraction in the industry is the result of the dramatic collapse of prices which occurred last year. Oil decreased from $147 to $30 and has only recently climbed back to the high $70s.
The economic consensus for GDP was +0.1% and the actual reading was -0.1%. TD bank actually forecast this month correctly. If all these economists are idiots or liars why don't you provide us with your forecast before the report is released each month?
Seems one can always put optimistic numbers out first and then do the revisions later.
Canada’s recession has been much worse than originally believed and may last longer than many forecast, government figures indicated Friday.
Statistics Canada reported the economy unexpectedly shrank 0.1% in August but perhaps even more surprising were sharp downward revisions to figures for earlier in the year.
After adjustments, the statistics-gathering agency said GDP contracted an annualized 7.2% in the first quarter — worse than the 6.1% previously reported. The drop marks a record dating back to 1961 when Ottawa began collecting such data. For the second quarter, the economy shrank 4.1%, as opposed to a 3.4% reading issued in August.
V-shaped recovery not going to happen here
I think those are significant downward revisions (by 18.3% and 20.6% respectively) from the initial figures. Can’t wait to see the revision to the August number.
Since forecasting is by its nature even more inaccurate, one can forecast almost anything that suits one’s agenda, then correct (or not) later.
I am starting to lose confidence in the reported numbers, as they seem to be quite erroneous (whether on purpose or not). But if one cannot trust numbers released by Statistics Canada then what numbers can one trust? CREA?
By the way does anyone know if CREA ever revises their numbers?
Interesting times we live in, interesting indeed.
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you can't trust anybody anymore these days especially the govt, along with the "economists" from the banks or the real estate interest groups, unless you are BearClaw (radley77 replacement) and a few others here off course, who will believe any upbeat news don't matter how bias these groups are, and adding more upbeat to the already upbeat news too.
Here is a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don't worry be happy
In every life we have some trouble
When you worry you make it double
Don't worry, be happy......
One Hit Wonders: Don't Worry, Be Happy
Seems our leaders grew up on this song:
As Stephen Harper leads the country toward a historic $55-billion deficit and beyond in the name of economic stimulus, recent polls show ordinary Canadians are starting to fret about leaving their kids drowning in a sea of red ink.
But not to worry. In the world according to federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, the national deficit will disappear when the Conservatives stop printing those big cardboard cheques for roads, sewers and new door knobs.
Canada's red ink won't vanish
Let us all sing then...
There is this little song I wrote
I hope you learn it note for note
Like good little children
Don't worry, be happy
...
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Meanwhile let's check the results of the US government bailouts...
CIT's move will wipe out current holders of its common and preferred stock, likely meaning the U.S. government will lose the $2.3 billion it sunk into CIT last year to prop up the ailing company. The government could have lost billions more, however, had it not declined to hand over more aid to the company earlier this year.
The Chapter 11 filing is one of the biggest in U.S. corporate history. CIT's bankruptcy filing shows $71 billion in finance and leasing assets against total debt of $64.9 billion. Its collapse is the latest in a string of huge cases driven by the financial crisis over the past two years, as bailed out industry heavyweights like General Motors and Chrysler both entered bankruptcy court.
CIT files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
So, what was the point of the bailouts exactly?
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Pretty good return considering what short term treasury bills are yielding.
Oh, I thought that the automakers bailout was supposed to save them from bankruptcy and save the jobs, no? Also I thought that the bank bailouts were there to prevent them from collapsing, no? I suppose if the objective was to make money then the best way would've been to "short" the bailed out institutions. no?
By the way, where did you get the $4 billion number?
These people figure that number at about $8.4 billion:
The TARP-o-Meter Earns $8 Billion in Returns
But that's before sinking another $8.2 billion into automakers and other companies, leaving net of $200 million. That's before the latest loss of $2.3 billion on CIT. In any case the question is will they make money in the end?
One of the things they teach in Successful Investing 101 is to cut your losses short and let your winnings run. But when it comes to the Troubled Assets Relief Program, the government is stuck doing the opposite. Its gains are being cut short, because its most profitable investments are being closed out, yet its losses will continue running.
(...)
So let's be happy with what we've gotten for our warrants, taxpayers. But let's not kid ourselves. TARP was designed to bail out the financial system, not to make money. If we break even, we'll be doing well.
TARP bailout money we can kiss goodbye
But that's US problem so let us sing...
Ain't got no cash, ain't got no style
Ain't got not girl to make you smile
But don't worry be happy
Cause when you worry
Your face will frown
And that will bring everybody down
So don't worry, be happy (now).....
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Politics aside, the only reason the TARP was put in place was to stabilze the financial system and it worked. I also know it wasn't put in place to make money. But currently it is. Who knows in the end it may end up making a profit, but probably not. Now TARP II is coming out for the regional banks, again to stabilze that part of the financial system.
Wilbur Ross Sees ‘Huge’ Commercial Real Estate Crash
Of course all this talk about the media giving upbeat news, the fraud perpetrated on the world, etc etc all mean nothing if you're just going to sit there and complain about it and yell "hey, that's not fair!! I want it to be fair and prices SHOULD be lower because that's what makes sense!!!". That's pretty much what I am reading lately on this blog. Stop complaining and do something about it.
Who cares if things "make sense" or not. Do you think what the central bankers are doing make sense? Do you think they care about "fairness"? Do they care about all the fraud that is going on? Do they care about educating Atzi and want to throw salesmen into jail for doing their job? We are not a communist country... you should know that sales people are paid to sell a product to you, no matter how shiny their suit looks.
All this talk is irrelevant. While you were all stroking each others egos and complaining about the all the unfairness going on, single family home prices (the ones where you ACTUALLY own the land underneath) are up from last year and up from last month in Calgary. There's no denying that the best time to buy was about Feb-May 2009 so far. Oh wait... as I remember that's when I said to look at buying a home if your family really needed one and you could afford it with a conventional mortgage. But I was boo'd by all the bears who failed to change their views in light of the new reality upon us. Since then, Bearclaw was the only one who saw what was happening, assessed his own family's situation, and decided to take the plunge. For the record, those who have been following my posts since the days of Calgary Contrarian blog KNOW that I was a bear during the bubble up until April 2009 when I changed my views due to the actions of the world's central bankers.
Other permabears missed the market again (except Carioca who loves renting no matter what) and also kept fence-sitters from coming into the market. Real families who NEEDED a home, listened to the likes of Squidly and Carioca and have been on the loser-end while paying rent to their landlords for half a year and watching prices creep up again. Double-loss.
Jim_S and his deflationary views have so far been right AND wrong. Depends on what numbers you look at. For me, I think that we've not had any deflation at all... because the metric I use is straight gold bullion cost. Today your paper money buys less gold than it did 6 months ago, DESPITE the rise in the Loonie. Today your paper money buys less chicken and beef from the local grocery store as well. That's main-street real world economics for you there. I want a deflationist to show me that my money goes further now for things I need (food, shelter, etc) vs. just telling me the latest "numbers" that lump things like cheap Chinese knick-knacks into the calculation.
you seem really arrogant, you act like a know it all, do you read or take news stories into account anymore? why do you bother read and posting on here if you just ignore everything, all you seem to talk or care about is GOLD, GOLD, GOLD!!! and anybody who don't have GOLD or like GOLD are fools.
There's no point in arguing with you because I can never win, GOLD always wins, is there a GOLD blog somewhere that you can let all this GOLD excitement out?
Yes I read news stories. I take every one of them into account, unlike those who like to discredit any news story that is remotely positive for the economy. Do you take into account the reality that real estate prices have risen, inventory has fallen? I am sure many of those fence-sitters take this into account and will never read this blog again.
The Calgary Contrarian was a very good site, good posts, good blog replies. All respectful and not spiteful. This blog is turning into a Garth Turner blog for Alberta...only now it's worse. Any news slightly positive for anything (not even real estate) is now deemed "false". Any news that has something negative for the economy is never questioned, save for some infrequent posters on here. I was hoping the extremists would move to that squidly blog.
I've been called a realtor so many times on here it's scary. It could not be further from the truth. I am not even in any industry that has to do with mortgages, financials, real estate, etc etc.
Why do I talk about gold? How about I talk about other commodities.... the point is something TANGIBLE. Gold is merely a good metric vs. paper money. So is oil, or copper, or wheat, etc etc. Would you like me to mention all those other commodities as well in every post to illustrate things better? I also mentioned food in my post, did you read that?
Savers...myself included...have been screwed as our money is worth less and less...and nobody wants to talk about that. Nobody also wants to admit that land prices have gone up in Calgary, and along with them, real estate.
Keep the circle-jerk going and hold onto your paper money whilst paying rent to your landlords. Don't invest in anything tangible (commodities, land, precious metals) and shove every penny you have into your lifestyle or that low interest "savings account". Smile and let the world pass you by as you complain how unfair prices of everything are. This is my last post on this failed forum.
Also ask yourself this; is housing affordable for families in Calgary...or Edmonton? In the end that's all it comes down to, really, AFFORDABILITY. As countless posters have shown on here, it isn't. CC likes renting so much because he SAVES so much. Right now I'm paying about $800 for a nice, simple one bedroom apartment. What would it take to get me into a house or condo? To give me the "pride of ownership"? 1500, 2000 dollars/month?!?! That's insane! Worldclass, you're a smart guy with some really interesting points of view and I hope you never stop posting but the comments you see in this blog reflect reality much more than our dumb government or stupid media.
The wife and I own property.........just not in Canada.
And I don't love renting "no matter what" versus home ownership, I love money, and wasting money by purchasing a home here in Calgary, or for that matter, pretty much anywhere in Alberta in the last 36 months is counterproductive to my love of money.
Seems like you are becoming frustrated by the sense that people are not drinking the Kool-Aid you and others keep pooring. If you weren't vested in RE it wouldn't matter now, would it ? But those of us who are not vested in Alberta RE really don't care, because we have the ability to see rationally.
Let's talk about TARP......take all the TRAP funds back and guess what happens. Just guess.....I dare you.....
The US gubmint blew trillions trying to save things that had no right to be saved, things that cannot survive on their own, even with the TARP money it seems.
The fraud and criminal actions of many of those involved in the REIC are tenfold the minor infractins committed by Bernie Madoff , et al. The REiC is the most unregulated industry of all........with teh greatest scoipe and reach to wreak havoc upon the most ordinary of citizens. Much more dangerous than Madoff, and the crooks on Wall Street.
"This is my last post on this failed forum."
I hope you would reconsider this, I actually like having you, and a few others, like BearClaw, posting on here.
You are one of the reasons why I want to learn, understand, and post on this blog---without your arrogance, your know-it-all attitude, your belittling of people who just simply want an affordable house for their kids, your knocking down of the guy who wants to rent because real estate is extremely over-priced or your trashing of the guy that lost money on an investment and also his job, all that gives me the motivation to post here, and warn people about the mess we are in because the real estate agents, the banks, the gov't and especially you, are not going to tell people it's a bad idea to buy an over-priced shack with 5/35 amortization in Alberta.
Most people on here just want affordable housing for themselves and their families, whether it's buying or renting.
I'm sure gold, commodities, or stocks are all good investments, I have some myself, but in the end most people here just want affordable housing, so take your belittling of people somewhere else, however if you do decide to change your mind and come back, I will be glad that you did and I will be waiting for you.
As for me, I obviously think real estate in Alberta is way over-priced but I'm happy either way if the price goes down or stays exactly like this, because my investments (from not buying) covers my rent and much more.
I have said this before and I will say it again, it seems like the only people who dream about living in their own house and fantasize that it is the greatest thing in the world are those who have never owned. The novelty wears off and than it just becomes "hum drum", it's truly exciting and new for the first few months and than that's it, it becomes very routine and mundane. There are as many issues with noisy, nosy neighbors, noisy dogs, etc, etc, in a house as there are in apartments. The only difference is in an apartment, you can pack up and leave, In a house, forget it!!
That said, I do enjoy owning a house, you can plant a tree or flowers, paint, build a garage or extension or renovate to your own tastes. But those options cost you money.
If the RE market doesn't go up, there are very few ways to make money owning other than renting a room out (thus reducing the reason you bought in the first place, ie, your "own" place).
Mike
Also just because prices are up, doesn't mean there wont be a crash this week or next week- remember last year this time. Garth Turner said buyers are the greatest fools, he's right
Read the roubini article today in G and M - oil is headed for a crash........ (boom)
Last week I was laughing when the stocks tanked. Cash is king
""The outcome of this would be that discount brokerages would have access to MLS, which would have a very, very significant impact on how real estate transactions are conducted in Canada," said Subrata Bhattacharjee, a competition lawyer at Heenan Blaikie."
Competition Bureau seeks real estate shake-up
CREA's era of RE monopoly has ended!
Victory to the people!
Mike
good new for home sellers and buyers, more competition is always good news, especially for an industry that do little work but charge ridiculously high fees.
UK credit card: Apply today and get a typical 39.9% APR.
http://www.vanquis.co.uk
40% PER YEAR on your debt!
Mike
I agree with everything you guys are saying, I do miss the garden, the nice back yard for the kids to run around and the privacy, but I can't begin to tell how great it feels not to worry about maintenance, snow shoveling, lawn mowing, extra utilities and including everything you guys mention.
This all adds up to about $600 a month and lots of time spent, my rent is only a couple hundred more.
However I'm willing to sacrifice all that and be a little poorer to own a house again if and when prices are reasonable, but until then I'm enjoying life with less stress and debt free, and I'm in NO HURRY to buy again.
Salt!... Salt!... Large grain salt!...
We know it's an unusual hobby, but we can't help ourselves -- it always brightens our day when another forecast from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. drops into our mailbox. What do we find so beguiling? Must be the gentle mix of fact and whimsy. No matter what the situation, a CMHC forecast is always soothing, always positive, always upbeat about real estate.
CMHC forecasts best taken with a large grain of salt
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Also I wonder then if self-employed pay CPP and can collect that too?
Mike
So, I guess I welcome allowing those who pay the ability to collect. It is only fair........and was one of the things that always pissed me off every April when I signed the cheque.
But I know what you are talking about and I didn't qualify. You had to have a certain number of family members on the payroll, as well as there was some sort of dollar amount threshold you had to meet in order to do it.
One minute you can post, the next you can't and it says your comment has to be moderated ???
http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?prop...
That's a $600k purchase 15 months ago plus new kitchen, flooring, bath and paint, now for sale at $339,900.
Who said RE always went up? And considering Calgary CREB is touting "increasing prices"...right! That's 240k lost there.
I knew the 93 year old who sold that house as they were 2 doors down from my old house.
Mike
The market median prices have risen over the time period you specified.
Who do you believe? House Salesmen(R) or a Business based on commission (CREA) or the buyers and sellers.
Mike
Do you think the 1000s of realtors in Calgary are all hiding the real numbers?
Get a grip. The median statistic from CREB is solid.
If you look at the titles, from the Spin II system, they actually bought 2 lots with houses for a total of $632K in Dec 2007. They subdivided into 3 lots. Sold the one to the left for $340K, are currently selling the one to right for $339K and either keeping or selling the new empty lot they created in the middle. Made their money back and either have a lot which didn’t cost them anything or are going to sell it for a tidy profit. Not everyone is a stupid as you think they are.
Unfortunately, the homes were never sold on the MLS or reported sold on the MLS*, they were private sales in 2008. Also they could have not have been sold in 2007 because:
A. I know ALL the owners of each of those 3 homes. (One lived there since 1948, the other 1965 and the one of the left 2007)
B. The home on the left was purchased for $514 in 2007, not $340k
C. I know the developer and what they paid for them all.
Mike
*I know as a Realtor(R) it's hard to imagine everything isn't sold on the MLS, but some deals are private and FSBO too.
Sorry, I can only tell you what I know, and what I know it true, thus you must be full of tubas.
The land was sold for that in 2001 for $210k (how do we know that? Because it was the previous owner of our house who told us so). Good try buddy. Next time, pick better lies agaist someone who can't defend themselves so easily.
All I have to say to you is,
Thank you, come again.
Mike
The link to the listing doesn't work anymore. What is the address?
Is any adjacent listing from the original purchase still on the MLS?
http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?prop...
I'm seeing the general area, If you go to google street view you will see two newer houses with "property guys" signs up. Right to the east of those there is an older light orange house with the parking pad in the front. Is that it?
Do you have access to the Spin system?
https://alta.registries.gov.ab.ca/spinii/logon....
And it's all clear profit. Mike, you try to obfuscate and confuse, but we all see how you cherry pick and hide the facts that you are scared of.
Oh ya. I look on Google Maps at the house you posted, it is the only orginal house left from the development. The other 2 houses are new. So the developer paid $632K for 2 lots with old house. Knocked one down, built 2 new ones, sold one new for $512, selling the old one for $339k and has one new one left. They are most likely living in their new FREE!!!!! home until the capital gains tax period expires and then will sell for another tidy profit. mmmm. ... Who would have though people could actually make money in a down realestate market. I guess there must a lot smarter people out there than you.
Mike...interesting posting! Can't believe that price, but I wonder if it is due to the future LRT on 17th ave. Nobody likes to live right by a train that goes by every 15 mins...not to mention the construction debacle that will ensue during the building phase.
The 17th ave LRT cuts in on 17th ave at 33rd Street SW, this is about 21st SW, so many blocks away. Although it does come down Bow trail to get to 17th ave, cutting close to Scarboro.
I noticed it says "Schedule A" on the listing, I think that's a court sale?
Mike
Renowned economist James K. Galbraith, onetime executive director of Congress' Joint Economic Committee, teaches economics at the University of Texas, where he holds the Lloyd M. Bentsen Chair at the LBJ School of Public Affairs.
He talks about the people who could of prevent the financial collapse, and the corruptions, now the govt just want more of the same, and they are not doing anything to prevent another meltdown.
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/10302009/watc...
Seems the statistical tools used to measure various numbers are inadequate in today's world of globalization. Consequently they distort the results.
Let me get this straight. We have a collapse of the housing and construction sector, massive layoffs in almost every part of the economy, a sharp downturn in consumer spending, and bank failures on an astonishing scale—-and the numbers show an increase in productivity?
It defies common sense.
Economics Unbound: Financial Crisis Creates Productivity Bonanza? No.
We are all in the dark...
-"There are none so blind as those that will not see."-
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Keep buying Alberta RE people.......
More news on productivity:
The problem is how the productivity growth was achieved. It wasn't because of clever efficiency measures or the purchase of wonderful tools that help people get their jobs done faster. Such improvements take years, not mere months. Rather, it was because companies cut jobs and work hours drastically.
The Dark Side of the Productivity Surge
We are all in the dark...
-"There are none so blind as those that will not see."-
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"Although it gets little attention, Statistics Canada puts out a second barometer of employment called the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours, which counts jobs from the industry perspective, rather than the better known survey of households.
The industry survey suffers from the disadvantage of coming out a month later than the household poll, hence is regarded as stale news. It also does not measure the variable self-employment category.
But that may be what makes it a better indicator of the economy during the current volatile and uncertain period of halting recovery, says Holt."
"He points out the error factor in the household survey is plus or minus about 30,000 jobs, a large number when most months gains or losses are measured in the low tens of thousands."
http://money.ca.msn.com/investing/news/business...
"bootcut
Nov 6, 2009 5:46 AM GMT
Once a employer finds out he can still maintain production capacity by working the remaining employees twice as hard, where is the incentive for him to hire? When one burns out you just replace them with another from the large pool of unemployed. Just like a light bulb."
To go further on this statement where is the evidence that employment will increase in this scenario where companies are getting those left in the workforce to slave harder and faster than before when we have lost and continue to lose our competitive and exporting edge to China and India. We continue to manufacture and export less and import more.
The harsh reality is that the economy is probably where it really is supposed to be considering our debt levels, productivity, output, etc. We were probably supposed to be at this level and were only capable of sustaining at this level if not for our recklessness, greed and appetite for debt. We are probably now in an economic phase where our economy is not operating on and reflecting speculative growth but is grounded in reality given our existing economic constructs. Thus, we may be looking at this current economic cycle for a long time given that the employment picture will remain stagnant for the forseeable future.