MetroCascade Victoria

real_estate

Piling it on
HouseHuntVictoria on Wed 08 Sep 2010 at 8:42 AM
I have to admit, I'm not sure why the Bank of Canada raised the overnight lending rate today, but they did.I don't see too much optimism in any Canadian markets right now, at least inflationary optimis
Topics: real_estate

"This is bad, very bad"
HouseHuntVictoria on Wed 01 Sep 2010 at 9:22 AM
August 2010 numbers are out, courtesy of Marko Juras.August 2010  Net Unconditional Sales: 425 New Listings: 956 Active Listings: 4,356 August 2009 Net Unconditional Sales: 764New Listings: 1,094Ac
Topics: real_estate

Sneak peak @ August sales
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 30 Aug 2010 at 10:06 PM
While the business writers over at the Times Colonist wait until the VREB releases their August Victoria real estate market story pre-written for them, readers of HHV get a sneak peak at what can only
Topics: real_estate

How REALTORS® help
HouseHuntVictoria on Fri 27 Aug 2010 at 10:46 AM
VancouverCondo.info linked to an interesting article in the Toronto Star on Monday. In preparation for the looming communications battle between the Competition Bureau and the CREA, they've decided to
Topics: real_estate

Projection: August 2010 sales volume worse than July
HouseHuntVictoria on Tue 24 Aug 2010 at 10:36 AM
H/T to Double-Agent for graphicI know, I know, ballsy projection on my part eh? The trend continues.Required further reading. H/T SkepticFrom the article: Real-estate agents talk about the three Ds: de
Topics: real_estate

Open letter to Dr. Kieth Martin, MP, Esquimalt - Juan de Fuca
HouseHuntVictoria on Wed 18 Aug 2010 at 9:29 PM
Dear Dr. Martin,I'd like to take a moment to respond to a letter you would have received back in June of this year from Shayne Fedosenko, a Pemberton Holmes Realtor® from their Sooke office. In case
Topics: real_estate

Mid month numbers
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 16 Aug 2010 at 1:57 PM
Courtesy of Marko Juras and Double-Agent in last post comments.Sales for the last week jumped to 108 from the anemic 78 in the first week of August.Sales [volumes] can vary from week to week so we [Do
Topics: real_estate

Market tracking
HouseHuntVictoria on Fri 13 Aug 2010 at 9:14 AM
When I started this blog, I was interested in individual properties - namely 2 bedroom 2 bathroom condos priced under $250,000 and 3 bedroom 2 bath (minimum) single family homes with suites priced unde
Topics: real_estate

Market setters
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 09 Aug 2010 at 11:57 AM
Only homes that sell within a given month set the market for that given month. Over time, the market setting forms a trend and perception becomes a big factor in future market setting. Last month, July
Topics: real_estate

Blame
HouseHuntVictoria on Fri 06 Aug 2010 at 9:18 AM
It's a powerful word that blame. It implies that things aren't always as they first appear. It suggests some outward, untoward force may be the root cause of an issue, or somehow be responsible for add
Topics: real_estate

July sales volume sucked
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 02 Aug 2010 at 11:01 AM
July sales data (unconfirmed) via local REALTOR® Marko Juras:July 2010 527 Net Unconditional Sales1,119 New Listings 4,477 Active ListingsJuly  2009933 Net Unconditional Sales 1,357 New List
Topics: real_estate

Things are getting ugly out there
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 26 Jul 2010 at 12:23 PM
Sales volumes are way down. Price changes are creeping through the PCS/Matrix systems of the VREB REALTORS®. Sellers are likely getting frustrated with the lack of attention to their "perfect Victoria
Topics: real_estate

Mortgage statistics
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 19 Jul 2010 at 9:07 AM
As VancouverCondo.info so accurately notes, there is a massive absence of publicly accessible and usable data in the Canadian real estate industry. Much of that stems from the anti-competitive practice
Topics: real_estate

One of these economists is not like the others
HouseHuntVictoria on Fri 16 Jul 2010 at 9:35 AM
Adrienne Warren from the Bank of Nova Scotia says real estate is in for a soft landing. Douglas Porter from the Bank of Montreal says real estate is in for a soft landing. Pascal Gauthier from TD Bank
Topics: real_estate

Fact Checking 101
HouseHuntVictoria on Thu 08 Jul 2010 at 4:23 PM
Carla Wilson. Repeat after me: "I will not write stories that aren't fact checked first."Here's the beauty line:Condos in the lower end of the price range are most popularHere's the basic facts of the
Topics: real_estate

Canada's residential housing market is anything but a safe place to be at the mom
HouseHuntVictoria on Sun 04 Jul 2010 at 9:48 AM
WiseInvestor linked to this article in the comments of the last post.Here's why it is a must read:Warren Buffett has famously advised, "You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long
Topics: real_estate

The graphs they don't want you to see
HouseHuntVictoria on Thu 01 Jul 2010 at 9:38 AM
Tomorrow the Victoria Real Estate Board will likely release their June sales data and commentary. They may wait until Monday, but if they know anything about delivering bad news to the public they'll d
Topics: real_estate

Victoria: not good enough
HouseHuntVictoria on Wed 23 Jun 2010 at 8:51 AM
You can only laugh at this: Victoria, the 15th largest city in Canada, finds itself on the outside of the new Canadian Monopoly board looking in (Warning: link to the Times Colonist).Monopoly has 40 sp
Topics: real_estate

Real real estate investing
HouseHuntVictoria on Sun 20 Jun 2010 at 9:51 PM
And not of the "fantastic opportunity" says the real estate salesperson kind either.In my usual Sunday evening round-up of all things real estate related on the interwebs I came across this dandy piece
Topics: real_estate

Building equity in a falling market
HouseHuntVictoria on Wed 16 Jun 2010 at 1:17 PM
Oxymoron? Are we potential home buyers stupid? Some REALTORS® marketing their properties as investments might think we are, or maybe the problem is them, not us.I'm seeing more and more listings latel
Topics: real_estate

Some basic admin stuff
HouseHuntVictoria on Wed 16 Jun 2010 at 10:46 AM
I've been toying around with the idea of swapping blogging content management systems over to Wordpress from Blogger. Seems to me like Wordpress offers so much more flexibility than Blogger. The reason
Topics: real_estate

Investment problems
HouseHuntVictoria on Wed 09 Jun 2010 at 4:48 PM
Regular readers will know that I believe the real estate industry needs a code of ethics that requires salespeople to make an investment disclosure if they choose to market their products as investment
Topics: real_estate

The new condo phenomena
HouseHuntVictoria on Sun 06 Jun 2010 at 3:57 PM
We had the luxury misfortune of staying in a new condo for a little while recently. This one was built, let's say early-boom, in 2004 and 2005. It shows: workmanship is arguably better than those cons
Topics: real_estate

CREA puts a fork in it
HouseHuntVictoria on Wed 02 Jun 2010 at 6:44 AM
Story here.You know they're sh&tting over in the CREA headquarters when after one month of declining sales volume they soften their yearly projections. This isn't like 2008 over again, it's something n
Topics: real_estate

A simple question
HouseHuntVictoria on Wed 26 May 2010 at 1:27 AM
In two parts:Will it be a short, sharp correction, like in 1982, or a long, drawn out correction looking something like the current US version?Why?
Topics: real_estate

May 2008 vs May 2010
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 17 May 2010 at 9:08 PM
Let's say the rest of 2010 plays out like May 2008 to December 2008. You're sitting on a decent down payment and you have an opportunity to low ball in October/November getting around 15% off today's p
Topics: real_estate

The Rental Market
HouseHuntVictoria on Thu 29 Apr 2010 at 2:53 AM
Just wanted to let you all know our recent experience in the rental market. We're moving in early summer. We just negotiated 7% off the asking rent and got the landlord to agree to NO lease. It's month
Topics: real_estate

The stars are lining up
HouseHuntVictoria on Thu 15 Apr 2010 at 8:33 PM
If you're following the real estate and mortgage markets, you know what I mean. I feel like a kid in a candy shop with a pocket full of cash and no other customers. Soon, old man behind the counter, yo
Topics: real_estate

Open post
HouseHuntVictoria on Thu 01 Apr 2010 at 8:10 AM
My wife and I are super busy shopping for a house right now so I don't have much time to blog. We figure this is the perfect time to get in before interest rates and house prices jump higher in unison
Topics: real_estate

CREA president thinks you are too stupid to understand
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 22 Mar 2010 at 6:06 PM
Wow, Dale, just wow. The outgoing president of the CREA is having a bad time in the media lately. And today he made things worse.Long story short, CREA opens MLS up to allow flat-fee listings by licens
Topics: real_estate

Yep, it's different here alright
HouseHuntVictoria on Tue 16 Mar 2010 at 3:58 PM
Hat Tip to Rob Reynolds for links in comments of last post.I'll just post the pictures. You should definitely read the full post here by Jonathan Tonge at AmericaCanada.blogspot.comI'm still scratching
Topics: real_estate

Advice
HouseHuntVictoria on Sun 14 Mar 2010 at 5:25 PM
I write fairly frequently here and usually fairly generally. I bring the perspective of a first time waiting to buy in a buyers' market to any discussion of the housing market. Many readers here alread
Topics: real_estate

Hey Mayor Dean, 2 words for you
HouseHuntVictoria on Sat 13 Mar 2010 at 11:24 AM
Ed StelmachBackgroundPrediction: Victoria city council will not learn the hard way, not because the lesson won't be served, but because Victoria city councilors just refuse to listen and learn.
Topics: real_estate

Getting serious, 20% change ahead
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 08 Mar 2010 at 10:29 AM
For all the talk from industry types, the government and the CMHC about no bubble, it seems the government and CMHC aren't walking the talk. I can't keep up with all the little announcements that on th
Topics: real_estate

February 2010 stats
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 01 Mar 2010 at 8:57 AM
Via @timayres on Twitter:Year over year numbersFeb 2010 (2009 #'s)Sales: 621 (403)New listings: 1460 (1081)Total active listings: 3280 (3844)Sales to new listings ratio: 42.5% (37%)Sales to active list
Topics: real_estate

Free money
HouseHuntVictoria on Tue 23 Feb 2010 at 9:01 AM
Hat tip to Just Jack for the inspiration for this post. Here's what the payments on a 5-year closed variable mortgage at 2.25% interest amortized over 35 years looks like at various debt levels:$100,00
Topics: real_estate

Olympic silence
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 15 Feb 2010 at 5:18 PM
Is the perfect time to introduce the straw that broke the camel's back.While we DON'T know what will be announced, it's safe to say something will be (I'm leaning towards EXTREMELY minor--does she have
Topics: real_estate

Birds of a feather
HouseHuntVictoria on Thu 11 Feb 2010 at 8:55 AM
I find this utterly amazing. Derk Holt, economist with ScotiaBank and pretty much the most consistent (recently anyway) "bubble talking expert" in Canada is reaching in this article today.His premise:
Topics: real_estate

Crazy talk
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 08 Feb 2010 at 9:03 AM
We have a serious problem in Canada. Not only is Joe Average drunk on cheap credit, it seems our so-called fiscal conservative government can't see the water from the wine. Crazy. Dangerous. And it can
Topics: real_estate

Home sweet home
HouseHuntVictoria on Wed 03 Feb 2010 at 7:51 PM
I grew up in Victoria. When I was a kid, think the 80s, none, and I mean absolutely none of the people I knew had a suite in their home. Sure there were a few suites around. But no one had to have one
Topics: real_estate

Carla & Darren, I know you read this
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 01 Feb 2010 at 2:55 PM
And here's the independent analysis your "journalism" should have provided when you republished VREB's spin in today's online edition:"For the first time in four years, January sales volumes failed to
Times Colonist is a miserable failure
Topics: real_estate

The looming fire
HouseHuntVictoria on Fri 29 Jan 2010 at 11:24 AM
Every day the fire conditions worsen. It's getting bigger, closer and faster people. And the useful idiots in the offices of industry associations and mainstream media outlets keep proclaiming that the
Topics: real_estate

Somethings rotten in the CAAMP
HouseHuntVictoria on Sun 17 Jan 2010 at 4:47 PM
I guess fear is a prime motivator after all. [sarcasm off]I can only imagine the prospect of declining sales volumes has agents and brokers waking up in a cold sweat at night. So much so they must be c
Topics: real_estate

Utter failure
HouseHuntVictoria on Fri 08 Jan 2010 at 8:43 PM
And they have no one but themselves to blame.Canwest publishing group is for sale under protection from their creditors.Are we really surprised when their reporting has become largely irrelevant parrot
Topics: real_estate

Patience
HouseHuntVictoria on Tue 05 Jan 2010 at 4:58 AM
It's been almost three years since I started this blog. In that time, my wife and I have paid around $27,000 for shelter. Had we bought a condo in the first few months of our house hunt, over these pas
Topics: real_estate

Questioning the CMHC
HouseHuntVictoria on Wed 23 Dec 2009 at 4:42 AM
Canadian Mortgage Trends has an interesting interview with Pierre Serré, CMHC's Vice-President of Insurance Products and Business Development. There's a bit of discussion though not too much analysis
Topics: real_estate

Haven't you heard?
HouseHuntVictoria on Sat 19 Dec 2009 at 7:21 AM
Dear Landlord,I'd like to take the opportunity to thank you for your warm seasons greetings I received from you today. I'd also like to confirm that I received your notice of rent increase form as well
Topics: real_estate

BREAKING NEWS
HouseHuntVictoria on Fri 11 Dec 2009 at 2:53 AM
News Release here. (H/T Skeptic)The important bits:The proposed OSFI changes will significantly decrease access to affordable mortgage loans for first time Canadian home-buyers and apartment investors
Topics: real_estate

Google won't win
HouseHuntVictoria on Thu 10 Dec 2009 at 4:44 AM
At least not soon.VancouverCondo.info has an interesting link to a Wall Street Journal article about how Google map-based open access listings may change the real estate transaction game.I think they'r
Topics: real_estate

Banks versus Re/Max
HouseHuntVictoria on Thu 03 Dec 2009 at 5:58 PM
Almost every major bank has released some kind of housing market economics report over the past several weeks that either pronounces the Canadian market to be in bubble territory or suggests that we ma
Topics: real_estate

The tipping point
HouseHuntVictoria on Wed 25 Nov 2009 at 6:26 PM
Two articles indicate we've reached it again.The first, RBC's affordability report (H/T to Kunwak) says "Homeownership... became more expensive in the most recent quarter... and isn't likely to get mor
Topics: real_estate

First-time-buyer delusion
HouseHuntVictoria on Fri 20 Nov 2009 at 6:52 PM
One of the common reasons we hear in the local media, and echoed by our friends and family, of people who buy for the first time in this market, is "I'm tired of living in a dark, dingy, mouldy basemen
Topics: real_estate

CMHC insured mortgages are sub-prime
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 16 Nov 2009 at 5:31 PM
Lot's of confusion about sub-prime mortgages in Canada. We hear things like Canada doesn't have sub-prime mortgages; we don't have adjustable rate mortgages either; our banks are solid and prudent and
Topics: real_estate

Breaking: Competition Bureau says CREA fees and commissions are uncompetitive
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 02 Nov 2009 at 3:47 PM
The Competition Bureau's report hasn't been released on their website yet, but the Toronto Star has picked up this story (we don't expect the TC to ever do so, but I digress).the bureau has concluded t
Topics: real_estate

Buying a house is not an investment
HouseHuntVictoria on Wed 28 Oct 2009 at 7:29 PM
Topics: real_estate

Home owners are stupid
HouseHuntVictoria on Tue 27 Oct 2009 at 6:05 AM
Or at least many of them are. Here's proof (H/T to S2 for the link):Who needs to save for retirement when your home is the new RRSP?"House prices will not go up forever," says Mr. Tal... "Home valuatio
Topics: real_estate

Diane Francis tells it like it is
HouseHuntVictoria on Thu 22 Oct 2009 at 5:17 PM
This article merit's no highlights or editing, re-posted in full:Ottawa has been creating a housing bubble in Canada with taxpayer money, which is why residential real estate prices rise in defiance of
Topics: real_estate

The Daily on Shaw
HouseHuntVictoria on Wed 21 Oct 2009 at 1:23 AM
Tune into The Daily on Shaw beginning at 11pm tTuesday until 4pm Wednesday afternoon for a chance to see real estate reporting including a blogger's viewpoint for the first time in Victoria. Did an int
Topics: real_estate

Peak real estate
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 12 Oct 2009 at 11:31 PM
H/T to Tim Ayres for the graphic.Peak average price for a Victoria single family home was April 2008 at $626,000. In September 2009, average prices hit $619,000. In April 2008, the average mortgage int
Topics: real_estate

The fall trend
HouseHuntVictoria on Thu 08 Oct 2009 at 7:07 PM
Supply and demand ratios in Victoria may be the ultimate indicator of market trends for us watchers. Typically, supply and demand dance in unison throughout the year: spring's foxtrot morphs to the han
Topics: real_estate

September sales...
HouseHuntVictoria on Thu 01 Oct 2009 at 6:58 PM
Continue to buck the 2008 plunging trend. VREB release here. Cue the TC hyper-echo chamber now. BREAKING: COMMENTS ARE ON! COMMENTS ARE ON! (for how long? your guess is as good as mine)Tim Ayres gives
Topics: real_estate

Headlines you won't see in the TC
HouseHuntVictoria on Tue 29 Sep 2009 at 3:29 PM
What a joke the Times Colonist has become. After weeks of being scooped by the G&M on the Bear Mountain story, the TC get's it in the kiester again:A $6.74-million chunk of prime real estate that was o
Topics: real_estate

Canada's proactive bank bailout
HouseHuntVictoria on Thu 24 Sep 2009 at 6:45 AM
And they said we are different here. Of course, they were right: we bail our banks out before they need to be. Apparently, the proactive bail out program will continue:The banking industry has been pre
Topics: real_estate

This buying boom makes no sense
HouseHuntVictoria on Fri 11 Sep 2009 at 12:22 PM
Even to some of Canada's so-called real estate experts. An interesting article appeared yesterday in the Financial Post that quoted a survey of some real estate agents. I question the validity of the a
Topics: real_estate

August numbers
HouseHuntVictoria on Tue 01 Sep 2009 at 10:33 AM
Preliminary numbers are out via @TimAyres on Twitter. Confirmed now on VREB too.Total sales: 764New Listings: 1094Total Active Listings: 3509Sales to new listings ratio: 70%Sales to active listings rat
Topics: real_estate

Trends tell the story
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 24 Aug 2009 at 10:46 AM
Cheers Roger for being so cool about sharing material, you're an open source hero.Every spring/summer, buyers buy and sellers sell more units than every fall/winter. Of course, the MSM proclaims this p
Topics: real_estate

VREB miscommunication
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 17 Aug 2009 at 10:34 AM
Over the weekend, the VREB published this in the local paper (H/T to Roger and GoneTooFar for links). Through crafty layout, they made their advertisement look like a factual education piece. But it wa
Topics: real_estate

Are buyer's agents redundant?
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 10 Aug 2009 at 10:06 AM
Let me start out by stating clearly that this post is not an attack on BC's REALTORS®.I've often stated in the past that when buying real estate, it's in the best interest of the buyer to use a dedica
Topics: real_estate

Front page news
HouseHuntVictoria on Tue 04 Aug 2009 at 8:09 PM
I don't know who was more excited by the news of a 19-year high in July sales volume this morning, the VREB or the TC. Both should be ecstatic with themselves, after all, they both managed to get thems
Topics: real_estate

The buying opportunity
HouseHuntVictoria on Tue 04 Aug 2009 at 8:09 AM
Some of you will remember last fall, during the worst stock market crash in recent memory, the Prime Minister of Canada declared a "buying opportunity." Many Canadians, and not just politicians, vilifi
Topics: real_estate

Premature declarations
HouseHuntVictoria on Thu 23 Jul 2009 at 9:37 AM
In probably the most famous premature declaration in modern history, W declared mission accompished in Iraq long before the war even began.Today, Carney declared the recession is over before it even hi
Topics: real_estate

Chek 6 bubble burst
HouseHuntVictoria on Wed 22 Jul 2009 at 9:37 PM
I'm only writing this post because I want to be part of the Google search bonanza AND THAT SHOULD BE THE FIRST CLUE IN AND OF ITSELF!If you believe that local news is the right of a tax-paying Canadian
Topics: real_estate

Spinning wheel of death
HouseHuntVictoria on Tue 14 Jul 2009 at 8:39 PM
If you use a Mac, you'll understand this post's title. When that little spinning wheel of death appears and just spins and spins, you end up having to shut down your system to make it end. Who would ha
Topics: real_estate

June stats
HouseHuntVictoria on Thu 02 Jul 2009 at 8:26 AM
The sales continue. Here's the unofficial stats, press release to follow this afternoon, I assume:New Sales: 946New listings: 1436Total active listings at June 30th: 3794Sales to new listings ratio: 66
Topics: real_estate

Credit where credit is due
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 29 Jun 2009 at 8:14 AM
I've taken a lot of swipes at the MSM and the real estate industry for their perceived lack of balance over the years. Today I'm not. I'm praising them for this article instead. Here are the highlights
Topics: real_estate

Truth in numbers
HouseHuntVictoria on Thu 25 Jun 2009 at 11:52 AM
Seems there may be a bit of a communications battle being waged between Teranet and the CREA these days.You'll remember that CREA recently told us that the average home price jumped over 16% in the las
Topics: real_estate

Long term planning
HouseHuntVictoria on Tue 23 Jun 2009 at 5:27 PM
Post by Reid:Let's look at the long term financial security of two families both aged age 30 that live in Victoria, earn $100k per year and wish to buy a $500k house. The Optimistic family has $25,000
Topics: real_estate

Value in relation to rent
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 22 Jun 2009 at 9:02 PM
We know there are two common values typically associated with houses: the market value obtained through a current market analysis (CMA) evaluated by a REALTOR® and the BC Assessment value which is lar
Topics: real_estate

Your home: the investment you think it is?
HouseHuntVictoria on Thu 18 Jun 2009 at 9:56 AM
Many people consider their home to be their primary investment. There are a number of financial and other reasons for long term home ownership including:"fixed" cost of shelterprideperception of securi
Topics: real_estate

Market movement
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 15 Jun 2009 at 2:15 PM
Up to date stats for June in Victoria from Tim Ayres on Twitter:New sales - 433New listings - 710 (sales to new listings ratio is 61%)Total active listings - 3773 (sales to active listings is 11%)I'm s
Topics: real_estate

Financial literacy redux
HouseHuntVictoria on Sat 13 Jun 2009 at 11:15 AM
We have an opportunity with this blog, should we choose it. I've long since given this place up as my own little recording of a house buying journey to the collective voice it may represent, but more i
Topics: real_estate

Financial literacy
HouseHuntVictoria on Tue 09 Jun 2009 at 8:57 AM
Content by Reid:I would define a person as truly financially literate when they can apply a holistic approach to making a key financial decision. By that I mean they can factor in the implications of a
Topics: real_estate

A good monopoly?
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 08 Jun 2009 at 9:04 AM
There was an interesting discussion in the BC twitterverse yesterday regarding some recent news about the CREA, the MLS system and the Competition Board of Canada--an independent consumer protection wa
Topics: real_estate

VREB stats
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 01 Jun 2009 at 10:44 AM
Preliminary:Month end Victoria Real Estate Board stats: New sales: 879New listings: 1362Total active listings: 3789Full release on VREB.org later. H/T to Tim Ayres for stats posted on TwitterI'll add t
Topics: real_estate

Insanity
HouseHuntVictoria on Tue 26 May 2009 at 5:03 PM
I feel like I'm stuck in a surreal place. Just about every economic indicator is screaming "batten down the hatches." And yet Victorians are snapping up real estate like it's life jackets on the Titani
Topics: real_estate

A sure sign of spring
HouseHuntVictoria on Thu 21 May 2009 at 9:21 AM
This spring has been predictable (even though I underestimated the volume of sales and the lack of new listings). Sales increased, both volumes and prices, as they typically do every spring. But after
Topics: real_estate

A tale of 3 cities
HouseHuntVictoria on Tue 19 May 2009 at 8:00 AM
Just for shts and giggles, we spent some time this weekend looking at a potential move to another western capital city where "diversified" economies (read reliant on government jobs) exist. Here's the
Topics: real_estate

The Implications of Rising Interest Rates
HouseHuntVictoria on Sat 09 May 2009 at 8:47 AM
There has been plenty of discussion recently on whether rising interest rates will have an impact on the real estate market in Victoria. Some people have argued that interest rates will have a limited
Topics: real_estate

Follow the trends, not the hype
HouseHuntVictoria on Tue 05 May 2009 at 10:15 AM
Roger always has great analysis of the monthly numbers. His April stats package, of course, raises the bar higher. In the last post, he made this comment, which deservedly needed to be moved to the fro
Topics: real_estate

Spring tug of war
HouseHuntVictoria on Fri 01 May 2009 at 2:05 PM
I don't think anyone, not the bulls, nor the bears, could have predicted what is happening this spring. Despite the spin of the VREB, nothing has really changed. Just like in every other year, sales vo
Topics: real_estate

Interest rates and prices
HouseHuntVictoria on Mon 27 Apr 2009 at 12:50 PM
The peak of our market was April 2008. Back then, 5 year fixed mortgage rates were approaching 6%. It was also a time when everyone believed the escalating price party was a permanent part of the local
Topics: real_estate

An Explanation for the Real Estate Bubble
HouseHuntVictoria on Thu 23 Apr 2009 at 12:53 PM
Twenty years ago this month, I bought my first house. Like most FTB’s I went to the bank and asked how much money they would lend me, negotiated the best five year mortgage rate and went out and boug
Topics: real_estate

Mortgage resets
HouseHuntVictoria on Sun 19 Apr 2009 at 10:58 AM
In the US, mortgage resets are partly responsible for the financial mess that is wreaking havoc throughout the global economy.In Canada, and Victoria specifically, mortgage resets haven't been a signif
Topics: real_estate