Oh Canada!
As seen on Yahoo the housing prices just keep on dropping. So why aren’t groceries and gas along with other commodities dropping? If the economy is bad, it’s bad all around isn’t it? So you can buy a house almost dirt cheap now but you can’t furnish it because the furniture is too expensive? What the? I know I’m missing something here because I am not a financial expert (not even close) but I am just an average person with simple thinking.
I recently returned from a trip to Canada to visit some friends. They said nothing about their housing market but I found this article today in the Vancouver Sun. It looks like they aren’t as hard hit as us but they are taking a hit. I did notice that the price of a house in my friend’s community of Lions Bay are doing just fine. I only wish I had bought a house there about 4 years ago. Prices have doubled there since then.Lions Bay is about ½ way between Vancouver and Whistler and is a spectacular little community. My friends own and run the Community News on the web and everyone in the quaint community is involved in the local happenings. They are not feeling a pinch at all. In fact, with the 2010 Winter Olympics being held in Whistler the communities between Whistler and Vancouver are experiencing a bit of a boom. I love the area up there but really dislike the cold, wet winters. I lived in Eureka for several years and that was more gloom than I could take, especially after growing up in Southern California. So going even further north means more gloom. It takes a whole lot of rain to keep those giant forests green. Oh well — at least I get to go visit there whenever I want to. An example of a house for sale in Lions Bay, BC Canada.
Now, back to the local EB Tri-Cities area. Here are some new listings that make this area a good area to call home:
FREMONT
Low: 38692 Country Ter 2/2 928 sf ($311) $288,888
Smack dab in the middle of Fremont means access to everything.
Mid: 5565 Andromeda Cir 4/2.5 1422 sf ($447) $634,950
A very comfy looking home in a nice enough neighborhood.
High: 40 Montclaire Dr 4/3.5 4030 sf ($496) $1,998,888
A grandiose place in the Fremont foothills. Just what you would expect for this area.
HAYWARD
Low: 658 River Oak Way #77 1/1 531 sf ($181) $96,000
A condo in an okay area with HOA fees of $241 per month.
Mid: 21601 Knoll Way 2/2 1530 sf ($363) $555,000
Nice area with no neighbors off the backyard.
High: 28828 Bay Heights Rd 6/3 3441 sf ($356) $1,225,000
A big house on a big lot in a great area.
MILPITAS
Low: 1787 Starlite Dr 3/2 1010 sf ($397) $401,000
Not one of my favorite areas but close to the Great Mall if you love to shop.
Mid: 1566 Jupiter Dr 3/2 1240 sf $499,000
Easy access to the freeway but it looks like needs some TLC in a mediocre neighborhood.
High: 1744 E Arana Ct 4/2 1466 sf ($443) $649,000
I like this area of Milpitas. Away from the dump and close to the foothills..
NEWARK
Low: 36556 Olive St 3/1 984 sf ($356) $349,900
Not a great area but this could be a good investment home. Be prepared to do a lot of yard work because it needs help.
Mid: 37672 Fuschia Ct 4/2 1522 sf ($345) $524,950
This is located in a mediocre neighborhood but the house and yard(s) look like they have received TLC.
High: 6086 Bennington Dr 6/3 2580 sf ($290) $749,000
A lot of house for the price. Not a short sale but it sure does have a short counter island in the kitchen. Bizarro looking to me.
UNION CITY
Low: 34805 Starling Dr #2 2/1 903 sf ($177) $159,900
Close to BART and the Quarry Lakes Recreational Area.
Mid: 220 Dutra Vernaci Dr 3/2.5 2000 sf ($325) $650,000
I like the looks and location of this house.
High: 34967 Eastin Dr 5/4 3198 sf ($327) $1,045,000
Beautiful home close to the bay and the Dumbarton bridge.
REAL ESTATE TERMINOLOGY:
Floor Area Ratio Method - A Flexible method of limiting the size of a building in relation to the size of a lot; used in some zoning ordinances as an alternative to strict size and coverage limits.
David said:
Oil’s dropped $30/barrel the past couple months.
Similarly, gas prices are down, copper is down, lead and zinc prices are down, nickel and corn and other commodities are also down.
However, prices for consumer goods drop much more slowly than the commodities they’re made from in a perfectly rational attempt by purveyors to fatten up their profit margins. Eventually, prices for finished goods drop though as sellers compete for market share (and give up a little on the margin side).
Hence “prices rise like a rocket, but drop like a feather.”
August 27, 2008 3:09 PM
Red said:
The Vancouver area bubbled pretty bad too (double since 2002), and now were seeing the same denial antics there that were seen in California recently. ( It will be a “soft landing”; Asian investors will keep prices high; -and a new one! - the Olympics will keep prices up)
But a look back and we see that Vancouver prices dropped off a cliff in 1981 to 1983, not passing the prevous peak until 1989. Then again in 1995 to 2002. There is a moral here: when home prices get much too expensive they eventually go down. Those who ignore this will get hurt.
See:
http://activerain.com/blogsview/573085/The-Canadian-Real-Estate
August 27, 2008 3:42 PM
sue.herz said:
David,
Thanks for providing me more insight into economics. I wish I was more savvy being the devoted consumer that I am.
Sue
August 27, 2008 7:57 PM
sue.herz said:
Red,
When I was in Lions Bay in 2004 there was a great house across the street from my friends house that was selling for $375,000 for a 4/2 beautiful house. Now the houses are selling there for around $800,000. One of the perks of the winter olympics being there is that my friends are going to rent out their 4/2 house with a pool and hot tub for $3,000 a week for 3 months. During that time they are taking off on a nice vacation. They said they couldn’t resist that kind of money. Although I did find it a little nervewracking to see a black bear wander thru their backyard while I was getting my morning tea.
Sue
August 27, 2008 8:02 PM