Looks like the property flippers are going to take it hard in the coming months as the market continues to drop. Oil is at $52 today and RBC prime is at 6%.......not much room left before the squeeze is on big time......in March there is a good chance that the PC's will lose the government over their budget vote.......and we'll have an election. Thoughts ?
OT - 40% of listed condos and 35% of houses are vacant in Calgary..... Where did you get the stat from?
I predict there will not be an election, Liberals are still in shambles, and NDP has no chance. Most of all, Canadians will not be happy going to the poles again. I too would like to know where that stat came from. I have a few friends in the process of moving to Alberta, nothing but boom from what I've heard. Oil is right where it should be.
All you have to do is visit a few listings or even browse the MLS. From what I've seen personally, I'd say the percentage is higher than 30% and its everywhere (high end, low end, condos). It should get interesting when much of this idle inventory is absorbed by people who actually will live in the place. The mentality is crazy here with some people. There are people talking about (and doing) job swaps to get a better deal on their options now that energy is at a 'low'. Who would of thought that people would be trading their incomes like they trade stocks?
The stats are direct from CREB. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2007/01/15/vacant-homes.html But as a new year begins, the Calgary Real Estate Board said the vacancy rate in listed houses has reached 33 per cent, while in condos it is at 40 per cent. And because they are from CREB (residential realtors are a bunch of pathological liars and the newspapers won't tell you the truth because of all the RE ad revenue, while the banks are mum because they will be the real losers) I think things are even worse than that, and CREB is front running with a "small" negative story in hopes of hiding the real one.....which is far worse. We live in the west end of downtown Calgary......there is a plethora of high rise towers here....many of which are new. The Co-op grocery store we shop at is 2 blocks away and it is on the same block as a complex called VANTAGE POINT....a 30 odd story high rise condo. At 8:00 PM at night if we go to the Co-op.....75% of the lights in the tower are out.....in fact it is 8:10 PM now and this is the case as I look out my window. The same can be said for several of the others here as well. I pay $1000 a month rent for a nice 975 sq. ft. high rise apartment in the west end of downtown including u/g parking.....why would I walk 2 blocks away and pay $2100 a month mortgage ($300K @ 20 yr. am @ 6.0%)....plus $100 of property taxes, $400 condo fees, $200 utilities,etc and $100 insurance for a place that is the same size ? Why ? Would you ? That is the real world here in Calgary........
Its funny oil is trading near $52 a barrel yet we see no real change at the pump. Only when oil goes up in price do we see a change at the pump, or if its a long weekend.
but in the last week oil has been going down, I look at the gas prices and it goes up from 79.9 to 83.9 If oil goes down, how can gas prices go up?
Very simple, the Oil Companies control the prices at the pumps. Price per barrel is at $53.00, therefore the price per litre should be around the $.65 cent mark like 3 years ago. How do you think Exxon and PetroCan made 1.2$ billion PROFIT last year? Gas pumps were only a fraction of that profit, the majority comes from services and industrial. They're making billions because the price has dropped, but the demand is still at an all time high====$$$$
HAH, that was such a given. I knew you were gonna use it. That's why I left it out . HAHAH Thats the best one I have.
It might have dipped below $50 for a split second at the end of the day! Nonetheless, not a good day today. Why are you cheering for low oil? We should all do our part and consume as much energy as possible to support the industry!!
You Go Tom(!) If you're referring to gas prices, we're still 97.9 - 103.9 out here in the West. Someone's got to pay the taxes in this country and keep those empty condo's in Calgary heated.
