this piece of news might make Rahul very happy:


From Globe & Mail:

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Breaking News

Toronto home sales, prices plunge
The Canadian Press


Wednesday, November 05, 2008

TORONTO — Resale home sales in the Greater Toronto Area plunged 35 per cent in October from a year earlier, while prices sank 13 per cent in the central city and 8 per cent in the suburban region.

More to come
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Chandresh

Advice is free – lessons I charge for!!

Thanks Chandresh.
I am a future buyer in Calgary market only.

I agree with Amit Kalia that a family should not spend more than 30-35% on housing. That is only possible if house price comes down or all family starts making 200K. I am not sure how many are renting or homeless and making that kind of money.

I am not surprise to see these data as we are late in RE meltdown game but “wait” is the key for buyers.
It will take some time but home affordability is coming than living pay check to paycheck and financial slavery.

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Just wondering how TREB and other experts are going to spin this news?

“We are reaching normal market after long bull market. It seems a good time to buy as there is lot of inventory in market and price pressure on sellers.”

Quote:

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Originally posted by chandresh

this piece of news might make Rahul very happy:


From Globe & Mail:

---------------------------------------
Breaking News

Toronto home sales, prices plunge
The Canadian Press


Wednesday, November 05, 2008

TORONTO — Resale home sales in the Greater Toronto Area plunged 35 per cent in October from a year earlier, while prices sank 13 per cent in the central city and 8 per cent in the suburban region.

More to come
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RICHMOND HILL, CALGARY SW
4 Bedrooms, Status: Active. (Residential Attached)
Fully Finished / Walkout Basement 1299.21 sqft

Property Matches found on Tuesday, September 02, 2008
New Listing $409,900

Property Matches found on Tuesday, September 18, 2008
Price Reduced! $397,900

Property Matches found on Tuesday, September 24, 2008
Price Reduced! $389,900

Property Matches found on Monday, October 06, 2008
Price Reduced! $375,000

Property Matches found on Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Price Reduced! $349,900

Property Matches found on Thursday, November 06, 2008
Status Change $349,900

Price reduced by $60K in 66 days

I been to open house this weekend and RE agent lady was educating me:

"We are going through a minor price adjustment right now due to the world economic problems which we are not affected by, but once these problems pass we should see prices increase again. The fundamentals are still good, our economy is as strong as ever, real estate prices haven't been this affordable in over a year, there are lots of great deals and good selections to choose from, and according to many industry experts we should see an increase in real estate prices of about 35% over the next 2 years, so buy now before prices go up and there are less selections to choose from."


Q: Will you hire this RE agent?

I hate the ones who spew false doctored information with the name of "professional advice". Why the heck these RE agents give the world economic speech after attending 6-8 weeks training which needs only 12th grade education (few yrs back it was not even 12th).


If you have a good RE agent (which is more difficult to find than affordable dream home) then you can discard these links:

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I agree, not all realtors are scum, just like not all bloggers are anti-realtite.

But, deal with public perception. Acknowledge reality.

Is the US entirely full of arrogant people?
Obviously not.
Is US foreign policy arrogant?
Perhaps.
Does the majority of the world think the US is arrogant?
I'd say yes.

Your industry leaders are to blame. You've got archaic and out of date policies, and because the policies and ways of the institution are out of touch with most peoples' needs, at some point it will have to undergo massive restructuring and weed out both agents and flawed misconceptions. This downturn, I maintain, is when that will occur.

Calgary's oil and gas sector will soon be facing job losses of up to 10 percent.


http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20081112/CGY_Oil_JobLoss_081112/20081112/?hub=CalgaryHome


Major oil and gas companies have already cut spending because of the falling price of commodities; and many major projects in the oil sands, which aren't already underway, have been put on hold. Experts say jobs are likely the next area to cut.

But there is some good news for those facing job loses. Alberta has the lowest unemployment rate in the country and recruitment consultants say the marketplace can absorb that amount of lost jobs.
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My take: YES Marketplace can absorb. When someone gets layoff with 100K salary jobs from oil gas can still work in same sector but on gas station. Not easy to find high paying jobs in recession does not matter which area you are looking.

Most of the people’s expenses are bound to same high salary earning.

Most of the Realtors love their jobs because they help folks to realize their dreams.


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/11/11/2008-11-11_cops_heartbreak_suckered_by_sale_sez_mom.html


DeBellis went to Safari Real Estate in Staten Island, where she said brokers Frank Reali and Donna Urkonis told her they had a perfect fixer-upper: a 1920s three-bedroom home on Rice Ave.

They said she didn't need a lawyer - they knew of one. She didn't need her own inspector - they had one.

They hooked her up with Countrywide Home Loans of California, which was the nation's largest mortgage writer until it collapsed this summer.

Countrywide found her an appraiser, who valued the house at $405,000, which also happened to be the sale price. Reali said he would resell it after renovations.

It was all so easy. All DeBellis had to do was show up for the Dec. 21, 2006, closing with a $1,200 check.

She and her husband, Ken, took out loans against their NYPD pensions and ran up debt with Home Depot, American Express and Sears to finance a $170,000 gut rehab.

Then things started falling apart.

Reali died in April last year. The medical examiner said the broker died of heart disease - and a history of drug abuse.

That shocked the narcotics detective. And it woke her up. DeBellis refinanced - barely. She tried to sell the house, but no buyers could get a mortgage. Bills piled up. She started falling behind on the mortgage for the family's house.

The Staten Island district attorney refused to investigate her claims of a scam.

"It's not like she was duped or anything. Anyone can say they were raked over the coals when it doesn't work out the way they want it to," said Fran Reali, Frank's mom.

DeBellis hired forensic appraiser Dominick Pompeo, who helped write the state laws licensing appraisers. He determined the wreck was worth $235,000 - not $405,000 as the original appraiser, Josephine LaMattina, claimed.

DeBellis' concerns spiked again in April when LaMattina's husband was disbarred for setting up a phony company used in real estate and financing scams.

"I stand by my reputation," said LaMattina. "I have not been in the business 25 years by overvaluing properties."

DeBellis has since taken her complaints to Countrywide, the IRS and the state attorney general's office.

I am not buying/selling/writing book/writing newspaper article so I am not impacting market or anyone's business. The projection that I made long time back was just common sense. I am not saying that experts/realtors/TREB/CREB/Remax is stupid but they deliberately give wrong information or brain wash people than educating people. They are no different than white house lobbyist whose work for own interest all the time and screw average families by selling dreams. Some experts/realtors are good too but looking for needle in haystack.

My 2 cents: Time to buy good stocks for long term or invest in US Real Estate. 2010 will be right time to look into Canadian RE.

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GTA home resales crash in November

Transactions in first half of month off nearly 44% from last year; biggest price declines in inner city

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/540073

The Toronto real estate market is seeing its worst resale numbers since the 1990s, and analysts say they are the direct result of the Bay Street jitters.

Figures released yesterday by the Toronto Real Estate Board show 1,991 houses sold in the greater Toronto region during the first 15 days of November, down almost 44 per cent from the 3,544 that sold during the same period last year.

The November results show the most significant change to the housing market since the global credit crisis began last summer and the results are beginning to drag the city's year-to-date sale figures (70,474 sales in 2008, down from 84,994 last year) to pre-boom levels.

The hardest hit by the cooling housing market? The city of Toronto, where 830 homes have changed hands since Nov. 1. Last year, that figure was 1,643.

"A lot of the housing in Toronto relies on the financial market and financial services," said Toronto housing analyst Will Dunning.

According to Dunning, it's the Bay Street types, the accountants and all those in the financial services who buy in the city's core.............................

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