Rahul,

I must commend you for spending your valuable time to dig these websites/blogs.

Coming to your question about how/why these bloggers are posting such information, I reckon, they too could be in violation of the Privacy Act, unless they purchased the Data from the Registrar's office (Yes, you can buy it for $25 or so....but it cannot be used for publicity purposes) or the Seller and Buyer (both) gave the permission to use the figures. This is my understanding of the Act as we had been briefed about it in a course I undertook.

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Originally posted by rahul_singh23


I think that kind of info really helpful to nail down lowest price offer when 20 cookies cut houses which are pretty much within +/- 5K range.

How I know what was lowest offer last week sale and how can I trust those number given by my realtor if I don't know any place to verify? This is not a question about trust but more about big money in play and buyer want best deal.

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Rajeev Narula, Broker, REALTOR®
ACE TEAM REALTY INC., Brokerage
10 Kingsbridge Garden Circle, Suite 704
(Opp Square One - HWY10/403)
Mississauga, ON L5R 3K6
Bus: 1-888-355-3155 Ext. 300
Fax: 1-888-443-3155
Email:
Web: http://www.RAJEEV.ca" rel="nofollow">LINK

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Cheers!

Thanks Krazzyfour and Rajeev. Krazzyfour, that is good post.


"Ordinary People Spend Time To Save Money. Extraordinary People Spend Money To Save Time".

90% people in this world (or country) are ordinary. 10% extraordinary people are very smart people and never get trap into CREB/NAR/TREB/CHMC/Remax/Oil and Finance company's analyst or economist's report. They (10%) know how to balance or whom to trust with common sense, wall and Main Street. In this complex economy and capitalist world these 90% ordinary people are always get in trap and loose.

Realtor/RE companies/mortgage broker/ appraiser/ media/ CHMC/ fennie/Freddie Mac/ Wall Street banks are interested in short term or own commission. We have seen that already.
I still think ordinary man is more responsible than any one else in his own crash.

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If a couple who earn average incomes came to you one day and asked about buying a 500k house on a 40 year mortgage. Would your response be?

1) No! The market will be crashing, be patient and wait it out and save more money rather than go on a 40 yr mortgage etc.

2) Yes! Let’s go look at some properties and its good time to buy bes......

I never met any realtor who gives advice 1.

Q: How is Canada different than USA in housing market?

RE picture is getting clear day by day and media is also talking about Canadian RE is heading south. I think it’s too late to understand for some people that we are not different.

Falling house prices. That is the trigger. It's simple.

40 year mortgages, 0 down payment, etc...all these new mortgage products introduced by the CHMC over the last two years force-fed false affordability on unsuspecting home buyers. These are the same home buyers that would not even qualify for a traditional 25 yr amortization period. People who have no business buying houses bought during the last two years. A significant majority of homes bought in the last two years were bought with 40 year mortgages. Once can argue that affordability is now worse in 2008 than it was back in the 1990s as now the principle amounts of mortgages are astronomical.

In the US, the trigger was not subprime. Subprime would have never been an issue if house prices continued to rise or remained static. Those who were overextended once the teaser rates adjusted to higher rates could easily escape by either selling their property or refinancing their mortgage. When house prices fell in the US, those home buyers with subprime mortgages were trapped. They couldn't sell because there were no buyers. And they could no longer refinance their mortgages because their property was losing significant value. The only option was to default.

The same scenario is occurring in Calgary and other cities across Canada. Houses aren't selling under similar principles. I fear that sellers are unwilling to lower their prices because they will take a big loss. Intelligent buyers, are exercising their patience on the sidelines. Meanwhile, home prices which have risen exponentially over the last two years are starting to come crashing back down. Soon many Canadians will be in the same trap. Severely upside down on their mortgage they will be forced to either sell or refinance their mortgage. Both of which cannot be accomplished when asset values are decreasing. Skyrocketing inventory is a symptom and precursor of what is to come.

Reality check, as house prices slide in every major Canadian city - real estate is still unaffordable to the average wage earner. These include important people such as teachers, firefighters, nurses etc.

Even if our own meltdown is a fraction of what happened in the US, it will still have a significant impact on our own economy. Perhaps an in-house grown recession (pun intended).

To simply ignore all the warning signs and to discount what is happening in the US is complete ignorance.

I just wonder if I had been following what Rahul has been saying for last two years, I would have missed making the 50K profit I made in last one year!

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Chandresh

Advice is free – lessons I charge for!!

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Originally posted by chandresh
I just wonder if I had been following what Rahul has been saying for last two years, I would have missed making the 50K profit I made in last one year!

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"Mah deah, there is much more money to be made in the destruction of civilization than in building it up."

-- Rhett Butler in "Gone with the Wind"

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Originally posted by pratickm

If I understand his ramblings correctly, he says this is a bad time to buy, ergo a good time to sell.

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