Comments on: Western Property Market ‘Buoyant’ like the Titanic

By: Chandresh Patel

Chandresh Patel — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 23:42:33 +0000

I am an imigrant living in Canada for 5 years now….3 years in Toronto and 2 years in Alberta..Following are my observations.

1) Property market is 80% speculation 20% real.

2) So called “real estate agents” are a bunch of useless uneducated people who don’t have anyother skils except sweet talking people into their schemes.

3) Builders-Land developers are a mighty lobby group to which each and every governments regardless of party has to succumb.

4) There is absolutely no reason for properties to be so costly in Alberta. I believe 10% of working people have income >100000 $.

God knows how this property values are published in real estate magazines and websites of various RE companies. Government should initiate an investigation to find out on what basis this valuation is done.

By: Carioca Canuck

Carioca Canuck — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 20:24:51 +0000

Anyone here seen today’s Calgary Herald yet ?

It has 151 pages in total.

43 pages are strictly devoted to propping up the “Real Estate Industrial Complex”…..almost 1/3 of the entire paper is advertising and outright shilling for the RE industry.

There is the New Homes section…..New Condos…..Lifestyle Homes……and finally Real Estate Investment and Vacation Homes……

No wonder you’ll never see the Calgary Herald print anything like what you can read here or on other RE blogs.

By: JimM

JimM — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 20:03:30 +0000

Did some of these condo developers start to believe their own advertising? Wake up! There are not hordes of rich urban power couples to buy up all this overpriced stuff. How did everyone come to imagine such people? Advertising doesn’t quite explain it all. It’s almost a popular delusion.

200K is quite a stretch for the average single Calgarian in the first few years of a career and that’s the very low end. The potential buyers can’t pay the prices anymore. Condos are either retirees or “before I got married” types and they don’t have this money. There are exceptions, but not enough to justify the amount of high-end condos in Calgary today. Not by a long shot. Just a guess.
I can see a LOT of people soaking up the lifestyle for really cheap rents in the next year or 2. They’ll boast to each other about how much high-end condo they renting for how cheap. We have a generation out there that would really dig living with all that bling without having to pay for it. Seems just wierd enough to happen.

By: GDP

GDP — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:39:42 +0000

I completely agree with your assessment on the Calgary Real Estate market. Perhaps, what is also propping up the market is the continuing blowing of “hot air” by realtors and media. These prices are just not justified. Keep up the good work!

By: crebb

crebb — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 04:59:29 +0000

Hey Radley,
I believe there is also another tower Arriva 42 that is going up as well. That whole area is pretty much the ground zero for a condo implosion. Keynote a block away, Nuera is also a black away and Sassa. Colors by Basteila (sp?) etc. I was actually looking into buying one of those units but the prices they are asking are just unrealistic 600k and plus two years ago. Now they are struggling. Arriva is really desolate, I completely agree. Such a big hamster cage.

By: radley77

radley77 — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 02:31:40 +0000

I looked at Arriva tonight. There are 22 units and counting listed in MLS that are ‘trying’ to be flipped.

Check it out on MLS in Victoria Park.

In addition, I was over at the sales office the other day, and the sales woman said there were a ‘handful’ for sale. The condo still is not fully open yet.

If you look at Arriva at night, it looks like there is noone home.