It’s all a question of priorities.

In these hot summer days do you really care that prices of homes in Vancouver are unaffordable? Consider the alternative.

Photo: Stringer, AFP/Getty Images – Swimmers cool off in Suining,China’s Sichuan province

Photo: Miguel Riopa, AFP/Getty Images – Samil beach, Vigo, Spain

Jay Pozo over at W2 Community Media Arts wrote about the ‘Mile Long Jam’ slated for this July 17 weekend on “Vancouver’s popular and trendy Main Street.”

Admittedly, delivering a prognostication based on 5 sales is from an analytic viewpoint, over the top! However, there doesn’t seem to be a valid reason to explain the prices in this Main street market snap shot other than to agree with Pozo that Main street must be “popular and trendy”.

In the period May 14, 2010 to July 14, 2010 detached properties in the Main neighbourhood had the following results.

Listings

Total Listings decreased 2 units from May/June’s 40 to June/July’s 38.

Sales

Sales decreased by almost half from May/June’s 9 to 5 in June/July.

Expired, Reductions, Increases, Days on Market

• May/June had 1 listing mandates expire which increased to 3 in June/July.
• Price reductions in May/June were 11 and remained at the level in June/July.
• There were 2 price increases in May/June and 1 in June/July.
• It took an average of 32 days to sell a home in May/June and one can only assume because of its “popularity” it decreased to 15 days in June/July.

Average and Median Prices

• May/June’s Average Ask price was $810,988. This increased in June/July to $822,800.
• The Median Ask price in May/June was $790,000 which also increased to $819,000 in June/July.
• The Average Sold price in the May/June was $795,533. In June/July this increased to $828,680.
• The Median Sold price in May/June was $825,000. In June/July this this increased to $840,000.

They’ll Be Jammin’

Looking at these numbers I’m going to make a prediction. I say that Main street’s detached home seller’s will be jammin’ this weekend.

Bob’s Thoughts

• We’re jammin’
• I wanna jam it wid you.
• We’re jammin’, jammin’,
• And I hope you like jammin’, too.
• Ain’t no rules, ain’t no vow, we can do it anyhow
• I and I will see you through,
• ‘Cause everyday we pay the price
• We are the living sacrifice

Bob Marley

Photo Credit

Having short arms creates a problem if you want to pat yourself on the back.

Today is a special day around here at Yatter Matters. It’s so special we have planned to treat ourselves to a Timmy’s donut and coffee as we think about what has happened to this blog while composing 700 posts in the past 31 months.

Thanks

Photo Credit

Having short arms doesn’t preclude passing on a big thanks to all the new and not so new loyal readers. You have visited this place almost 130,000 times and read over 314,000 pages of stuff.

It’s also a day to thank all those who have taken the time to engage and express their thoughts – some of which are as off the wall as are mine. You have made it fun!

Important Rock

Most important, it is a time for a special thanks to those who through this blog have come to know,like and trust me as a professional. In part, because of this blog, they have chosen to hire me as their Realtor® to assist them in their most important purchase or sale – their home.

For that trust, I say Thank You – you folks rock!

Onward

Barring being hit by a bus, YatterMatters should be around for some time – so stick around. The Vancouver real estate market is a great place to be as a Realtor® as it is always changing and through that change provides an incredible source for dialogue about that thing that Matters most – having a roof over our heads.

Onward to post 702 – Cheers Everyone!

Yeah we got mountains, we got oceans, we got Olympics, we got sunshine, we got pretty girls, we got pretty boys, we drive nice cars and live in big houses but – do we have safer neighbourhoods, better health and higher wages?

According to Macleans magazine and the Canadian Council of Learning‘s 2009 Composite Learning Index we are not as smart as we think.

How Smart is Vancouver

Courtesy CLI

Scoring only 77 points and dropping we are behind a lot of big and small cities. Not that the score is meant to be competitive but according to CLI’s tabulations we are on par with Hamilton. Flexing competitive muscles: – if you have ever been to Hamilton you’ll know that the steel town is no trip to Hollywood and while that may be the case it doesn’t make us any smarter?

What is the Composite Learning Index

Quoting from the CLI site:

• “It is the only index of its kind in the world”
• “It is an unprecedented measurement tool that expresses how learning in all aspects of life is critical to the success of individuals, communities and the country as a whole”

What’s the Purpose

“On an individual level, Canadians stand to benefit from lifelong learning through higher wages, better job prospects, improved health and more fulfilling lives. Accordingly, Canada stands to gain through a more resilient economy and stronger bonds within and between communities.”

Four Pillars

The CLI promotes and calculates these Zen-like goals -

Courtesy CLI

• Learning to Know
• Learning to Do
• Learning to Live Together
• Learning to Be

Winners and Losers

CLI claims that -

• “scores are not meant to single out winners and losers”
• they are “supposed to help Canadians understand the state of lifelong learning in their communities and to encourage them to think of concrete ways that they can improve on these conditions.”

Thoughts

I had never heard about the CLI before today but then again, for a while I thought the Vancouver real estate market would go high enough to touch the space station. We always learn something. In that sense, the theory behind the CLI’s value is that I’ve learned something today and in doing so I am now able to share with you some knowledge that helps us all live better together – at least I hope so.

You might want to explore the interactive map to see how each community within the country and within the city performs. There is a lot of eye opening information at the CLI.

Not that I’m keeping count but, what is your score?

*Quotes and Graphics Courtesy Canadian Council of Learning. **PDF booklet available on the site for download and further reading.

Hat Tip Norm Fisher

Vancouver is a melting pot for many cultures. The Chinese peoples have been a corner stone in this city’s make up since the gold rush days. Today, their numbers contribute to the second largest Chinese population in North America bringing our city the wonders of Asia and yet, many attributes of their culture leave us confounded.

A Little Help From a Friend

John, client and frequent commentator, (see his comment) to this blog sent me a link to Paul Merton’s ‘Visit to China’ video.

Take time to watch it from beginning to end (about 50 minutes). It is a wonderful expose of China’s growth in which is found some enlightenment explaining the cultural difference.

Don’t Move In

One attribute that is misunderstood by some Vancouver natives is why mainland Chinese buy very expensive homes with one, two or 5 million dollar price tags and then, never move in? This constant local puzzlement is explained in the ‘Thames Town’ segment (41 minutes Kenneth and Jaqueline) of the video.

Hard to Relate

We also stand in amazement at their seemingly endless wealth. In the golf segment (8 minute mark) Merton, speaks with Hanson, one of the wealthy Shanghai locals who puts relative wealth in perspective as he proclaims that “China is producing a new millionaire or billionaire every day.”

Not a Dirty Word

Making money is what it’s all about. As Rupert explains it’s no longer “a dirty word” in China.

Knowing what to do with all the money is another matter. For a number of mainland Chinese, buying Vancouver real estate seems like a good idea that is influencing our Vancouver real estate market. If you accept parts of this video report at face value, those parts present a challenge to some Vancouverites who might view this level of financial competition as insurmountable.

Photo Credit

CBC reports that B.C. Hydro wants to up it’s charge for electricity – onwards of 33% the report claims.

Implications

Mid afternoon idle thoughts suggest a me-too inflation spiral where maybe, just maybe, Realtors® who now conduct their business exclusively via a computer be it searching for properties on MLS®, blogging or any other social media venu, will have to up their commissions in order to offset Hydro’s cost of electricity. Shocking it is but, it is just another example of the costs associated with doing business. We both know who is going to pay.

Curious poses question. Will it be like trading in your light bulbs where as a green recycled client Realtors® may offer an electrical discount on your next transaction?

Waiting

As for this author, who, careful not to be near an electrical outlet, puts his back against the wall in anticipation of the ‘shock’ response to this WAC-e proposal.

FDR Library, Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration.

Re-reading a commemorative book published in 1995 by the Real Estate Board of Great Vancouver to celebrate 75 years of it’s “History of Service” a particular passage stood clear. Today as one views our great and beautiful city on the eve of the 2010 Winter Olympics a year after 2008′s world wide financial meltdown, one takes pause to reflect on the image in the mirror.

Reflection

“On March 9, 1929, the Vancouver Stock Exchange experienced a record trading day, but on October 29, 1929, the Wall Street Crash was heard around the world. Despite that Black Friday, however, Vancouver’s civic authorities, citizens and businessmen didn’t seem to immediately understand the economic implications of the market crash and continued approving major civic improvement bonds, such as an expenditure of the over $4 million for the construction of the Burrard Street bridge in December 1929.”

“Slowly however, the penny dropped. Despite considerable building development during 1929, it was soon apparent that the relief rolls were burgeoning, and the destitute were becoming a common sight on downtown streets. Demonstrations, and arrests multiplied, and by mid 1930 it was quite apparent that Vancouver, too, had reached the end of its affluent era and was sliding down into what historians would eventually call the world’s worst depression.”

from A History of Service 1919/1994 published by the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board with permission

Company

In Richmond, unpaid guests dropped in for the Olympic games.

Having Dinner

Driving by this school playground at No. 1 Road and Westminster Hwy, you were greated with a lot of snowy white Snow Geese. They were having a field day.

Amazing

I didn’t count them all but look at the size of the playing field snagged from Google and then look at the number of birds in the field. It was an amazing site in the middle of the city.

Another one of life’s moments!

Fridays are supposed to be fun days. Today was particularly fun as a dear friend took me to lunch up at the Seasons Restaurant located in Queen Elizabeth Park.

Old Friends

It was wonderful to catch up on our respective lives and the events therein. We both agreed that the days just seem to pass too quickly and that while good, they could be a lot more fun.

Olympic Clouds

Of course the topic of the day was the Olympics. As the clouds over Cypress opened for a brief moment we were once again surprised at how little snow was on the mountain.

Harbingers

After lunch, upon existing the restaurant, one I highly recommend as a nice get away for a break from the routine, to our left in the gardens near by were thousands of the harbingers of spring – the Snow drop. Like little flakes of snow they stood tall above bark mulch to welcome the arrival of a new season.

Half Pipe

It is somewhat ironic that so many Snow drops are in Queen Elizabeth park but there are so few snow flakes on Cypress. We chuckled as friends do when together, as we wondered if it was possible to build a snow bordering half pipe out of flowers.

Earlier today a phone conversation prompted some questions.

Courtesy of Hanna Barbera

The question came with the knowledge shared in that conversation that proclaimed that “half of West Vancouver” is leaving for Kihai, Maui, Hawaii for the duration of the Olympics. The reason – for him and his West Vancouver friends was that they were not prepared to contend with the problems associated with traversing the downtown core to reach their respective businesses.

Olympic Personal Problem Created

Their choice – leave town. The problem becomes that many Vancouver homes will be left empty to become prime targets for break and enter afficionados.

It will be interesting to see if home insurance companies have much to say about this after the fact when and if claims for break and enter. How much of this added cost will be passed on to other home owner’s insurance plans.

Considerations

Did VANOC think about this implication on the citizens of this city?

Are you planning to leave town? Before you go you may want to check with your insurance agent to make sure you have Olympic insurance in place.

From CKNW News – “Olympic fever” mild in BC