Who is Saying What About Real Estate and the Economy - Feb. 15, 2009
Ok.. there is a lot of doom and gloom.. so this is a warning.. Remember - bad news sells papers - and we are still a paper driven media - though I see that changing rapidly... More on that at the bottom of this post..
Each week I endeavour to bring links to what has been reported on real estate and the economy - and the struggle I am encountering is that BIG MEDIA is based in the East and therefore reports with that bias. Even The so called "National Post" shows a distinctive eastern flair. Frustrated.. I turn to Google... and I search "Okanagan Real Estate Market" and am not surprised to see a prominent local REALTOR show in the results.. so I decide I better see what they have to say... and I quote, or cut and paste...
"What's the North Okanagan Real Estate Market Doing?
After a slower spring start, the residential market is picking up steam. There is more balance in the North Okanagan Real Estate market in the upper end in homes priced $400,000 and above. There is still a shortage of listing inventory between $250,000 and $350,000.
Prices are holding steady at this point. Compared to last year at this time, average sales prices have increased approximately 25%. No one can say for sure how long this trend will continue; however, we don't expect this rate of increase to continue indefinitely.
Now, more than ever, this type of real estate market calls for careful analysis by experienced Realtors when you are buying or selling. Understanding the market and advising you accordingly are what we do best. We not only study local trends, but also keep abreast of trend setting markets such as Vancouver and Victoria, as well as analyze national and international economic factors.
Call us at any time with your real estate questions. We are happy to help in whatever way we can. "
OK - WHEN on earth was this last updated??
I just did a search for listings between $250,000 and $350,000 and there are 447 active properties breaking down into the following classifications:
128 are Lots & Acreages
1 is an Acreage
1 is a Lot
4 are Manufactured Homes
199 are Single Family Dwellings
and 110 are Strata Properties
Ok.. so I don't know about you.. but I'd say that a selection of 300 places to live in a $100,000 price range is .. decidely not a lack of inventory!
I estimate that this post is at best almost one year old.. but there is no way for us to know- since the page has no date on it. Further checking on this site shows the Market Statistics available via links that provide the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board Statistics from APRIL 2006 and January 2006! OH MY GOODNESS!! Do you think the market has changed a little since then??
My point in bringing this to your attention is not to slam the other Realtor - but rather to warn you as readers - to be vigilant in evaluating what you read! Make sure your sources tell you when the information was posted! Part of the challenge online media faces is the fact that virtually anyone can post information - and anyone with enough money can buy search engine placement - making it difficult to know what the best sources for information are.
Thus the advent of social media.. and Web 2.0 hopefully, this word of mouth oriented, comment driven platform will bring a much needed transparency to businesses using the internet by creating a shift from "advertising" that people have knowledge which is easy to say.. to "DEMONSTRATING and SHARING" knowledge - which is a whole new and better ball game!
For the record.. as 10:19am Sunday February 15th, 2009 there were also 205 homes on the market in the North Okanagan listed at less than $250,000.
73 of these are Single family residences and 131 are Strata - the balance have offers pending.
Meanwhile - here after my little soapbox sermonita.. here is what I could find out there about Real Estate and the Economy this week:
Canadian Real Estate News
This Week in North Okanagan Real Estate (OkanaganHeat.com)
Slumping real estate market may be behind brokerage freeze orders (CBC)
Housing starts down for January: CMHC (CBC)
New housing prices drop for 3rd straight month (CBC)
Homeowners are still cautious about both selling and buying (National Post)
Developer offers buyers a refund if they lose their job (National Post)
Loss of confidence swamps house market (Toronto Star)
Home prices to fall by 8% this year (Globe and Mail)
Western Canada hit hardest by decline (Globe and Mail)
Saving cash on borrowed money (Globe and Mail)
Agents provocateur (Globe and Mail)
New home prices decline (National Post)
CREA forecasts home sales to drop to 360,900 (National Post)
Home sales won't rebound until 2010: CREA (National Post)
Canadian Housing Starts Fall to the Lowest Since 2001 (Bloomberg)
Home-market 'correction is in full swing': construction, sales, prices down (Canadian Press)
Bridle Path house cheap at $10.8-million, seller says (National Post)
Economic News
One quarter of Canadians fear layoffs (Globe and Mail)
Carney pegs recovery to U.S. rescue plan (Globe and Mail)
Plunge in exports spurs first trade deficit in 30 years (Globe and Mail)
From Brian Hunt's Market Notes - courtesy of 
Our award for the "smoothest" downtrend of the past few years has to go to the newspaper business.
As you'll see from today's chart of USA Today publisher Gannett, the newspaper business is in a sorry state right now. During a grinding downtrend, Gannett shares have declined from $50 in 2007 to around $5 now. The chart of fellow newspaper giant New York Times tells a similar story.
As our colleague Porter Stansberry described in this essay, it's the story of a business swirling down the toilet bowl. Companies are conserving cash and advertising less… folks are using free websites like eBay and Craigslist instead of classified ads... and most people under 30 never read the newspaper (most papers are terrible, so we don't blame them).
"Trend following" traders enjoyed huge profits in 2008 shorting stocks, commodities, and just about everything else. For any of you "trend guys" looking to make similar returns in 2009, have a look at newspapers.