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Baby, we got a bubble!?

cdr108 said:
yes, i diversified some of my portfolio.

unfortunately, transaction costs of approx 10% of gross and crystallization of capital gains makes it unfeasible to sell all
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cdr; selling all your portfolio would contradict the premise that you would have diversified some of your portfolio because eliminating all real estate would narrow the focus of your portfolio.

I understand the proper business principle should be: As of today, what do I believe will happen in the future and if I believe stongly real estate will drop significantly, I should jettison the expected non performing asset(s). But as I have said in the past, I certainly am not smart enough to predict with any degree of certainty what will happen and certainly getting the timing correct has proven elusive not only for me but for others.
That said, I too did overall lighten my real estate exposure by electing not to take on a project that I bought in 2008 that was cancelled and re-offered in 2010 so overall I reduced my real estate exposure by about 15%.
 
Eug said:
"Not sure how many of you travel abroad but the perception of Canada worldwide is almost non-existent."

Funny you should say that...

I'm currently in the South of France (Provence), and we went out for dinner last night with an Israeli couple staying at the same B&B. They're totally in love with Toronto and list it as one of their favorite cities in the world.

The Swedish couple that sat at our table at breakfast spent half an hour discussing the pros and cons of socialized health care with the B&B owner (from the US) when they found out we were from Canada.
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So Eug,
How is it that those our your favourite forum were not invited to go to the south of France?
Have a great trip. It is wonderful that people abroad now know of us but I would have to say
I would agree with CN Tower that Canada while having had a good last 3 years compared to the
rest of the G8 countries is still a very small fish and largely unknown.
Perhaps the Israeli and Swedish couples you refer to just by virtue of the fact that they are travelling in Provence describe a more cultured and overall knowledgeable sub-group of the population.
By the way, we all appreciate you taking time away from beautiful Provence to continue to add to our discussions.
 
KA1 said:
ILuvTO said:
Royal Lepage is now predicting a slowdown in the market:/QUOTE]

This will not necessarily translate in price decline.
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Absolutely true.
But as opposed to TREB which just continues to cheer lead, you are actually hearing the head of a major real estatebrokerage (not a banker or economist) actually coming out and saying this.
Of course, they know no more than the rest of us with due respect. They have access to numbers and therefore get a bit of a preview of what is to come but I have always maintained it is the "unexpected" shocks or events that is not factored into analyses of the real estate markets and other asset classes that cannot be predicted with any sense of accuracy, hence making "forecasting" a bit of a mug's game.
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The big real estate companies have been predicting a slowdown for quite some time now. In fact, they had to revise their sales prediction quite a bit upwards in the past year, since sales and price increases far exceeded expectations.

P.S. The British proprietor of the hotel we're currently staying at in the French Riviera asked us what the response of Quebecers was of Will and Kate.

Now to get ready for dinner by the ocean...
 
That is just not fair: Not only are we all on the forum not invited but we have to listen to how you are eating "by the ocean"
By the way, I believe you mean the "sea" as in Mediterranean.
 
Eug said:
Toronto is the most expensive city in Canada

Consulting firm Mercer conducted the annual survey that looks at the cost of housing, transportation, food, clothing and entertainment among hundreds of other items.

An increase in demand for rental properties leading to a rise in rent in Toronto is the main reason it surpassed Vancouver.
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Why shouldn't it be the most expensive city in Canada? It's the best city in Canada. :D
 
daveto said:
I wonder what is Mercer's data source for the referenced rent increases in Toronto?

TREB's latest report references YOY increases of 1.5%/2.5% for 1bdrm/2bdrms (ie 0% net of inflation)
http://www.torontorealestateboard.c...rental_report/2011/rental_report_01-04_11.pdf
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forget the report.

anyone who's owns rez rental property in this city knows rents have barely increased with inflation.
considering the increased cost for property taxes, insurances, utilities like H20, garbage collection, etc which most tenants don't pay extra for, rental increases have been negative.
 
Eug said:
Toronto is the most expensive city in Canada

Consulting firm Mercer conducted the annual survey that looks at the cost of housing, transportation, food, clothing and entertainment among hundreds of other items.

An increase in demand for rental properties leading to a rise in rent in Toronto is the main reason it surpassed Vancouver.
Click to expand...

This is not suprising. Wages are higher in Toronto than Vancouver and so rents are relatively higher here. To purchase is more in Vancouver but it is 11x average wage vs. 7x or so in Toronto. Rents are lower there than in TO.

However, rents have not been rising as others are pointing out very much here either.
 
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