Predicting where the real estate market is going with any degree of CERTAINTY is a mug's game, best left to the charlatans at a side-show. New home construction in Canada has surged a surprising 8% in June prompting some analysts  to say that the housing market in Canada has bottomed out and is starting recovery.          Now, I can trot out charts until the cows come home;                 hell, anybody can produce graphs and flow-charts and                             statistics to prove whatever point they are trying to make. I think the prudent thing to do is look at a LOT of economical indicators, listen to a LOT of analysts, and try and read between the lines. For what it's worth, these are my predictions, based on what I've been able to glean. I call it "Alphabet Economics". Some ... 07/14/2009

 The average trucker has long been portrayed as having one the unhealthiest life-styles in the work force. The sterotype is an over-weight, cigar chomping, pill-popping slob whose idea of haut-cuisine is a huge plate of steak with greasy eggs and fries. Apparently, this trend is changing. More and more truckers have had their own little portable fridges installed in their rigs and they're filling them with healthy choices. Many truckers have incorporated an exercise regime into their long-haul schedules. One trucker has a list of several gyms along his route, where he stops and does his work-outs. Some take the time to exercise at truck stops. Many are forgoing coffee and opting for protein shakes.       Some trucker companies realize the benefit of having healthy employees and are eve... 07/14/2009

The other day I did a post about Kevin Page. Kevin is the ultimate "bean counter", he is the budget officer for Parliament. AND, he is never wrong. He made some recommendations the other day that the government might want to follow. I also predicted that the government WOULD NOT follow them because it would be too unpopular. (Never mind what's right for the country, just be sure to hang onto your job as a lame-ass politician) Oh hell, I'll just attach the post I did rather than explain the whole thing over again http://activerain.com/action/blogs_admin/write/1145402hole   This is "Chuckles", better know as Stephan Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada. A man with no redeeming qualities and a personality to match. (Incidentally, I voted for this guy. The alternative was too ridiculous to ... 07/14/2009

I've read several posts by members on Active Rain who are alarmed and amazed at the state of some R.E.O's. People on the verge of losing their homes, who give up on maintenance and in a lot of cases, deliberately do damaged before vacating. Horrors! It brings to mind a phenomenon that occured in Alberta during late 70's and early 80's. First, it's important to point out a couple of things about Alberta real estate law. 1. High ratio loans are guaranteed by C.M.H.C (Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation). 2. In Alberta, if you default on a mortgage, the bank can only go after the house-not you on the personal convenant. 3. All mortgages were assumable, without qualification. This was a recipe for disaster and it created a new form of entrepreneur called the "DOLLAR DEALER". Here's ho... 07/12/2009

With the emergence of terrorism all over the world, it's little wonder that most countries have formed an elite anti-terrorism unit as part of their armed forces. These are not your standard everyday run-of-the-mill military personelle. Candidates are selected from existing ranks in the military and then the "fun" begins. These candidates are super-trained in every conceivable weapon imaginable, hand-to-hand combat, explosives, negotiations, and various languages, but the "wash-out" rate is high. (Estimates put the drop-out or kick-out rate at 95%) Only the absolute best get into this club. These are the fittest and the smartest. They are tested in every imaginable way, and when they're selected, they get training-second to none. Germany's elite force is the GSG-9, Australia has the "Sp... 07/12/2009

Roughly 2 million people have been displaced by fighting between the militant Islamists and the Pakistani armed forces. And, the Pakistani government is ill-equiped to deal with it.   One reporter saw a family of 13 sitting by the side of the road, kids, hungry, thirsty and scared-but temporarily, they were out of range of mortors and bullets. But they had nowhere to go. Suddenly, from nowhere, a group of men from a nearby family appears and takes them to their home. They move their family of 12 to 2 rooms downstairs and install the 13 foundlings in the other 2 rooms upstairs. They have been living like this for 6 weeks. And this is happening all over Pakistan.  The vast majority of these 2 million refugees have been taken in by family, or in most cases, by strangers. One family had 90... 07/12/2009

   Kevin Page, Parliamentary Budget Officer. He is not your average public servant; he is actually the consummate bean counter. He's an economic forecaster, and, he's hardly ever wrong! According to Page, economic growth will be lower, unemployment will be higher and deficits will be higher than governments are predicting. He is also saying that these deficits won't be erased by economic growth. So, unless government slashes program spending and implements a sharp cut in transfer payments, there is only one other option. Yup! You got it. We're going to get hit with more taxes. Watch for the GST to rise again  and gasoline taxed a little bit more. What's scarier, is that he predicts we won't hit our full potential again until 2014! I hope this is one time he's screwed up! 07/12/2009

While driving through Mission I was compelled to stop and look at a property built in 1912 and restored to create a picturesque setting that is seldom found. The creation of this property is truly a work of art. What is better than an afternoon read in the garden?   A garden meditation. Art is a work of great passion.   07/10/2009

I was driving around the other day looking at "Expired Listings", and something was gnawing away at the back of my brain. Something wasn't just sitting right. Then it dawned on me. One of the "expireds" that I had printed off,  I had discarded. It was an acreage; and I didn't have a buyer for an acreage and I wasn't interested in taking on an acreage. But, then I recalled a conversation I'd had with a colleague weeks earlier. He has an Asian buyer who was looking for an acreage with a view. To make a long story short, I drove home, retrieved the print-out (from the trash can), and drove to the address to check it out. The owner was friendly and receptive, and invited me in and immediately took me to the back deck. The view was incredible. He's a web designer, so he had all these pictur... 07/09/2009

Starting tonight, July 8th and running through until July 12th, the circus is playing at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Ringling Bros./ Barnum & Bailey will be presenting their 138th edition. With all the doom and gloom in the press lately you might not want to miss this. Might be fun for a change. I can't remember the last time I saw one. 07/08/2009

 Arlington National Cemetery. Originally, "Arlington House" was owned by Mary Custis                           and her husband Robert E. Lee, the confederate general.                                 During the civil war, union forces occupied the house and forced Mary out. Over a screw-up with property taxes, Mary lost the house to the U.S. Federal government. In 1882, the Supreme Court ruled the U.S. government to be trespassers and ordered the property returned to the Lees. With over 10,000 grave sites already located on the property, Custis Lee sold the house to the government for $150,000. In 1864, Private Willian Christman became the first person to be buried on the grounds of the estate. Early burials were done close to Mrs. Lee's rose garden to dissuade her from taking the proper... 07/07/2009

I'm sitting in my office this morning, working with the T.V. on in the background as I am prone to do, and every station, including the BBC is covering the memorial service for Michael Jackson, and I got to thinking...  It's been quite a week... ...Ed McMahon, Billy Mays and Robert S. McNamara. Michael Jackson's demise overshadowed Farrah Fawcett's death. That got me further thinking about famous people who died on the same day. In no particular order: Johnny Cash and John Ritter.        Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow.                   Sammy Davis Jr. and Jim Henson Milton Berle, Billy Wilder and Dudley Moore. Orson Welles and Yul Brynner.       John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.             JFK, Aldous Huxley and CS Lewis                      Buddy Holly,Ritchie Valens and The Big Boppe... 07/07/2009

 Clarence Darrow, celebrated lawyer, (1857-1938), most famous for the "Scopes" trial, once commented, and I quote: I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure". Personally, I have never read an obituary with pleasure, but I read this one today with indifference.  Robert S. McNamara, the man with the "Strange" middle name, shuffled off today at 93 to meet up again with LBJ and Dick Nixon, wherever they might happen to be. A former Ford Executive, he was recruited by JFK, and served several Presidents. He was called the consummate 'bean-counter"; who knew the cost of everything, and the worth of nothing. "Nuff said." 07/07/2009

Everybody's run across one or more of the following traits at one time or another. THE ARGUER: No matter what anyone says, it instantly turns into a huge debate. And it doesn't matter what the occasion is; dinner parties, get-togethers, whatever. These people just can't seem to understand that friends are being alienated and co-workers are avoiding them. When someone tries, politely, to point out the error of their ways-they argue the point until they have their way. THE CONTROL FREAK: These are the people that have to contol everything and everyone around them. It's "their way or the highway". This can be done verbally, or with "the look" or with body language. It's intimidating to the others around them, but that's their M.O. And if they can't get their own way, a serious amount of ti... 07/06/2009

 Anybody who has read my blog knows I'm not a Palin fan; I've even gone so far as to say I think she's a bit of a flake. Certainly not Presidential OR Vice-Presidential material. During the election campaign, Barack Obama made a comment to John McCain about his policies on econonomics etc., and made a reference to "lipstick on a pig" and CNN somehow connected the dots from that statement to McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, and everyone went nuts with it and the feminists went crazy and everyone was setting their hair on fire. Remember the furor? I do. It was great material for my blog. I loved it. Well, Sarah Palin announced that she's quitting as Governor of Alaska. Apparently, she can't take it any more...who knows what the motives are... and who really cares? At the end of the day... 07/05/2009

Imagine, as a realtor, you are called in to do listings on these 3 properties. 1600 Pennsilvania Avenue, 10 Downing Street and 24 Sussex Drive. These have what in common? They are the primary residences of heads of state. I already did a post on 1600 Pennsilvania Avenue earlier, so I won't do that again, but I will link the post. http://activerain.com/blogsview/1138110/the-history-of-america-according-to-terry- Be honest now, how many of you out there did not know that address?  Number 10 Downing Street, London England. This is the residence of the Prime Minister of Great Britain. (Shown here with the President of France). Commonly known as just, Number 10, this is the most famous address in London. It's about 300 years old and has 60 rooms. It is within walking distance of the Palace o... 07/05/2009

America has just celebrated their 4th of July for the 233rd time, and I thought it would neat to do a little history of some of the more famous places in the United States. For about 200 years the White House has stood as the symbol         of the American Presidency and the American people.                 Located at 1600 Pennsilvania Avenue, the building                           was commissioned by George Washington, but                                     he never lived in it. The first occupant was                                                President John Adams & his wife Abigail. Since that time every President has left his mark; making changes and alterations. A previous occupant had a bowling alley installed, but the current tenant is replacing that with a basketball court. ... 07/05/2009

The buyer's market in British Columbia is almost at the end. Falling home prices have kept many sellers away, and new listings are at their lowest level in almost 6 years and sales are climbing for 5 consecutive months. Interest rates are ridiculously low and have driven affordibiliy and demand way up. 6 months ago, there were 6 listings for every sale; today, the ratio is 2-1. Indicators are that interest rates are going to increase by 30-40 basis points by year end, so qualifying low-equity buyers is absolutely paramount. What's your market doing? 07/05/2009

  Detached Houses   June -09 June -08 May-09 Sales  76 46 40 New Listings  103 106 87 Active Listings  352 421 365 Benchmark Price  $339,846 $381,712 $351,013 Median Price  $362,500 $385,000 $340,000 Average Price  $369,598 $389,856 $347,130           Townhouses   June -09 June -08 May-09 Sales  10 6 7 New Listings  5 7 14 Active Listings  50 39 59 Benchmark Price        Median Price  $238,000 $287,500 $220,000 Average Price  $233,120 $308,050 $233,928           Apartment Condos   June -09 June -08 May-09 Sales  1 3 1 New Listings  6 10 5 Active Listings  30 29 31 Benchmark Price        Median Price  $115,000 $206,000 $205,000 Average Price  $115,000 $222,666 $205,000 07/04/2009

Happy Birthday Canada I WAS going to do a separate post for each or our celebrations, but you know, it's pointless. Our two countries are so intertwined and our history so intermingled, I decided to just do one. Like siblings, the United States (being the older brother at 233 years old), and Canada (the runt at only 142 years), have had a typical family relationship. Our birthdays are close-only 3 days apart. Unless it falls on a Sunday, then it's 2 days-(union rules). And, like siblings, we squabble from time to time, but we usually figure it out and resume the relationship.  America evolved through a long clash with the British... ...as did Canada, come to think of it. Damn, those pesky Brits! By the time we both got finished kicking the Brits out, we pretty much had our countries on... 06/30/2009