Well next year is us election year, and 25 is our turn..... So they need some good news at least 6 months before Nov. :accepted:

I believe nothing right now. None of the usual markers really mean anything at this point. 75% of ppl thought we were gonna see another hike yesterday but somehow we didn't.

If 75% of the people you polled thought there was going to be a hike yesterday, you need to start asking new people. No hike was absolutely the expected call that was baked into the markets and was pretty obvious with the surprisingly low inflation numbers we saw on the July figures, released in August.

-Mark

Mark with the slap down !!!! Ohhhh the humanity

While that's exactly what economic data and economists were expecting, at the same time, at least 2 of the banks that I use have upped their savings / investment interest rates in the past 2+ weeks. I was really quite surprised to see that because that kind of interest rate adjustment usually comes after BoC hike rates.

There are a lot more factors at play on deposit rates than just overnight rate from BoC. For example, BMO has a much stronger lending business than we do deposit one, which means we often have to actually borrow money from others to then lend to our clients. If we pay you a premium deposit rate, it's still cheaper than borrowing, which is why BMO is paying very aggressive rates right now.

On the other hand, TD has the opposite problem - a huge retail base which tends to provide ample cash on hand, and a less significant commercial bank and tighter credit culture, which means it doesn't have much to do with cash deposits, and therefore isn't trying very hard to win them.

Generalizations, but I think both are true.

-Mark

Inflation associated with food costs is still tracking too high, which is probably why some felt that another rate hike was possible.

While the economists largely made the right call before the decision, the Bank of Canada said itself that they haven't closed the door to future rate hikes.

It's hard to be an optimist when there is no end in sight for rising food costs, I'm afraid. The impacts of climate change are coming home to roost.

Don't forget 10% annual property tax increase FeelsBadMan who's causing inflation now

what if I am the one that's jacking the price up on french fries :awwyeah:

Relying on insects as a key source of protein will bring down our food costs ... it's coming...

In the states here groceries are cheaper than Canada even with the exchange. There’s also still stuff like $5 foot longs at subway, $3 for 2 tacos and a drink at Taco Bell.

I just bought a mini watermelon at Costco last week for 5.99, exact same watermelon at trader joes is $2.99

We’re getting played.

Idk about groceries but everywhere I've been getting food in the states has been expensive AF. A JBC was $3 USD and a footlong at Subway was $16 USD. When I look up random other stuff like things at Harbor Freight or household stuff and convert the price it's cheaper here.

Yea US is hit and miss, if you can get certain things with free shipping like car parts it could be cheaper than here. But for things like string LED patio lights it's like $39 here at Costco then $39 usd at usd Costco for the same thing, so you really gotta check.

Some food in US is just cheaper because the FDA allows places like subway to serve food that wouldn't be approved for livestock feed here.
Taco Bell and subway aren't exactly good metrics lol.

A friend of mine is living in San Francisco, originally from Vancouver. She came back here for a visit after a few years. In SF, nothing is cheap at all. But even she was like "Damn your groceries in Canada cost way more than ours!"

Groceries gas and housing. Everything that matters costs more up here. But truly the gap between garbage and good food in the states is probably much larger than here. You could live of $200 a month eating Burger King or spend thousands eating healthy, depending wher you are in the us.

https://www.redfin.ca/bc/burnaby/377...home/155254143

Does this seem really cheap to anyone? Is this listing underpriced?

$475k for a 700 sq/ft 1br with insuite laundry + $324 maintenance fee + one parking and one storage locker

Pretty cheap if you don't mind older, maybe needs some work? That balcony is pretty useless though

BC Assessment value of $496,100. Underpriced to start a bidding war?

Nope, old low-rises outside of core areas have notoriously been in the $400's. There's a recent sale at $540 with reno. I'd say current price is just fair for pre-reno. But will probably sell between $500 - 525K since that's what most people max out at for individual incomes or dual min wage income.

https://condos.ca/pricehistory?offer...&bedTypeNum=-1

LOL a dual minimum wage income can only afford 185k home with 50k down according to CMHC website.
500k is where 120k a year household incomes are comfortable. We're just fucked lol.

While I agree the math on affordability doesn't change. I can't help to think we're fucked everytime I see that CMHC calculator estimate what you can afford lol

More than you can afford pal, Vancouver :troll: just pitch a tent at the waterfront park of your choice, ??? Profit

Is it reasonable to expect two people earning minimum wage to be able to buy real estate? It wasn't true 10, 20, or 30 years ago either in Vancouver. And it also wasn't true in NYC, London, Singapore, Tokyo, Sydney, and so on.

Also, without any disrespect - there are a a very wide range of jobs available that pay $60k or more these days that don't have prohibitive requirements for education, 20 years of experience, etc. Some have even been discussed in this thread - some with extensive government benefits, pensions, etc.

-Mark

Is it reasonable that people that make 200k, which is 3x the median household income, need to spend 50% of their income on a 2 bedroom condo when we both know that the bank recommends that someone spends 30% of their income on housing?
I'm not demanding minimum wage earners get to buy a home. There's a pretty big gap between 180k which is the amount suggested (with a magical 50k down payment that would need to come from thin air) and 500k needed for a starter condo. It's pretty easy to decipher the scale difference there.