Buy presale, accept the risk, get what you deserve.

I’m very happy with my place. It was built in 1962.

Olympic Village complaints smack of class based snobbery.

Leaky condos, the Vancouver trademark. Along with EcoDensity™!

Apparently, it’s “normal” for the capillary heating and colling to gradually change room temperature. There’s no instant on and off for those systems.

I’ve owned in two different Bosa towers built in the early/mid 2000’s and in a Concord tower built about the same time. All bought presale. No issues (except perhaps an overzealous strata council!).

Why didn’t / doesn’t Millennium / the City / the Receiver / Bob Rennie get in there and fix the problems? A leaking pipe in the ceiling should not be a deal breaker.

Another glaring example of bad Vision management.

This isn’t a political issue why are we trying to make it one? These buyers are trying everything they can to get out of legally binding contracts, you could be sure if prices increased by 50% they wouldn’t have cared. Most of the issues they are having is what the warranty is for and you can be sure the items will be fixed. Complaining about the size of bedrooms, well that is where due diligence comes in. The plans were there when they bought, if they beleive they were altered in size then their is legal recourse built into the system, no need for suits. The truth is they now know they overpayed and they want recourse. A small glimer of light for them is their property tax bill will be smaller then it would’ve been now with their new value. 🙂

Part of the problem is that these units were rushed. They were orignially planned as Leeds Gold and in order to be all things great and green, the plans were altered to become Leeds Platinum.

By changing the standards it also pushed up the costs – labor working 24/7 to get it done, materials etc.

Bedroom too small? Leaky pipes?

The first is called due diligence! (assuming the size is as were on the plans). No chance of money back.

The leaks can be fixed. no legal action will succeed for money back.

Suck it up folks.

By the way Mr Garth Turner is / has been predicating a 20-30% correction in Real Estate. Perhaps the Oly -Vill meltdown is the Canary in the Condo.

Mr Geller? your views? are we due for big correction in our RE market? What does Bob Rennie think?

annual reports? give your head a shake. Vision twitter their reports ;-0

I guess they could have the Fashion Police nab him for wearing those sneakers with the sweater vests. 🙂

“By the way Mr Garth Turner is / has been predicating a 20-30% correction in Real Estate. Perhaps the Oly -Vill meltdown is the Canary in the Condo.

Mr Geller? your views? are we due for big correction in our RE market? What does Bob Rennie think?”

Morry, While I will not speak for Bob Rennie, I will offer a few thoughts on OV and the housing market as a whole.

I do not think anyone should attempt to generalize about the Vcr real estate market based on what happened at OV. The fact that prices were reduced by 30%in this project is not a reflection of a drop in the market. It is a reflection of the overly aggressive pricing for this development when it first went on sale, and in May 2010 when it was re-launched.

I think it is fair to say that most developers and real estate analysts in Vancouver always considered this project to be over-priced, given the location (it’s not yet Coal Harbour, or even the North Shore of False Creek); the general site and building designs which reduce the number of units with views and result in many contorted layouts, and the overall standard of finishes. I would also add that given the extent of exterior walls, which are included in the floor space calcualations, the effective interior area is often less than for a comparable unit in a more conventional building form.

That being said, I do believe that many of the units are now much more fairly priced. Indeed, I did encourage a friend of mine to purchase a penthouse unit at what I thought was a very attractive price.

As for concerns about construction quality, while there have been problems, including water pouring out of at least one light fixture, and problems with the heating system, I am told by people in the industry that the construction quality is not any worse than what one has come to expect in the Vancouver market. I understand that some of the green features have ‘bugs’ that need to be worked out, but this happens with many innovations. One day, they should offer increased livability and other benefits.

There is no doubt that some of the finishes are below the standard one might expect for a $1000 a sq.ft. plus product, but they are in line with $700 a sq.ft. product.

As for the unit layouts, there is no doubt that many of the plans are quite odd, and not always as furnishable as they should be. As to why this is, I too would like to hear from the marketing team, since this is something they usually go over with the developer and architects. (Sadly, too many architects are more concerned with the overall look and appearance of a building, than whether a bedroom is properly dimensioned to accommodate the required furniture.)

It is my view that the plans were not as good as they should have been because of the very large number of units being built at once; the many different unit types resulting from the many, non-standardized building forms; and the shortage of time due to the rush to get permits issued and construction underway.

(As an aside, I have spent weeks trying to perfect 3 unit types for a small project I am doing in W.Van, and am still fretting about certain details!)

But is the OV signaling a potential drop in the Vancouver market? No. Is the Vancouver market going to drop? Well, some of us have thought prices were too high for quite a long time. But now that many buyers are coming here from Mainland China, prices have remained high, especially in certain areas. (Personally, I find the prices being paid for West Side Vancouver and Richmond single family lots outrageous.) And to some degree, this indirectly influences the prices being asked for other properties.

While Vancouver prices are high by Canadian and North American standards, as evidenced by a recent photo essay on the most expensive streets in the world, they are still less than some European and Asian cities.

Two final thoughts. In my opinion, the adverse publicity resulting from the lawsuits from disatisfied purchasers has to be having some effect on the current sales program. How can it not? At the same time, I too find it hard to be too sympathetic towards someone who probably devoted less time purchasing a very expensive apartment than they would devote towards the purchase of a new car.

In this regard, I would urge future purchasers to review the floor layouts and unit outlooks carefully, both in the daytime, and at night.

Finally, as for Garth Turner….well, he has been predicting significant corrections in the market for a long, long, time. One day, he’ll be right, of course, just like the person who keeps betting on the same number on a roulette table. But in the meanwhile, anyone who followed his advice in the past has probably missed out on some significant property appreciation, especially in Vancouver.

MIchael @ #23

“While Vancouver prices are high by Canadian and North American standards, as evidenced by a recent photo essay on the most expensive streets in the world, they are still less than some European and Asian cities.”

Yes Michael your cool, clinical assessment of Vancouver, indeed world, real estate surprises no one. My kids have become millionaires by just keeping up with their property taxes and since they love their old Dad I have no worries.

Others are not so lucky!

Time was Japan was our pot-of-gold by virtue of their excellent auto and hi-tech industries: buying up our debt.

Now it is China’s turn with one important shift: China’s wealth comes from useless plastic knick-knacks that rapidly end up in the dump. With our penchant for piles of Walmart trash I am sure that will go on forever.

How many wars is Canada now involved in? Veiling the need for more oil to feed our mindless profligate habits, I lose count! How many pipelines will we need to fulfill the insatiable needs of our Sino benefactors?

I dunno, I wish I could be as cool as you are!

“. . . am still fretting about certain details!. So, fret about the details Michael. Mies said, God is in the details!

But, aaaaw, what does that have to do with Vancouver’s real estate party?

Did not John Maynard Keynes say, “ . . . it doesn’t really matter, in the end we are all dead?

PS I am sorry OV is getting a rough deal . . .

I always wondered if I was the idiot that just did not get overpriced real estate. I watched everyone trip over themselves paying way too much for something that hasn’t been built yet, I mean if one were to pay $20,000 for a car or $600 for an ipad would you not test drive it first and see if suited you? Paying $hundreds of thousands to million plus with blind trust is pure and simple stooooopidty, and greed. The most you folks will get is Harold the handy man knocking on your door that’s it.