Better yet - think of the incentive to START the fire at your neighbours house... This is a fundamental problem with default swaps.
This was an old mob practice. Take out life insurance on borrowers just in case they defaulted. No longer legal.
But who wants to live there? Saskatchewan has 6 - 7 months of winter. Yes, the job situation is stable and they're awash with natural resources, but, ultimately, people still value quality of life. Not a lot going on in Saskatchewan. Vancouver doesn't even get any snow (usually), it's on the Pacific Ocean, it's universally thought-of as one of the most beautiful cities on earth, and there's a scarcity of land, especially in the downtown core. I would think that a few of the bedroom communities are due for a correction, notably places like Ladner, Tsawwassen, Port Moody, etc., but I think there'll still be a good portion of demand for real estate in ACTUAL Vancouver. For real estate opportunities in Canada, check out Alberta. Youngest population, lowest taxes, highest incomes, most stable job-base, consistent in-migration, and still a very fear-based real estate market.
I agree with much of what you're saying, but 7 months of winter? Come on. I'm from Ontario, you can't fool me like some of you buddies south of the border (unless you're way up north, in which case GET THE FUCK OUT LOL) I especially agree with your idea of real estate investment in Alberta given the price of oil and the fact that many of the projects there are starting back up. Alberta will be the primary driver of our economy going forward, no doubt.
October, November, December, January, February, March. That's 6. They'll also almost surely have one more big dump of snow in either April or May, or both. Won't last for longer than a few days, but it comes. They're already the primary driver of our economy. Alberta is basically Canada's hedge against economic disaster. Food, fuel, and fertilizer.
That's no joke, so much that when April 15th rolls around and it's 7C outside at 12pm, people are outside in shorts, t-shirts...ridonkulous... Saskatchewan is resource rich, it's no secret. We've had a socialist provincial government for the better part of 50 years, it's held us back to say the least. Not sure where Alberta has fertilizer? That's us, and we also have more farmland and truth be told more fuel. That being said I still believe a wartime home in the hood going for $200,000 will not last. Especially when it was $85,000 in 2006.
Vancouver - Hollywood North - film/tv production; sun, swim, beach, ski location - Grouse and Whistler; more than 50% of the population of the Lower Mainland - Vancouver and suburbs - speak Chinese; apples and oranges comparison of US v Canada, Canada does not have the same atrocious lending practices as the US, no sub prime and no no-money down mortgages; the total number of houses built in Canada is less than the total of houses for sale in the US; Olympics have no relevance to house prices, only rentals "A total of 917 new housing units broke ground in Metro Vancouver in January, about 50% more than the 609 units in the same month in 2009, according to a survey released Monday by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp." expected to be 13% nationally this year http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Home+construction+sharply+January+CMHC/2538623/story.html to OP's original:"wondering what your take was would you buy a home here or investment property knowing what the prices are." if you Have to live here - RCMP cop - you Have to buy, you don't have a choice. there's no more land. housing is Long Term investment - think decades and rental income, so the answer is Yes
That socialist government has protected small farmers from big agro-business and pretty much maintained the lifestyle of all of Saskatchewan. Although I've never been there, I also imagine it's colder than the rest of Canada because it's damn flat!
Vancouver's real estate market is supported by the billion dollar drug trade. On a smaller scale, it is like Miami in the cocaine days when people would buy up properties with cash just to park their money somewhere. We should see a pullback but I don't think there will be a collapse like in Saskatoon or even Toronto.