Agent Will

Yesterday was my third wedding anniversary and what better way to celebrate than to take the wife to a patio in one of the trendier restaurants in Yaletown.  Goldfish Pacific Kitchen got the call and away we were.  First impressions:  This place is huge.  Space in Yaletown is not cheap and this restaurant/lounge takes up what would usually be occupied by three places.  First we were sat at a booth.  Comfortable, sure, but with some construction going on next door there was a weird low vibration that was driving me nuts so before our first drinks could be ordered we were moved to the back patio.  And what a move it was.  What must have been an old loading dock back in the day has become a peaceful oasis in the city.  Sitting on very comfortable and well pillowed patio sofas and surrounded by lots of greenery and flowers, we felt perfectly relaxed,  The sun was shining, the water fountain babbling, and the staff cheerful.  Sorry, no birds singing.

The food is a fusion of Pacific and Asian cuisine (very representative of Vancouver) and we sprung for the Prix Fixe menu which runs $25 per person for a three course meal and is available from 5pm-5:55pm.

She had the Corn Soup - a spicier concoction than what might be expected, Wild Salmon - in an Asian BBQ sauce served with a snow pea salad, and Ginger Creme Brule for desert.  I had the Mixed Greens to start with Arctic Char in Coconut and Lime sauce, and the Coconut and Chocolate Gelato.

To drink I had the Granville Island Pale Ale with dinner (I’m primarily a beer guy) and we both enjoyed the flat bottled water (from Italy… not sure why we drank bottled water from Italy.  Never really got that whole bottled water from the other side of the world thing when we have primo spring water available from the mountains of BC).  With dessert we both enjoyed some very nice lattes.

Let’s go a bit deeper into the atmosphere of the place.  It’s chilled out, relaxing, and very cool in a way that doesn’t offend.  The music was laid back down tempo beats and added to the “escapist” sense that I got from being on the patio.  You could go there, be in the centre of Vancouver, and just completely relax with much of the noise, hustle and bustle of the city left behind at the front door.  I’m not sure if I would have gotten the same sense inside which was dark and ambient but more “restauranty”.  Maybe I was just spoiled with the patio (patios on sunny days are always better).  It also looks like the patio (which is not huge in comparison to the inside capacity) was the first choice for everyone else, too.

Reviewing the food I’ll have to be more mixed.  The salad and soup were terrific.  The greens were very fresh and the apple slices complimented the dressing very well.  The soup was obviously made from scratch and initially had a sweet taste which was soon melding well with the spicy (not too spicy) kick which reminded me of Thailand (though not nearly spicy enough to take me back there).  The Arctic Char was, frankly, bland and a little overcooked.  It was the only let down of the meal.  The wife and I shared half of each fish and she definitely hit the jackpot with the Wild BC Salmon.  The sauce provided on the salmon didn’t overpower it but gave it a really pleasant boost.  I love salmon (raw or grilled) and would recommend going this route for anyone taking in a meal at Goldfish.  We also both really liked our Snow-pea salads.  Snow-peas often come in a salad but I’ve never seen them be the focus of one and this was delicious with the mix of pears tossed in.

The biggest surprise came with the desserts, however.  While the gelato was good, the ginger creme brule was outstanding.  Who’d have thought to put ginger in there?  Good call!  Only regret is that I didn’t order a whole one (they aren’t big) for myself.

If there’s to be one complaint it would be that the service was slow.  I don’t know who in the chain was holding things back (our meals always arrived hot) but it took much longer than expected to get each of our courses.  It wasn’t particularly busy at that early evening time so I wonder how it would be in the full swing of a Friday or Saturday dinner rush….

All in all, though, an outstanding meal in a city that can be quite competitive in their cuisine.  And to boot they did it all for what may be considered a reasonable price.  We left very happy, satisfied, and refreshed.  I’ve had clients ask me if such and such  a restaurant is any good, often in Yaletown, and my answer has always been that if they’ve been there for over a year then they must be good.  Rents are so very high down there and the number of choices are numerous so for a place to survive (and Goldfish has just past their one year anniversary) they must exceed expectations.  Did Goldfish do that for us?  Yes.

Goldfish Pacific Kitchen is located at 1118 Mainland (Mainland and Helmcken) in the heart of Yaletown and reservations can be made (recommended if you want a patio seat) by calling 604-689-8318.

Possession, showings, and floor plans… busy day today.

So the 40 year 0 down mortgage is dead.  So long.  Bye Bye.  We hardly knew ye.  Whatever.  Really.  What is the concern over this financing product disappearing that it has to appear on the front page of the Vancouver Sun?  It’s a little used product (in my experience) that would have enabled the least able to finance themselves well into their retirement or help the specuvestors reduce their immediate cost of financing before flipping.  In talking to mortgage brokers I found that few realtors brought clients to them looking for such a product.  40 year amortizations may have been alright for some but no one I knew was doing zero down.

Besides, there are still 35 year mortgages available.  Would the monthly difference have really made a dent in affordability?  Let’s see:

Borrowing $100,000 @ 5%
35 Years - $501.43/mo
40 Years - $478.81/mo

Woohoo!  That’s a whopping $23/month.  I can buy a pizza and a few sides every month.  Of course, that’s only borrowing $100,000.  Say you were borrowing four times that.  Then you’d be nearly $100 less per month and that would fill up the gas in your car maybe two times (if you have a small car).

But here’s the rub, and why I never advised my clients to go for these extended financing packages.  Total paid over the life of the loan is $210,600 over 35 years and $229,829 over 40 years.  So that initial monthly discount turns into an extra $19,000 in interest.  For $400,000 borrowed that difference becomes almost $77,000!  Still sound good?  I don’t think so, either.

Is the elimination of this product going to take some players out of the market?  Undoubtedly.  How many?  My bet is not enough to make a difference to anyone.

If you don’t have the money to buy a home then save up.  Do not be mortgaged to the hilt.  Remember:  Mortgage translates to “Death Grip”.  Do not suffer as the man above does.

Oh, and by the way, the newspapers are treating this as if CMHC has canned the idea as a way to stem fears that there could be a mortgage meltdown in Canada as in the US, UK, and other places.  I doubt that it’s about a subprime crisis in Canada.  More likely they saw the product as unprofitable, unpopular, and that the risk outweighed the reward.  There certainly is increased risk in the product and with the amount of time it would take a 0 down borrower to get their equity stake above needing CMHC insurance it was looking particularly poor as a public service.  Yeah Canada!  We’re back to being more fiscally conservative.

Looking for something fun and free this weekend?  I know I am.  And that’s why I’ll be heading out to Deer Lake Park in Burnaby this Sunday for a free concert performed by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.  The al fresco (that means outdoors) show starts at 7:30pm and is a great way to wrap up what is forecast to be a gorgeous weekend.

I love going to the symphony but with my daughter not yet two years old it can be pretty darn difficult to have her sit through anything.  That’s what makes this so great.  It’s oudoors, under the fresh air and blue skies, and she can run around all she wants (within limits, of course).  My bet is that she’ll love the show and even dance for some of it.

Just remember to bring your sunscreen if you head there early.  Better bring refreshments as well (I’m pretty sure you can take food and drinks there - correct me if I’m wrong).

More details can be found here

That really depends on who use what as their data and how the filtered them.  What am I yammering on about?  Well, this site has achieved a small boost of fame since the latest weekly stats came out showing a negative Year over Year number for the area I measure.  It’s become a topic over at Rob Chipman’s blog (why people are asking him how I got my numbers instead of asking me, I do not know).  It’s also been reported over at Greaterfool.com, Garth Turner’s book promotion/bear refuge.

The real issue is that I am reporting, right last week, that we had a negative YOY number when no one else has.  Not the REBGV, not CREA, not the MSM (mainstream media).  So how can I be doing this?

The board reported in their last monthly that West Van was just +0.9% YOY (since the average is about 1.5m that’s just +$15k) and PoCo +1% (or $5400) for detached houses.

The REBGV also reports that the avarage benchmark price fell over the past three months more than $2000 across all of the region with West Van leading the way by almost an $80,000 decline.

Then there’s me.  I show that the average home has fallen 4% in the past year and 9% in the past three months.  What gives?  Why the discrepancy?  Did we peak in March?

The Board is comparing Monthly stats.  I am comparing weekly stats.  Just as markets can have wild swings from day to day, while milder they can still be pretty wild from week to week.  This is basically Einsteins Theory of Relativity applied to statistics.  Depending on your relative point of view (weekly, monthly, or yearly) we are either holding kind of steady by weaker than before or are dropping.

And it doesn’t matter.

Not at all.

What does matter is that the trend has slowed.  Tremendously.  While I show a drop of 9% in value for the reported sales in the past three months that does not mean your home has dropped 9% in value.  Wait till next week and see what the numbers say.  Where value is truly gained is following the trend of red and green.  And it is undeniable that we are seeing a lot more red than green these days.  Individual home values are not going up.  They aren’t dropping much yet, either.  Taken as a whole these stats reveal that the Buyers out there are electing to spend less than before.  Where for the first few months of the year the average Detached house was over $1m, it has floated down and around under that for the past couple of months.

So whose numbers are right?  Mine are.  And so are the board’s.  And anyone else out there producing stats.  They’re really not that hard to pull.  Believe me.  It’s just a matter of how you present them.  Heck, we’re up BIG time from 10 years ago.  I mean, Decade over Decade?  Wow.

Having an open house today at 318-2320 W40th Ave, Vancouver from 1-4pm. If you haven’t seen the listing: http://snipr.com/2u86t

Canada tops the list for places to live with climate change. Should we all be buying up properties further North? http://snipr.com/2tzq6

Well the latest stats are out and the big Big BIG news is that sales are down from record levels…. not just a little but a lot.  Try 42.9%.  All the while listings are up almost 19%.

Sadly, the board likes to highlight “bright spots” and this month they really had to stretch to find one.  Just one.

Board President Dave Watt stresses what I have been saying for months:  Price your home competitively.

This is no time to test the market.

Scribd

That new listing I got at 318-2320 West 4oth in Kerrisdale?  Have you seen the new page created just for it?  Check it out at http://agentwill.com/318-2320-west-40th/

I can’t stress how cool a place this is.  Kerrisdale is one of the most charming neighbourhoods in the city (the “most charming” according to the Kerrisdale Business Improvement Association) and this is one of the best looking one bedroom suites I have ever been in.  The building, aptly named Manor Gardens, was completed in 1979 but definitely is not dated like many from that era.  Its brick facade, archways, and plentiful flora give it a warm sense of home and character sadly lacking from many buildings that exist in Vancouver.

Inside is simply gorgeous and is touched with a sense “old world charm” along every square inch of the 560 Sq.ft..  Being open plan (ie lacking walls which would break up a suite and create a claustrophobic sensation amongst many) breathes a sense of space and purpose.  The purpose?  Enjoyment.  Pure, simple enjoyment.

An on those days when you want to be outside you just head one block over to 41st where all the shops, cafes, bitros, and services you could need reside among one of the most pleasant village streets in the city.  Then there’s also the Kerrisdale Arena for skating in the winter or taking kids to in the summer.

A storage locker is included, as is parking.  But will you even use your car?  If you don’t have one, no worries.  There are bus routes a block or two away to go to UBC, East, or downtown.  More likely you’ll just use them to get to work or school.  When home I’d be surprised to find you inside (as nice as it is).

Of course, if you did decide to spend the day in or to entertain at night you’d be doing it in style.  And there is a balcony that can fit good sized BBQ and a few friends to enjoy the afternoon sun.  Don’t worry about it getting too hot (I know the past few days have been terrific) as the West facing balcony has a treed outlook providing shade and privacy.

So what are you waiting for?  Go take a look and let me know what you think.  There’s a video and lots of photography produced by Arbutus Design (click here for them) as well as a listing feature sheet.  You can check out all the details by clicking the link above or here.

Aren’t sunfilled long weekends just the best! Hope you all are able to get away and enjou the sun.