I’m not sure if the famous nursery rhyme involving the falling sky is currently in the public domain and/or if it is royalty free, so I’ll avoid any direct references to a height-challenged, adolescent chicken…  Add to that the fact that Disney made a movie based on the same story and I am sure is copyright protected!

As usual there has been a ton of froth on the heels of recent real estate sales data from the preceding month, in this case, August.  It doesn’t really matter if the data point to a rising, falling or a sideways market, there will never be a shortage of members of the media and the public who will blow some or all of the data out of proportion, for better or worse.  In this case sales volumes are down considerably from near record highs in August 2009.

That being said, the last couple of months have seen some significant developments (HST, interest rate changes, mortgage options) which has fuelled more debate, mostly in the form of “anonymous” comments on blogs and under media stories from individuals who are sure that the end of the world is indeed just around the corner, which in turn leads a lot of nice people to ponder their fate. 

As I deal with a lot of nice people during the normal course of business I have been pondering a blog post for quite some time to discuss some of the recent questions raised from the implementation of the HST, raised from the spectre of rising interest rates, by media speculation and other topics.  The reason I have been pondering for awhile is that this is a rather expansive topic, and experience tells me that many people who read blogs tend to lose interest in a post if it rambles too long…  This is why I’ve decided to break this into several smaller posts over the coming days & weeks, rather than continue to figure out a cohesive way to cram it all into one long-winded post.

In upcoming posts I will touch on the HST, the Bank of Canada, and demand and supply, amongst other topics.  I will wrap it up with a discussion about whether the sky is falling by contrasting the events of late 2008 (the last time the sky fell) and where we are now (hint: the sky is not falling at the moment, and not likely to, but anything can happen…).

Thanks for reading, as always, please contact us for all of your real estate needs in Victoria, B.C.

Sean Farrell

The Victoria Times Colonist ran an article earlier this week centered around Victoria’s harbour.  It is a comprehensive article outlining the history, evolution, layout, jurisdiction issues, and land use challenges facing both the harbour and the people who use, enjoy and work on and around it.

Although the harbour has always been in the news over the years, it has been appearing in the local media more and more of late with many issues, such as: the inevitable need to replace or refurbish the Johnson Street Bridge, the proposed large-yacht marina off of Songhees Rd, the seismic upgrades to the Canadian Pacific steamship terminal and many more.

The article emphasizes the need for the amalgamation of authority over land use planning at the various sites surrounding the harbour, something that many Victorians (myself included) feel has been lacking for a long time. 

Don’t get me wrong, I am so very happy to call Victoria home (that wasn’t always the case).  I always look forward to time spent on or near the water, and when doing so I always meet visitors who would love to call Victoria home. 

That being said, there is a lot of room for improvement – this article does a good job of summarizing some of the larger challenges for getting the ball moving towards improved land uses around the harbour, lest Victorians continue to be complacent with the status quo.

You can read the article by clicking here.

Thanks for reading, as always, please call us for all of your real estate needs in Victoria, BC.

Sean