OT~ It's official....the boom is over in Calgary

[drag n' fly]

Whoever has been here long enough is heaving a sigh of relief. The pace had become too frenzied here.

As with any economy we have peaks and valleys that tend to recycle every 20-25 years. Well history is repeating itself. Some people who bought their house at the peak now owe more money on the house than what it is worth.....you think they would of learned from the 80's or at least had their parents tell them. Lots of people walking away and a increase in foreclosures.....

 

[dhluvsDisney]

Man, do I remember those days. Used to work for CIBC Mortgage Corp and remember that very thing happening. I've been cautioning my neices and nephews in Edmonton to be careful for that very reason. It was bound to happen sadly. I feel bad for those having to walk away.

 

[digskat]

we can understand the struggles. We live in a mostly rural area in Western Ontario, the two counties that combine for our political boundaries have a population base of 133 000. Over the last couple of months, an automotive manufacturer closed, causing the loss of 520 jobs, a cannery closed with the loss of 300 jobs, a factory closed for another 350, a soup company closed tossing out 400 jobs, and a pulp plant closed for 200 more. This week, our small town (7500) was rocked when our oldest and largest employer announced they were moving to Pennsylvania, and 546 were out of work. The spinoff is just starting to occur, as a parts supplier announced 50 were being laid off, and another hinted closure.
Real estate had climbed quickly here in the past 10 years, due to our coastline, industrial base, and proximity to American Dollars (tourism). With lost jobs and reduced tourism (due to higher dollar and high fuel costs), property values are starting to plummet, and homes will soon be lost.

 

[talicskai]

This week, our small town (7500) was rocked when our oldest and largest employer announced they were moving to Pennsylvania, and 546 were out of work. The spinoff is just starting to occur, as a parts supplier announced 50 were being laid off, and another hinted closure.
QUOTE]

I heard about the Volvo plant on the news this week ~ very sad. I have lots of friends in Lucan, Zurich & Exeter so I understand the residual effect on the whole area. I hope that your family is okay and not affected by this news.

Teresa

 

[digskat]

thanks Talicskai
fortunately our household hasn't been affected, but as you can imagine, in a small town we have many friends that have been. Hopefully the downslide is short, and everyone finds prosperity.
To add insult to injury for those in the Exeter/Hensall area, the government ran a 12" water pipeline from Lake Huron to those communities, to service the Cannery and ethanol plant. The cannery closed, and the etahnol plant never even opened, so the people in those communities received notice that their water bills would go up 1000%, that they would foot the bill for the construction.

 

[blabbermouth]

Everything is still O.K. here on southern vancouver island. However things are definitely stabilizing and there are a TON of houses and condos on the market. Prices are lower than a year ago, but the average house price is still above $500K, we have some more stable industries here though, and it's still a favorite retirement location. I'm glad we just bought a small condo a year ago, so that we don't have too much to lose, and maybe people will be downsizing so we will be able to sell when we're ready.

Sorry to hear about other areas though... I still don't expect as many problems as the US though... I hope!

 

[mousy_in_canada]

I would still get 2.5 times what I paid for this house if I decided to sell.. but the big problem would be trying to find one which is in the same area for a good price so we can be payment free... which would be awesome if I did but I can't see it happening!

 

[PhotobearSam]

East Coast NB here...Not bad around here. We never have the rocketing house prices here...We rely on tourism dollars here...but we are mostly doing ok.

 

[jayjay13]

I was in Sackville, NB last week. Beautiful place!

 

[PhotobearSam]

That's not far from where I am...About 20-30 minutes...