QUOTE (ChrisDavies @ Apr 16 2008, 06:55 PM) I`m going to take a shot in the dark, but he`s pointing out that we`re not likely to see another 40-50% year in Edmonton. Great growth, yes, but not Jalapeño hot. There are speculative investors out there who were hoping for the quick jump, then take their money and run. These investors typically don`t care about cashflow. Now they`re not seeing the giant gains they had dreamed up and have to hold on a little longer....leaving them in a negative cash flow position.
They were stupid, and some of them should get their clocks cleaned. It should scare some stupid buyers, but the fundamentals are still in place for steady growth.
What the smart flippers did while the market was really hot, was to purchase LOTS of new homes from the builders creating even more of shortage problem for the home buyers to find something with the long waits. (Down payments were cheaper then.) By the time the homes were completed, they were instantly sold in the price jumps for tremendous profits and those smart flippers now drive Hummers and are not touching real estate in the flat market. The johnny-come-lately flippers thinking they can do the same thing are too late! They missed the opportunity and the big jump and may have even purchased a home from the "smart" flipper! They are the ones who are keeping our markets flat putting them up for sale in great numbers. The in migration has slowed down a lot as well compounding the problem along with the high prices keeping buyers out of the single home market and even the condo market. I have a daughter and her other half with that problem, they can afford the condo, but when you add the condo fees, they are hooped!