Is this lights out for The Ritz Carlton Vancouver?
It's no suprise to anyone at this point in the global economic meltdown that real estate developers are having problems both funding and selling their new projects and it appears that the Ritz Carlton "twisted tower" designed by Vancouver architect by Arthur Erikson may be the latest high-profile casualty in Vancouver's downtown condo market.
According to local news sources the project has been halted. Click here for a scan of this mornings article: Ritz on hold The official explanation is that the parkade is being redesigned. Yeah right. I'll tell you what, while they're redesigning, I have some nice swampland in Florida you may be interested in.
This problem isn't going away soon
Whatever the truth is, one thing is certain. The market is worsening and you are well advised not to hold your breath for a turn around in the near future. We're in for a long, protracted slowdown in the market so if you're thinking of selling but you are "waiting to see what happens" you are risking further errosion in your equity.
Concerned about the Candian dollar's slide?
Yes, our dollar has retreated considerably from the highs we saw earlier this year. It's now siting at below 80 cents to the US dollar. So what to do? My advice is still to sell if that's your plan but to leave the proceeds in a Canadian dollar account or short term investment facility. Our dollar is being hammered by the decline in demand for oil and commodities. Once consumers start to see recovery and confidence returns, demand will follow as will the value of the loonie. At that time, you can make the exchange thereby avoiding the potential further errosion of real estate values in downtown Vancouver. I would be glad to recommend some excellent investment counsellors should you wish to pursue this avenue.
To comment on this or other BLOG posts contact Shaun, Vancouver's most committed downtown luxury condo and Coal Harbour realtor.
For comprehensive details on this and other BLOG posts or CONDO TV episodes follow the links below to one of Shaun's specialty sites