GV – Greater Victoria
January 2008 shown in ()

MLS Sales – 247 (464) – Down 47%
MLS listings – 3678 (3027) – Up 22%

GV SFH Average – 526.1K (606.4K) – Down 13%
GV SFH Median – 475K (530.2K) – Down 10%
GV SFH Sales – 138 (228) – Down 39%

GV Condo Average – 259.7K (349K) – Down 26%
GV Condo Median – 255K (304.5K) – Down 16%
GV Condo Sales – 62 (125) – Down 50%

GV Town Average – 394K (423.3K) – Down 7%
GV Town Median – 382.5K (393K) – Down 3%
GV Town Sales – 32 (41) Down 22%

13 percent loss on average SFH; 26 percent slide for condos… where’s that Victoria realtor who two years ago said to me, “Well, you’d better buy whatever you can afford, ’cause prices AREN’T COMING DOWN!”

Jackass.

Tone in books are important and in places, yours brings back memories of the 50s where students were instructed to hide under desks. Many people during those times did build bomb shelters in back yards and stocked them with groceries. They also armed themselves. My family didn’t and never will even if a depression happens. I strongly suspect you wouldn’t either, but that’s not clear in your book!

You discredit your words with exaggeration. Give me a reference for “the advice in Garth’s book that advocates building bomb-shelters, stocking up with groceries, arming myself to protect my stash,” or I might use my squirrel cannon on you. — Garth

Page 125, “Get a weapon and learn to hunt,” page 126, “Get a dog. A real dog, like a German Shepherd or a Rottie. ” Repeated instructions throughout the book for building Bad Day Boxes and Go Bags for families and pets.

Our pet is a designer mongrel breed called
Eski-Poo; miniature American Eskimo, and miniature Poodle. His intelligence level is very high, and priceless as a member of our family. He’d likely enthusiastically lick a robber’s face!

I didn’t condemn your book…said you made some excellent points, and particularly liked the final paragraph on page 126, “Build community support…Most importantly, find others to share your burdens with and to talk with about sweeter times to come.” That philosophy you repeated at the end of the book, page 226.

Overall, your book advocates that people prepare and that’s a good thing. Too bad you’re not willing to accept mild critiques of your book! I did find the book helpful just don’t agree with everything you advocated in it. Agree that critics are a dime a dozen and do work hard to devise plans that we’re able to accept. Thank you for writing the book and ask that you extend to readers their own way of adapting.

You must learn to be more careful. My references to dogs, hunting etc. was contained in a list of actions which is clearly prefaced as aimed at those who believe categorically a new depression is at hand. I have written on this blog repeatedly that I put those odds at 15% to 20%. Surely you know enough not to quote out of context. Let’s leave that for the journalists. — Garth

Not sure where I. said 100%, you might want to look into gold and silver prices during crash years through out history,I don’t recommend 100 percent but I do say more then 15% and I would stay away from ETF’s but what would I know as I’m a red neck albertan pipeliner soon to be out of work either way you make the bed you lay in so the choices are all yours.

——

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

We are still in rainy Vancouver. Too bad I will be missing Garth as leaving on Wed. to head back to Deadmonton.

Anyways the buyers must really want our house as they have contacted our realtor directly and still want to buy at 285K, as I said before the average liisting is 335K, ours is at 299K, city assessment at 336K, we are currently lowest. 2 had sold at similar listing but realtor won’t tell us at what price.

Here is the feedback my husband is getting as to why we shouldn’t sell:
1) Prices will rebound after a year
2) Nobody sells below city assessment
3) We can still be accidental rental property
4) We will lose 40K from last year price

Anyone care to counter argue??

Here’s a link
http://housingdoom.com/2009/01/26/crack-of-doom-the-bums-are-in-china/#more-1989

Very interesting comment. Thank you. I think there is a viable lesson from what you posted in that what we find at one location is not representative of everywhere.

This is the problem I see with the suits. They lock themselves into a mindset and dismiss alternative products and means. As an engineer I can well relate to how the details make the difference.

During WWII the military manufacturers of southern California dumped tens of thousands of barrels of hazardous waste into the salt water mud flats which is now Mission Bay in San Diego.

Mission Bay was a man made water body created by dredging. The dredging material formed the land. All well and good until the area was chosen for a new muncipal park and the old waste was exposed.

Result: an environmental nightmare where the Trichlorethane/ethylene could not even be measured because the GLC equipment could not be calibrated to that high of level.

The site was emitting Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) gas and it killed a worker. H2S is what makes a well ’sour’ and it is a very deadly gas.

As I said before, what the general public, and even those involved in science know about this planet is a drop in the ocean compared to what we don’t know. Fortunately, Rumsfeld is not making the inquiries because as he said , ‘There are things we don’t know we don’t know! Duh’oh? Gee, what a brilliant mind he has, eh?

I also think we are going through a period of extreme evolution in our thinking. What my parents, even my brother’s generation knew compared to what we no0w are becomign aware of, was totally misleading.

I am amazed daily at how fast things are being overturned that were firm absolutes. Today we are starting to grasp the system we live in. Regarding the environment pertaining to climate, the really serious issues lie in what is happening to the ocean currents. The land mass contributes, but the oceans literally drive our planet’s weather system.

We know this solidly, yet why is there a floating ocean of plastic waste in the Pacific?

Another case of ‘out of sight = out of mind’ which has been mankind’s legacy for too long.

BTW, here is a great site for fascinating information Space Weather