Not Much going on....

Same old stuff. I guess you have to wait for all good things and if you are counting on cheaper Alberta real estate, it will require further patience. A few items of interest:

• Building permits fell sharply across Canada.
  
• CIBC apparently contradicting David Dodge's concerns on sub-prime meltdown. They are proclaiming that Canada is different (and by extension Alberta is very different) and we will largely be isolated from whatever goes on in the US. We'll see. And it's the same belief-commodity markets are now not dependent on the US growth but on the global growth.
  
• On the street, it's business as usual. Same priced out forever fear. Same fear of escalating home prices. Same concerns on rent as 'wasted money'. At work, I've come across at least three individuals who have bought in the last three months in Edmonton. They recently moved (within last 1 or 2 years) to Alberta and have paid in the range of $400k for little more than starter homes (1500 sq ft SFH). May be they made the right decision. Perhaps these properties will end up costing as much as in Vancouver. The only problem is: Who will be able to afford $600k starter homes in Edmonton? All those trading up must find someone willing to buy their smaller dwelling.
• Thanks for the ideas on new threads. Some more ideas can be really useful, as we go through this somewhat uneventful time.