I always like the latter part of the year (not just because of plum pudding and eggnog) but because the annual figures become far more meaningful, i.e. year to date means 11 months out of 12 – by contrast to early February which reveals the “hardly helpful” one month, year to date ‘January’s 31 days’ stats. So, the picture painted in our final paragraph is going to be pretty indicative of 2007’s performance.
I did see a pre-release of stats for the Vancouver Sun article on Fraser Valley residential Real Estate. This highlights the average drop in house prices over the last couple of months. I have looked critically at N/Van and W/Van - Sep/Oct/Nov and see the opposite prevailing in N/Van where average prices are still showing increases of between 1 and 3% per month in all types of accommodation. W/Van is mixed (not surprising considering relatively few sales in each calendar month) with only t/homes and apartments showing a minor declining average price month to month – detached is still maintaining an approximately 1% per month rise. Thus Fraser Valley does not dictate our trend and my former argument of softening being increasingly evident as one moves away from the Vancouver epicenter, still holds water. A short diversion regarding some interesting comments and discussion elicited by my last month’s “what you see or think you see” update and for these I thank you. I further thank my friend Doug for putting some of this feedback in perspective. The initial comment addressed the heightened responsibility of the headline writers to ensure that the casual reader (the term “skimmer” was used) was not likely to get an erroneous message because they didn’t read (or have the time to read) the entire piece. Something I learned from the more experienced/ academic input was that the reporter seldom writes the headline which is added by the editor with the “management” focus of inducing a greater interest in reading the article or , (my cynical input) increased readership/ newspaper sales? We did agree, however, that persuading busy human beings not to “skim” was an endeavour beyond any writer’s/ or editor’s capability. The recent snow which blanketed our homes (fleetingly) is an early reminder of our impending Season of Goodwill and Fellowship. May it be heartwarming, spent with our families and friends (or with them affectionately in mind). That is the easier part - but don’t forget providing warmth and cheer to strangers. Joy to the World is uplifting but let’s make Good King Wenceslas the more enduring message!
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