tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523894244136789685.post8074055619561438326..comments2023-10-02T02:27:37.063-07:00Comments on Norquay's Financial Fridge Magnets: The Zen of Real EstateKen Norquayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513070645589337607noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523894244136789685.post-39627826484595654982010-07-20T11:55:49.836-07:002010-07-20T11:55:49.836-07:00I expect this insightful comment will lead to a ne...I expect this insightful comment will lead to a new pen name: Zen Norquay. <br /> The last 17 years in Asia have slightly eroded my memory of the 1992/93 Toronto real estate market, but I recall one neighbour in Lawrence Park who had a large mortgage and soon learned the Zen of bankruptcy as prices fell anywhere from 30 to 60%. House prices, like any market price, are a function of supply and demand. <br /> The old argument that "they don't make anymore land" was always an easy pro-housing debate tactic, but now we have to contend with the fact that they don't make any more baby boomers. <br /> At 50 years of age, with kids in University or working, many empty-nest parents opt for smaller homes. Japan's baby boom peak in 1948 led to a housing collapse in the 1990's. The US & Canadian baby boom peak of 1958 led to a housing collapse in 2008 in the US, but not in Canada. I don't believe Canadians have permanently avoided lower housing prices. The inevitable (baring demographic sleight-of-hand or hyper-immigration) has just been delayed.<br /> Thanks for a thought-provoking blog Zen.DGMunrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06243740424829702147noreply@blogger.com