NEW HOUSING SUPPLY OUTSTRIPPING DEMAND


On November 3rd, 2006 The Vancouver Sun business section, there is a major report about the present Vancouver housing market.

With a local research firm finding supply outstripping demand in some areas, it shows that new housing construction shows more signs of cooling in British Columbia. In a report, the Vancouver-based development-research firm MPC Intelligence said markets are still strong. And the number of “speculative investors” buying housing units drop. Meanwhile, “allowing a bit for air out of the housing balloon so that prices and sales slow down a bit is probably a good thing for the market,” Podmore said. The combination of rising prices and moderately higher interest rate will be the main factors that reduce housing starts.


Connection to Chapter 2
Since 2000, Vancouver housing prices are continuously growling crazily, but the quantity demand is still increasing. So what are the factors to cause the quantity demand to grow while the prices are growing? 1. Income-- an increasing in incomes allow people to purchase houses at a high price; 2. Taste and preferences—people’s taste for lifestyles are develop. 3. Expectations of future prices—it’s show that a lot of the houses are bought by “speculative investors” because they have a highly expectation of future prices; 4. Number and characteristics of buyers—Canada accepts more immigration, so the land resource is become more scarcity; 5. Expectations of future incomes—people tend to buy more or ignore the price growth if they know they are going to get a higher salary. Suppliers are definitely very happy to see the active market. As a response, they will build more houses to meet the need of the markets. Even “a slowing of sales in the resale market will leave less spillover of demand into the new housing market, which will lead to a dip in new housing starts.” Also, houses are defined as elastic. If the housing price continually to rise, less people will buy it and fewer families are able to afford it. Meanwhile, there are lots of substitutes they can choose, such as rent a house or buy an apartment etc.

The up coming of 2008 Vancouver Winter Olympic games is going to let more people know about Vancouver, this wonderful city for living. There is no debut that housing price will keep going up. So do you think it’s a good thing or a bad thing?

Activists Target Golf Courses for Wasting Water

Do you know that almost everything involves in our everyday lives is considered as scarcity? (Air and sunshine are the only exceptions for now). Do you know that water is becoming the scarcest resource because of the pollution and population increase? On April 8th, 2006, there is an article mentioned how golf courses can be a concern of wasting water.

Eco-warriors having successfully trashed GM crops are now turning their attentions to the profligate waste of natural resources by golf courses. Golf courses are being told to cut their use of water, return part of their courses to wildlife; else direct action will be taken. One golf course has already experienced direct action. Golf courses in the West Country around Bath have been warned: that if they don't cut their water usage and return 10% of their course to wildlife, direct action will be taken against them. The southeast is suffering its worst drought in a century. Everyone has been urged to conserve water, domestic users are subject to a hosepipe ban, effective from 1 April 2006, but some golf courses feel they can get away with continuing to waste water.


Relating to chapter 1, we know that everything has a limit amount. So does water. The number of us is growing fast so the demand for water clearly increases. Canada has 14 percent of the world’s lakes and 9 percent of the world’s river flow, serving less than one percent of the world’s population but water is a scarce resource even for Canadians. The fact of its scarcity is forcing us to make decisions regarding the use of this valuable resource. When companies open up golf courses, when we enjoy playing golf, when we look at the huge green beautiful plain, there is actually an opportunity cost. So now let’s have a close look at the opportunity cost of having golf courses.

Direct costs = $1000 for one year golf club membership + enjoy playing golf
Opportunity costs = facing the water crisis + 1.1 billion people lack access to clean water
+ 2.2 million People estimated to have died from water/sanitation associated diseases
Total cost = direct costs + opportunity costs

Now, we know every time we enjoy playing golf, there is actually something more we are paying. There is not only the golf course but also facing the scarce of water. Is that more necessary to have golf courses or use the finite resource to save more lives? Everything is scarcity. When we use the resources now, we should think of the opportunity cost and hopefully that can help us to make a better decision for us and the next generation.