A blog dedicated to real estate matters, finance as well as general economics and political economics issues. Posts written by Luigi Frascati, B.Econ. Your comments and suggestions are appreciated.noreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Thu, 15 Jan 2026 16:49:09 -0800Blogger http://www.blogger.com254125http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/en-usnoA blog dedicated to real estate matters, finance as well as general economics and political economics issues. Posts written by Luigi Frascati, B.Econ. Your comments and suggestions are appreciated.noreply@blogger.comhttp://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2008/12/crisis-of-competence.htmlREAL ESTATE ECONOMICSnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:45:00 -0800tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-4672758059160407827What public officials didn’t tell you about the recession – or refuse to admit._________________________________________One of the objectives of this blog, the Real Estate Chronicle, has been to share with readers throughout the time principles of economics and to lay the foundations for sound investment decisions. Although the focus of the Chronicle primarily reflects my chosen profession – real21http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2008/12/mr-sore-loser.htmlPOLITICAL ECONOMICSnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Sun, 7 Dec 2008 16:47:00 -0800tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-3249213941560008719There are losers and there are sore losers.___________________________________________The uncharacteristic turmoil of last week in the otherwise fairly tame Canadian political landscape gives us a taste of things to come. It was the Conservative government’s economic proposals of the week before that have provoked the full-scale rebellion of the opposition. Presenting the fiscal update in the 5http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2008/12/and-real-estate-board-says.htmlREAL ESTATE ECONOMICSnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Wed, 3 Dec 2008 21:14:00 -0800tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-2697109545189846667A lesson in Marshallian economics._____________________________________The most recent bulletin released by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) has stirred up a lot of apprehension in the Lower Mainland on the part of Sellers and Realtors alike. Sellers are clearly concerned by what they perceive as a drop in value of possibly their most treasured asset. Realtors, on the other hand6http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2008/11/paradox-of-plenty.htmlECONOMICSnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Sun, 30 Nov 2008 18:21:00 -0800tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-926309881675796593If we all managed economic wealth responsibly we would never, ever have to go through periods of recessions in North America. __________________________________________________There has never been the shadow of a doubt in my mind that if one of those little green aliens flying UFO’s way up there in the sky were to add all the brainpower our North-American societies are so very plentiful of, he or2http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2008/11/great-canadian-recession.htmlREAL ESTATE ECONOMICSnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:16:00 -0800tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-4667374717935033399And, if indeed it does happen, how it will affect you._______________________________November 24, 2008 may have been a glorious day in the stock markets following the rescue of Citigroup Inc. with the U.S. Government purchase of $20 billion in preferred shares and the announcement of its subsequent back up to $306 billion worth of the giant bank's assets, in return for a further $7 billion stake.1http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2008/05/what-type-of-homebuyer-are-you.htmlREAL ESTATEnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Mon, 5 May 2008 19:41:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-1884329426639253578Know thyself and you'll know what kind of home to buy.__________________________________Granted, in real estate sales we do everything for a buck. If you don't believe me, ask your friendly neighbourhood Realtor (but ask him politely). So, in the spirit that uniquely characterizes the lives of charming professionals such as myself, the real estate community routinely goes back in time throughout 7http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2008/04/curse-of-crude.htmlECONOMICSnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:39:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-8539507778601258604In 2006 the world's oil rigs pumped out crude at a rate of nearly 85.5 million bbl. a day. They haven't come close since, even as prices have risen to USD 115 per barrel and are forecasted to reach USD 150 per barrel twelve months from today (source: www.oil-price.net ). All of which raises a question of potentially epochal significance: is it all downhill from here?It's not as if nobody 1http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2007/11/use-location-and-market-timing.htmlREAL ESTATEnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Sat, 3 Nov 2007 21:00:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-1723773171085860937Adding value to a real estate asset. ______________________ At minimum, a Realtor always must ensure that the Client has an understanding of whatever interest he/she wants in a real estate asset and the character that particular interest might include in the wide range of real estate asset types. Real estate transactions range from simple purchases of single-family dwellings to more elaborate 4http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2007/10/triumph-of-unreason.htmlREAL ESTATE ECONOMICSnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Fri, 19 Oct 2007 21:17:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-341647994589952952 Examining why you are not always rational when purchasing real estate__________________________________________Neoclassical Economics is built on the assumption that humans are rational beings who have a clear idea of their best interests and, moreover, strive to extract maximum benefit -or "utility" as economists are fond of saying – from any situation. Seeing from this viewpoint, price helps 2http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2007/08/financial-insecurity-and-rise-of-real.htmlREAL ESTATE ECONOMICSnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Wed, 1 Aug 2007 19:59:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-1022209839206640883 The effects of the recent real capital appreciation on income. _______________________________ There is a segment of analysts, in Real Estate Economics, that worries about consumers financial insecurity. More specifically they contend that the average middle class has seen few effective gains from the recent boom in real estate, since as profits have soared inequality has widened. Because of 2http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2007/07/most-expensive-homes-in-world.htmlREAL ESTATEnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Sat, 28 Jul 2007 19:55:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-1455486766607353224Wedding anniversary is coming up and you don't know how to surprise the wife? Want to indulge yourself but don't know how? Looking for a change in your daily routine but do not know what to do? Not to worry. Here are a few solutions personally hand-picked by a 21-year real estate veteran (… that would be me …)._____________________________________________If a lifestyle change is in your cards, 5http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2007/07/real-estate-and-degree-of-happiness.htmlREAL ESTATE ECONOMICSnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Tue, 24 Jul 2007 22:08:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-378390888747439560Real Estate can make us rich. Don't ask it to make us happy as well._______________________________Having practically doubled in value during the past six years and going, real estate is over half way towards notching up its best decade ever. Market capitalism, the engine that moves real estate, seems to be doing its job well. But is it? Once upon a time that job was generally agreed to be to 4http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2007/07/russian-roulette.htmlPOLITICAL ECONOMICSnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Thu, 12 Jul 2007 18:31:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-3177878386864990656The oil policy of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, President of the Russian Federation.___________________________________________"The world is leaving one epoch, the 'Cold War,' and entering a new one. We have buried the Cold War at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea" [Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, Malta, December 1989].Who stands to gain the most from the destabilization of oil prices?Ten years 3http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2007/06/real-estate-and-personal-wealth.htmlREAL ESTATE ECONOMICSnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Fri, 22 Jun 2007 18:55:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-1821928296116742184How the appreciation of real capital assets has redistributed household wealth.__________________________________________Much of Adam Smith's classic treatise on "The Wealth Of Nations" is not really about wealth at all, but about income. The two concepts are different: income is the flow of money a nation or household receives in a given lapse of time, say a year. Wealth, conversely, is the 5http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2007/06/2007-mid-year-in-review.htmlREAL ESTATE ECONOMICSnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Tue, 19 Jun 2007 18:31:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-45369062750294117A retrospective look at 2007 reveals that, contrary to many year-end predictions and a few economic forecasts, Real Estate still rolls, Canada is still in one piece, America has not drowned into the worst recession since the disappearance of the dinosaurs and the Twelfth Imam has not landed from the Moon yet. ____________________________________________________ Things seem to be moving in slow 1http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2007/06/incredibly-shrinking-dollar.htmlREAL ESTATE ECONOMICSnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Mon, 11 Jun 2007 19:22:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-850378553031295018 ... and how it affects real estate consumers in North America. ______________________________ An exchange rate is the price at which the world demand for one currency equals the world supply of another currency. Foreign exchange rates are of particular concern to governments because changes in foreign exchange rates affect the value of products and financial instruments. As a result, unexpected 2http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2007/06/lets-play-monopoly.htmlREAL ESTATEnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Tue, 5 Jun 2007 14:02:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-3142824276910563671The commercial property market REIT's remain piping hot, even as housing shivers.______________________________________Last year’s acquisition by The Blackstone Group (www.blackstone.com) of Equity Office Property Trust for USD 36 billion was the largest buy-out ever of an owner of office buildings. More importantly, it signaled that the commercial property market is healthy, now more than ever, 3http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2007/06/sticky-deals.htmlREAL ESTATE ECONOMICSnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Sat, 2 Jun 2007 15:01:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-4532361650309215692 Price stickiness in a slower real estate market. ____________________ As markets are decelerating, there is an anxious face-off between sellers and buyers of real capital assets as expectations of big profits fade away just as well. In economic terms, the slowdown that we are witnessing today in many real estate markets is actually welcome news since allowing the economy to cool off through a 2http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2007/05/recreational-properties.htmlREAL ESTATEnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Sat, 26 May 2007 16:22:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-219000430181526137A niche market that never seems to slow down._____________________Many of us have fond childhood memories of dad loading up the station wagon or van and heading out of town for a long week-end.For some the destination was a lakeside campsite, but for many it was the summer cottage or cabin by the lake. For others it was a Winter activity that brought with it the long-anticipated excitement of 1http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2007/05/contract-to-enter-into-contract-is.htmlREAL ESTATEnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Wed, 23 May 2007 11:11:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-2760256481145256767There is no such a thing in Real Estate as agreeing now to agree at a later date._______________________________________Real Estate, by its own very nature, is all black and white - you either do things, or you don't.There is no grey area in Real Estate, which one can find otherwise in commerce and trade. For instance, letter of intents that are widely used prior and during negotiations between 1http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2007/05/hazardous-trees-and-duty-to-inspect.htmlREAL ESTATEnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Fri, 11 May 2007 18:05:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-6978755872987627160A recent Court case based on the Common Law concept of private nuisance clarifies the duty of real property owners to have trees on their properties routinely inspected._____________________________________Trees can be a nuisance.Common Law recognizes two types of nuisance: public nuisance and private nuisance. A public nuisance is defined as an unlawful act or omission, which endangers the 3http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2007/05/real-estate-wealth-accumulation-and.htmlREAL ESTATE ECONOMICSnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Thu, 3 May 2007 14:45:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-2929623264880663220On whether it is wiser to treat real estate capital accumulation as a nest egg or as a credit card, that is to save as opposed to spend.________________________________Prosperity, in Capitalism, is the epitome of financial stability, reliability, and security. It can be more easily thought of as an abundance of items of economic value, or the state of controlling or possessing such items, and 4http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2007/04/quoting-islam.htmlPOLITICAL ECONOMICSnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Sun, 29 Apr 2007 19:50:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-7170988996209583329A collection of memorable quotes by a collection of memorable Islamic personalities.__________________________________________"The accomplishment of a world without America and Israel is both possible and feasible".Mahmoud AhmadinejadPresident of the Islamic Republic of IranOccupation: politician"The Jews are a cancer which is liable to spread again at any moment. There is no solution to the 1http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com/2007/04/duty-of-confidentiality-in-real-estate.htmlREAL ESTATEnoreply@blogger.com (Luigi Frascati)Mon, 23 Apr 2007 19:22:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12037266.post-958033819722777043Is there any such thing as a realtor-client privilege? An article of interest particularly to fellow Realtors._____________________________________________In any Listing Agreement there is a point in time when the agency relationship ends.A Listing Agreement, as it is widely known, is none other than a contract between the rightful titleholder of an interest in land (the ‘Principal') and a duly 2