Two years ago I wrote a column for the Vancouver Sun on 'The Bubble'.  I made the column as humourous as I could and yet still get my point through that I, indeed, did not think that there was any bubble present in the Vancouver Real Estate Market.  I pointed out various economic fundementals that were present in Vancouver (and still are) and I backed up my writings with statistics as well.

My biggest point, however, was simple.  The glass is either half empty or half full for real estate investors in this Province.  The world's leading economists have absolutely no idea what is going to happen in six months.  Canada's leading banks can't tell you whether or not the Fed's are going to raise interest rates even one day before they are scheduled to do so.  As we have seen this winter, good ol' Mother Nature likes to remind us of who is the boss in the household that is B.C. and nobody could have predicted how bad our windstorms would be this year.

The big question is...What kind of real estate investor are you?  Are you buying yourself a home?  If so, money is still cheap at 5% for 5 years.  Buy the damn thing and if you are worried about a 'bubble', lock in for ten years.  Trust me, you'll ride out any bubble.  Are you buying yourself an investment property?  Be careful and make sure you can cover the mortgage, taxes and maintainance fees with your income.  Positive cash flow as they say.  And don't get caught having to renew your mortgage if rates go up.  Pay attention.  Are you buying recreational property?  Buy waterfront.  They ain't making any more but make sure you can get insurance for it easily.  Major US insurance companies, I predict, will be coming down a little harder on anything near the water soon.

Everyone that I have seen that is a 'glass is half full' kind of person has done very well for themselves with the Vancouver real estate market.  The glass is half empty people have bailed out too soon, panicked or never jumped in in the first place because of their adversity to risk. 

I'm not a huge risk taker myself.  I'm rather conservative in my investments.  But I am a glass is half full kinda' person and things still look good to me.

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