I'm feeling a bit doom and gloomy about the economy. One possible bright side is that the people who live and work here in Vancouver, who make it a city and not a ghost town, may yet afford a place here. So take heart, Krystal.

It all has to do with this Asset Backed Commercial Paper problem. Don't run away from me. It won't be boring, I promise. And remember, I'm a money coach, I'm not an economist, so what follows may be way off base. But here's the future as I see it:

Joe wants to buy Sally's $300K condo. He doesn't have $300K available just then (he's not John Chow). So Joe goes to Friendly Credit Union or Big Bank to borrow the money.

I'm a money coach, not an economist, but my armchair take is that B.C. is going to feel the effects of the B.C. forestry industry's current woes. 

Forestry still accounts for 40% of our exports, but they face the following tough challenges:

1. US housing crunch = plummeting demand for lumber, and the forestry industry isn't really diversified across the globe.
2. Rising energy costs = harder to turn a profit
3. Pine Beetle has destroyed a decade's worth of timber
4. Our rising dollar = exports in general are less attractive.