If you think the real estate market in Vancouver is competitive be thankful you aren't trying to buy a place in Toronto! I was surprised to read in the Globe and Mail that in the suburb of Mississauga 150 hopeful buyers lined up outside a new development for three days hoping to purchase a townhouse! Something similar happened in Langley in the recent past but even Vancouver isn't that crazy at the moment.
Apparently in Ontario, lining up to purchase new developments is becoming so common that buyers have developed their own system of lineup etiquette. A daily series of random roll calls is used to weed out uncommitted buyers. If a prospective buyer is absent more than three times when roll call is taken their name is removed from the list.....amazing!
Potential buyers had advice for passing the time-reading for example. And some hoped that as time went on and the weather worsened, they could out-wait other buyers! Had they been in Vancouver this summer, the bad weather really could have helped!