The Globe and Mail

In the worlds of real estate and architecture, it is nearly always mistaken to extrapolate the future from the trembling present, especially in nervous times like these. Looking at Vancouver's forest of construction cranes and current frenzy for luxe, deluxe and ultra-luxe, it is easy to make a very wrong guess on where our condo scene will be in a few years. Straight-lining from what is talked up as hot right now, one would think "starchitects" like London's Norman Foster or Miami's Andres Duany would lead the list of future condo designers here. But that is unlikely. If our current downtown pattern holds, we'd continue to pile up sliver-skinny towers anchored by townhouse bases. That too is unlikely. And, if some of the marketing hype is to be believed, our city will be encrusted with second and third homes owned by a golden global class of real estate nomads. But the peak of that influx has already passed.