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Housing 'bubble' in Vancouver

Housing 'bubble' in Vancouver

Old Apr 21st 2015, 11:36 am
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Default Re: Housing 'bubble' in Vancouver

Originally Posted by Moses2013
I just think you have to move away, otherwise nothing will change. As mentioned before, the UK might be an option for you. The great thing now is that you know what you want and that seems to be a house with garden if I'm right? Ok I'm in Ireland, but most people I know don't earn more than €30K and they all have a house (owned/rented), go on holiday 2-3 times a year. I'm sure there are plenty of locations like that in the UK too, so I would really consider a move now.
I am open to moving, we would just need time to save sufficient funds to do it. Funding a move is the hardest part of moving, along with any government red tape as well.



Seem's I am not alone in low life satisfaction in this region.

Vancouver ranks lowest in Statistics Canada's life satisfaction survey - British Columbia - CBC News
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Old Apr 21st 2015, 4:30 pm
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Default Re: Housing 'bubble' in Vancouver

Originally Posted by Moses2013
I just think you have to move away, otherwise nothing will change. As mentioned before, the UK might be an option for you. The great thing now is that you know what you want and that seems to be a house with garden if I'm right? Ok I'm in Ireland, but most people I know don't earn more than €30K and they all have a house (owned/rented), go on holiday 2-3 times a year. I'm sure there are plenty of locations like that in the UK too, so I would really consider a move now.
That's a good point - knowing exactly what one wants is half the battle.
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Old Apr 21st 2015, 4:55 pm
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Default Re: Housing 'bubble' in Vancouver

Jsmth321 is a perfect example of what is currently wrong with Canada, UK, US and pretty much every other Western country.

Him and his partner's income combined is $40-60k. It's ridiculously low (if they're both FTE). I'm a 28-year old guy on an IEC and I on my own earn a decent amount more than that and I'm not even qualified in my field yet. The inequality in pay between sectors is ridiculous, proper race to the bottom stuff.

JSmth321 is part of the new working class, the group of people who'll never be paid enough to afford a home. Heaven forbid if you ever have a child or have to pay for your healthcare (give the UK another 5-10 years, NHS can only hold so much water before it breaks).

And people wonder why the UK has such a benefit "problem". If it was the UK, JSmth321 would be better off living on benefits than working at that salary!

Hopefully the Washington $15/hour trial starts something larger.
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Old Apr 21st 2015, 5:11 pm
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Default Re: Housing 'bubble' in Vancouver

Originally Posted by BeenTrainingDogs
Jsmth321 is a perfect example of what is currently wrong with Canada, UK, US and pretty much every other Western country.

Him and his partner's income combined is $40-60k. It's ridiculously low (if they're both FTE). I'm a 28-year old guy on an IEC and I on my own earn a decent amount more than that and I'm not even qualified in my field yet. The inequality in pay between sectors is ridiculous, proper race to the bottom stuff.

JSmth321 is part of the new working class, the group of people who'll never be paid enough to afford a home. Heaven forbid if you ever have a child or have to pay for your healthcare (give the UK another 5-10 years, NHS can only hold so much water before it breaks).

And people wonder why the UK has such a benefit "problem". If it was the UK, JSmth321 would be better off living on benefits than working at that salary!
Hopefully the Washington $15/hour trial starts something larger.
Only if he was happy for others to support him rather than supporting himself.
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Old Apr 21st 2015, 5:20 pm
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Default Re: Housing 'bubble' in Vancouver

Originally Posted by Almost Canadian
Only if he was happy for others to support him rather than supporting himself.
And an enlightened society would be happy to provide such support.
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Old Apr 21st 2015, 5:21 pm
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Default Re: Housing 'bubble' in Vancouver

Originally Posted by BeenTrainingDogs
Jsmth321 is a perfect example of what is currently wrong with Canada, UK, US and pretty much every other Western country.

Him and his partner's income combined is $40-60k. It's ridiculously low (if they're both FTE). I'm a 28-year old guy on an IEC and I on my own earn a decent amount more than that and I'm not even qualified in my field yet. The inequality in pay between sectors is ridiculous, proper race to the bottom stuff.

JSmth321 is part of the new working class, the group of people who'll never be paid enough to afford a home. Heaven forbid if you ever have a child or have to pay for your healthcare (give the UK another 5-10 years, NHS can only hold so much water before it breaks).

And people wonder why the UK has such a benefit "problem". If it was the UK, JSmth321 would be better off living on benefits than working at that salary!

Hopefully the Washington $15/hour trial starts something larger.
Good post. (Although I believe JS will eventually be able to afford a home.)
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Old Apr 21st 2015, 8:47 pm
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Default Re: Housing 'bubble' in Vancouver

Originally Posted by Shard
And an enlightened society would be happy to provide such support.
An enlightened society would prefer that someone obtain support from society rather than providing it themselves? Who knew?

Don't forget, we are talking here about someone that chooses not to work and seek benefits rather than working for the same "financial gain" as would be provided by benefits, not somebody that is incapable of working for whatever reason.

What such enlightened society exists in this world?
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Old Apr 22nd 2015, 7:58 am
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Default Re: Housing 'bubble' in Vancouver

Originally Posted by BeenTrainingDogs
Jsmth321 is a perfect example of what is currently wrong with Canada, UK, US and pretty much every other Western country.

Him and his partner's income combined is $40-60k. It's ridiculously low (if they're both FTE). I'm a 28-year old guy on an IEC and I on my own earn a decent amount more than that and I'm not even qualified in my field yet. The inequality in pay between sectors is ridiculous, proper race to the bottom stuff.

JSmth321 is part of the new working class, the group of people who'll never be paid enough to afford a home. Heaven forbid if you ever have a child or have to pay for your healthcare (give the UK another 5-10 years, NHS can only hold so much water before it breaks).

And people wonder why the UK has such a benefit "problem". If it was the UK, JSmth321 would be better off living on benefits than working at that salary!

Hopefully the Washington $15/hour trial starts something larger.
I wouldn't say that and an income of 40-60K is pretty decent in my opinion. The problem I see is that there are too many people who studied and think they deserve a better job, just because they studied. These people also want to live in cities and are willing to pay more for housing. You could blame the last generation who were very wealthy and have good savings. A lot of couples in there 20's 30's are helped by mummy & daddy with a decent deposit and that has pushed prices up. You could also blame planning departments and obviously banks. We've always had ups & downs and gone from boom to bust and that will never change. My partner and I don't have more than €60K combined, but can easily afford a 4 bed house with garden and have money left each month. There are still areas in the UK/Europe where you don't have to be rich to own a home, but you will have to commute for the better jobs, or just take a job that isn't perfect on paper.
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Old Apr 22nd 2015, 8:17 am
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Default Re: Housing 'bubble' in Vancouver

Originally Posted by Almost Canadian

What such enlightened society exists in this world?
It's coming in a few decades' time (maybe a bit later in Alberta).
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Old Apr 22nd 2015, 9:03 am
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Default Re: Housing 'bubble' in Vancouver

2015 is looking up, I figure we will take home 35-40k when the year is over.

Won't buy a home, but certainly helps remove some strain off us compared to 2013 and 2014.


We can keep that status quo, but increasing it will be difficult, in my industry I am about at the top of the pay scale, and lacking a degree prevents me from moving up within the industry any higher, as does not being able to do sales, which would be the next point in a hotel career from where I am currently.


Ideally, we would like to make 30-35 a year each, with a combined income of 70k after taxes.

Need to make around 25-26 per hour each, and currently that is not doable on our education level.

School is in the works, (attempt is) so depending on how that goes, things may change.

One of the biggest reasons I was looking at psychiatric nursing aside from having a great deal of interest in the subject, was the pay is high to start, and they hire casual which would give me the flexibility I need to deal with the other things I have to deal with that makes a 9-5 M-F job difficult.

I don't work the weird hours I do for fun, it's from necessity so I can attend to health appointments and programs that I take throughout the year.

I am looking into a few different short term programs at BCIT in business related stuff, the stats look promising, but I haven't a clue what kind of jobs one does with those types of programs...lol

Everything is a work in progress, and while school wasn't an option up until this year, I'll give it another go by focusing on short term programs that give me at least some additional skills.

Right now I am just a data person, I just audit the day's data to make sure it's correct, put it into an excel sheet so the accountants have what they need in front of them and don't have to deal with the nonsense data that nobody needs or want's.

85% of the time it's simple, 15% of the time you want to pull out your hair.

Mind you this is a small property, larger the property the more difficult things become, but oddly the pay doesn't typically go up as the job becomes harder with larger properties.
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Old Apr 22nd 2015, 9:29 am
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Default Re: Housing 'bubble' in Vancouver

Originally Posted by Jsmth321
2015 is looking up, I figure we will take home 35-40k when the year is over.

Won't buy a home, but certainly helps remove some strain off us compared to 2013 and 2014.


We can keep that status quo, but increasing it will be difficult, in my industry I am about at the top of the pay scale, and lacking a degree prevents me from moving up within the industry any higher, as does not being able to do sales, which would be the next point in a hotel career from where I am currently.


Ideally, we would like to make 30-35 a year each, with a combined income of 70k after taxes.

Need to make around 25-26 per hour each, and currently that is not doable on our education level.

School is in the works, (attempt is) so depending on how that goes, things may change.

One of the biggest reasons I was looking at psychiatric nursing aside from having a great deal of interest in the subject, was the pay is high to start, and they hire casual which would give me the flexibility I need to deal with the other things I have to deal with that makes a 9-5 M-F job difficult.

I don't work the weird hours I do for fun, it's from necessity so I can attend to health appointments and programs that I take throughout the year.

I am looking into a few different short term programs at BCIT in business related stuff, the stats look promising, but I haven't a clue what kind of jobs one does with those types of programs...lol

Everything is a work in progress, and while school wasn't an option up until this year, I'll give it another go by focusing on short term programs that give me at least some additional skills.

Right now I am just a data person, I just audit the day's data to make sure it's correct, put it into an excel sheet so the accountants have what they need in front of them and don't have to deal with the nonsense data that nobody needs or want's.

85% of the time it's simple, 15% of the time you want to pull out your hair.

Mind you this is a small property, larger the property the more difficult things become, but oddly the pay doesn't typically go up as the job becomes harder with larger properties.
The key is to buy when prices are cheap and in an area that's generally affordable, then you wouldn't be bothered what job you do. I'm also doing admin stuff and it probably won't be exciting for many people, but who cares. I work with a few people who studied something and they can't get a job in their field, so they always moan about the job and everything else. They'll eventually move to a bigger city with higher housing costs. My passion is gardening and I know I can afford my home with a low paid job, so I'm really not bothered. If I can get a better job would be a benefit, but I'm not under pressure.
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Old Apr 22nd 2015, 2:44 pm
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Default Re: Housing 'bubble' in Vancouver

Originally Posted by Moses2013
The key is to buy when prices are cheap and in an area that's generally affordable, then you wouldn't be bothered what job you do. I'm also doing admin stuff and it probably won't be exciting for many people, but who cares. I work with a few people who studied something and they can't get a job in their field, so they always moan about the job and everything else. They'll eventually move to a bigger city with higher housing costs. My passion is gardening and I know I can afford my home with a low paid job, so I'm really not bothered. If I can get a better job would be a benefit, but I'm not under pressure.
And where is this magical area with affordable prices in Vancouver ?
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Old Apr 22nd 2015, 2:51 pm
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Default Re: Housing 'bubble' in Vancouver

Originally Posted by The4BellsLondon
And where is this magical area with affordable prices in Vancouver ?
Probably nowhere in Vancouver at the moment, but people have the choice to live elsewhere.
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Old Apr 22nd 2015, 3:17 pm
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Default Re: Housing 'bubble' in Vancouver

Originally Posted by Moses2013
Probably nowhere in Vancouver at the moment, but people have the choice to live elsewhere.
Vancouver, well all of the lower mainland will probably never see low prices again. Prices may go down, but with an average of 1 million now, even a 50% drop is still not affordable.


But if housing falls that much, the economy is likely in the dumps and a complete mess. Just have to look to what happened in the US in many regions when their bubble burst.


Moving is easier said then done, requires a lot of funds and may not lead to anything, but without the large funds needed to move, it's hard to do which is our problem.

We are open to moving, we just lack the funding at the moment, and since we have a lease, we can't just up and move, we can't only move on January 31st when the lease expires, or we renew for another year and wait it out again.

Suppose we could break the lease, but that would open up financial consequences that would hinder us potentially for 7 years.


As we would be moving without employment in the new place most likely, we won't do it unless we have a minimum of 6 months living costs saved.

Long term moving is an option, short term we have to wait it out where we are.
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Old Apr 22nd 2015, 3:30 pm
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Default Re: Housing 'bubble' in Vancouver

Originally Posted by Jsmth321
Vancouver, well all of the lower mainland will probably never see low prices again. Prices may go down, but with an average of 1 million now, even a 50% drop is still not affordable.


But if housing falls that much, the economy is likely in the dumps and a complete mess. Just have to look to what happened in the US in many regions when their bubble burst.


Moving is easier said then done, requires a lot of funds and may not lead to anything, but without the large funds needed to move, it's hard to do which is our problem.

We are open to moving, we just lack the funding at the moment, and since we have a lease, we can't just up and move, we can't only move on January 31st when the lease expires, or we renew for another year and wait it out again.

Suppose we could break the lease, but that would open up financial consequences that would hinder us potentially for 7 years.


As we would be moving without employment in the new place most likely, we won't do it unless we have a minimum of 6 months living costs saved.

Long term moving is an option, short term we have to wait it out where we are.
What sum are we talking about for a move? The flights might be expensive, but a lot of the time you can actually fund a move by selling stuff you have. I know people who have moved with just a plastic bag. It's never the right time and we're not getting younger. It's even possible to get a job through Skype these days, so you only really need money to survive until you get your first pay check. Might not be ideal, but you can survive on little for the first few weeks and don't have to move into a mansion straight away.
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