ExKiwilass

Vancouver housing market booming as B.C. reaps gain of Alberta residents - The Globe and Mail

Novocastrian

Hmmm. Schadenfreude is always tempting, but I'm not sure why the author of that piece thinks it's a good thing that Vancouver property prices are becoming even more ludicrous.

scilly

so that's why we're seeing so many cars with Alberta license plates

ExKiwilass

I have no schadenfreude about what's happening in AB. I've been laid off before, it's not fun.

Agree about property prices IN Vancouver but outside it's not so bad.

dishwashing

It's actually caused by HISTORICALLY low inventory - the inventory is almost half of this time last year.

Agents have used this as THEIR perfect opportunity to build on this flash situation by increasing prices, citing high prices as the norm and generally forcing competition through the devil's whispering.

Signed,
Dishwashing

PS And consumers who seem both stupid and desperate - aided by a BOC rate cut and presumably estimate their 30 year loans on the current low rates. Perfect confluence of stupidity and feeding the hands of the realtor industry

dishwashing

Mouths*

Stinkypup

We see large numbers here - predominantly during the Summer months in their badly driven trucks, when they have traditionally been ripping up and down the lakes in their fluorescent lime green and orange $110k wakeboard boats playing Hotel California or effing Taylor Swift at 700db. They own a lot of the lakeside real estate and disappear after Labour Day. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that numbers will be down this year. Lots of " toys" being sold I gather

ExKiwilass

the prices are increasing due to demand. I see all the sold signs in my neighbourhood and get leaflet pleas from realtors regularly (we are looking for houses in your neighbourhood! we have buyers! we have cash no subjects buyers! etc). I went past an open house on Sunday - on a busy street, backing onto commercial. Saw a constant stream of people going in - I hear around 200 all in. The price was actually quite low, not high: sometimes that's a tactic to create a bidding war. My realtor friends are doing well, which I'm ok with because when it's quiet, they can't feed their kids/have financial problems.

Honestly I look at this market and I am glad I'm out of it all now. Couldn't handle the stress of it all.

dishwashing

Exkiwilass - demand - of course. My post above failed to state the obvious point I should have made. It is historically LOW inventory combined with the normally high demand for a small city. The Real Estate stats show this - in some parts of Vancouver, inventory is HALF that of last year.

Ergo, this confluence - equals complete craziness. The BOC rate didn't help, in fact it seemed to exacerbate it all.

That said, once inventory levels stabilize things, and BOC doesn't keep their loosening of policy, some of that craziness should abate. (caveat is consumers who get too desperate)

Cheers

ExKiwilass

yeah I know. I know a family, the daughter is friends with mine, who are hoping to buy in our area. I'm not feeling that hopeful for them.

withabix

The situation with low stock and relatively high demand is making sellers in Maple Ridge expect offers over their asking price right now.

We've got an offer in on one house (second counter-offer) and hopefully they will accept this time...

The problem sellers in Maple Ridge are having is those of them that bought new-build houses in 2008 bought at a peak and are only seeing prices back at those levels now, so they are struggling to achieve their original purchase price + the GST they paid, once they have paid out the Realtor's fees...

We have looked at some real crap though, such as 15-20 year old homes that have had ZERO maintenance since new - and the sellers think they can demand top dollar!!

ExKiwilass

Is inventory also low in MR?

withabix

Yes, it seems to be. Our Realtor hasn't seen such low stock in the popular areas in the 550-650k range. There are plenty of new builds selling off-plan, but the re-sales are going quickly except where the sellers are asking way too much or the yards are too small or the houses un-maintained.

We've managed to find one with 6000sqft almost level plot, 3100sq ft over 3 floors and a view all the way to Vancouver Island. The yard area and the view add to the price, of course...

ExKiwilass

sounds like a great house!

Yeah, it would appear the houses in my 'hood are now going for over $1 million, even for a 40 year old Vancouver Special. now the 800K-and under 1 mill- buyers are heading to Coquitlam/Poco, which pushes out the 600k buyers to MR/Pitt Meadows/Surrey I guess.

Good luck!

scilly

there seem to be more houses for sale in my area of Vancouver ..................

mind you, the Council did accept a new Zoning Plan for this area last year which is going to allow 6- to 8- storey high rises on main transit routes where there are currently single family houses

Their intent was to increase the population of this area by 10,000 in 10 years. There are so many developments currently going on, that the increase will be closer to 50,000 in 5 years



PLUS, the City's stated plan of concentrating development around transit hubs .............. hence the massive building at the corner of Cambie and Marine Drive, at Cambie and 49th etc etc


and all the house owners being signed up by realtors amassing "blocks" for sale for development, as along Granville around 42/43rd, on Cambie, etc etc

One realtor amassed a block of about 6 or 7 houses on Granville that she had amassed and advertised it last month for sale to "developers" for over $32 million



Our house is not affected by any change in zoning, although it will probably be demolished and a huge 2 storey + basement house built in its place ....... when we do eventually sell.


I will say that I am currently getting almost as many realtors phoning and asking if I wish to sell my house, or if I need to maximize my income, as we did in the late 1970s and early 1980s

That was leading up to the big crash in the 1980s


That was also when interest rates on mortgages went as high as 20% interest ............ we were lucky, we locked in for 2 years at 13% and missed the extreme highs as it had dropped back down to 12% by the time we had to renew



that is also when people were walking away from houses that they had bought 1 year before the crash, at 18 or 19% interest ............. and then the house dropped about 50% in value within the year.