Rob_999

Not a bad article - we went through the same decision a couple of years ago and opted for a house in the burbs. Main reason - wanted to start a family and didn't want to do that living in a 800sq ft condo as we knew we'd want to move in a couple of years (800sq ft and no garden is all very well with a baby, but it isn't going to work when you have a toddler and are thinking about a second baby). With realtors fees and unpredictable market the last thing we wanted was to move twice.....

Running a second car, parking downtown, property tax and then repairs on the house plus garden all add up but 33% more? I think not..

Of course, nothing goes to plan - we're now living in the US and renting out our Vancouver house.

mattieuk

The way I read it was the speculative loss of the Vancouver pad (as the prices of a Vancouver condo have rapidly shot up through the past ten years). You could probably have seen prices double for a condo in that kind of location over that time frame.

So, in oversimplified terms, he sold, as Vancouver was in a huge uptrend/bubble, and bought, as the UK was starting to show decline.

Then again its Monday, and my brain is mush at the moment, so perhaps I've completely misread everything.

I would definately support this opinion.

lmartin999

Its funny. When we bought ours the general feeling in the building was that people would struggle to get back what they paid and that we were paying a premium price for the building (Gordon Campbell had a penthouse unit). We had the choice of all seven floors and were able to take our time in choosing which condo we wanted. I think a similar unit now - on a higher floor and with a tiny balcony would sell for around $600K - which I agree would be madness. I still don't know how Vancouver supports such prices. TO by comparison is far more reasonable. My 1300 square foot, top floor, recently renovated condo, less than 1 min from the subway cost not that much over $400K last year. I don't like a mortgage much over 3x salary.

In the UK I bought in 2004 and sold in 2009, with a genuine loss. What was scary is that when initially valued and marketed, the asking price was £249,950 (a large profit). We finally sold at £175,000. I would never assume anything about property again.

Alan2005

I don't understand Vancouver either - I thought Vancouver peaked in 2008, but free money kept it going. I'm guessing it now really has peaked (and the stats back this up so far), but who knows, there could easily be another inexplicable lurch upwards before the bubble eventually bursts.

mattieuk

Sadly I think this is precisely what is going to happen in Vancouver in the near future. From what I've read, and looked at through MLS, the market is being flooded with properties, and sales figures will be on a downturn. I think after a hot spring, the market has cooled as far as sales, in relation to previous years, and as a result, listings are being sold under asking price (unheard of a year ago, or before the first 'mini collapse' in 2008), and despite the 'prices' being still high, there is little action going on, in regards to sales.

Now we have the situation where the Vancouver housing market could be made or broken (whilst I feel genuine sorrow for families who misjudged their wealth based on their real estate value, its the only way someone like me is going to get into the ownership market for a house in the next ten years, and I'm not buying a condo, despite the alarming rated they are being built at). It all comes down to whether the seller has to sell. If people are listing second homes as investments, then fine, the market will probably stagnate, as it did through the early/mid 90s, before it started booming again, but if people are desperate for the capital tied up in their house/can't afford the mortgages given out...well there could be a rather serious correction in store.

ExKiwilass

Prices are ridic.

Houses used to go on my street in a matter of days. Now they are sitting for longer than 2 weeks. I'm glad, I think prices need to come down.

mattieuk

2 weeks isn't bad!

There are investors on the market who have been listing for over a year, holding out for asking price, and refusing to drop their asking. I think the prices are going to be going down - however the original listing price is most definitely not going to be representative of what people are eventually selling for.

Rob_999

Alan - if you keep saying it maybe one day you'll be right

Alan2005

Well, I was wrong before - but for the right reasons Things would have been different without the government intervening to prop the market up - thats my story and I'm sticking to it.