Vancouver RE: update
 

got this in my email today, thought it might be useful for expats here:

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

Crikey it's not cheap to live there.

*wins understatement of the year award*

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

August is typically the most expensive time of the year to buy, so that has probably inflated those prices a bit. The averages are a bit misleading too, there are certainly decent homes available in Langley for a $100k less than the average listed there

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

it's not listing the average price, rather the median. Don't know why.

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

I think the median is more useful than a mean in many cases. Near where I live houses on the ocean side of Marine Drive sell for c $10m, and on the land side $1m. Knowing the average price is $5.5m is no use to someone wanting to spend either $1m or $10m.

In South Surrey/White Rock there are a lot of houses in the $750k - $1m range. As mentioned, waterfront is considerably more expensive, and there is a house in Ocean Park that I know cost over $70 million to build. I have no idea what it would sell for.

The information sheet shows the median price in this area for a single family home at high $800ks. I think that is a useful number for potential buyers. Given the distribution is skewed by a relatively few number of super expensive homes I think the arithmetic mean will be quite a bit higher.

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

good point about the median, JBE.

I think the median is about right for my neighbourhood.

it's clear condos/townhomes are much cheaper, wherever you are.

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

They can also me cheaper to live in as well, Strata fees often work out less than paying property taxes and routine maintenance, unless you have a greedy Strata.

As much as I would like a proper detached house, me and the gf are facing the reality that a townhome maybe our best option financially, even though I dislike them from a city planning perspective.

Still would love to get a fixer upper (or to use the affectionate realtor terms "Old Timer" and "Character") detached house. There are some detached homes in Langley for around the $450k mark. I do feel like there's more equity to be made there than in a townhome. I expect newer townhomes will probably have a flatline value for the first 5-10 years.

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

You still pay property taxes if you buy a condo or townhouse. They are not included in the strata fee.

Fees are often higher in new developments because the strata council has to build up a cash reserve. You hope that the strata council gets some professional advice on planned maintenance and sets its fees accordingly. It doesn't always happen though.

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

Is it not reduced though because the Strata covers things like recycling and garbage?

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

Not all city's pay for garbage pick up and recycling through taxes, some charge a monthly fee for the service.

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

Property tax is separate from city utilities. Garbage, recycling is billed separately to property tax as is water and sewer in some municipalities.

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

low strata fees would be a red flag to me...it often means they are deferring necessary maintenance/upkeep which means there'll probably be a big fat assessment down the line...

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

just curious - why do you dislike them from a city planning perspective?

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

Townhome complexes are usually enclaves separated from the rest of the community, with limited entry/exit points. They appeal to people for their quietness, and often have names like "Village" and "Park", which lures people in. In reality however their compact nature offers very little privacy, the landscape features of the complex often cut it off from everything in the surrounding community, meaning actually walking by foot somewhere can be a drag, you may have to backtrack to get out the complex and then walk to the shops, and of course, each of these complexes has it's own "identity", isolating it from other nearby ones. This and the fact all units inside the complex are going to be roughly the same price range, meaning a certain category of people will fill up the entire complex, discourages neighborhood life - there won't be a healthy mix of retirees, young people, middle ages people, families etc, just one "type" of person. By having each complex separated in this way, instead of being on the general grid system, although it may look nice, it does not build a healthy community in my opinion.

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

Was talking to a Realtor a few weeks ago who is one of the top earners in Vancouver and he is suggesting of record that the market is heading for a massive fall and he was making the best of it before the bubble bursts and he has a few lean years.
So be careful if your thinking in buying now.

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

i heard the same thing a few years ago Mike = a few realtors 'quit" publically and one moved to PEI cos the market was going to fall...

didn't happen

I see the one who moved to PEI has come back now, tail between legs, being very quiet..

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

Of course house prices only ever rise, its a big bubble and they always pop.

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

whatever mike.

no one knows what is going to happen, even and including realtors. Maybe it'll drop, maybe it' wont. I've seen people burned by waiting too long, and I've also got friends who are in negative equity in the US. Who knows.

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

It reminds me of someone I met in 2001 and still see now and again at social gatherings. At the time he was renting a home in South Surrey. He said he didn't want to buy because he thought the market was overpriced and he was waiting for it to cool off. To be fair to him prices had been increasing steadily for two years.

He is still renting and paying $4,000 a month. If he had bought a similar house back then he would have being paying about $2,000 a month in mortgage and property tax. By now he would have paid a chunk off his mortgage and, even if the market crashed by 50% tomorrow, the house would still be worth more than he paid for it.

I agree there is no law that says house prices must go up, the only law is of supply and demand. With the US economy starting to recover the BC economy is expected to grow strongly in 2014. There are still lots of people who want to move to south west BC and they are not making any new land. If I owned a multi-million dollar house on the Westside I would be concerned. However, I just don't see a significant long-term fall in demand for the kind of homes ordinary people buy and live in.

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

we have friends like that too. They were convinced of the crash back in '03, and they are still renting.

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

Top earning realtor ... Lean years ... Seems an oxymoron to me ... It's be rising since we arrived in 08 and I can't see any reason for it to crash ATM .

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

Matter of time have listened to comments similar to those above before every housing crash in the UK

Moreover, average house prices are now 12 times personal disposable income, way above historical averages. This ratio reached 9.7 times in the last housing bubble in the late 1980s. As a result, household debt as a per cent of disposable income has risen to over 153 per cent in Canada, reaching record levels and coming close to the levels that the U.S. reached before the housing crash.

In economics, it all comes down to demand vs. supply. Canada has a significant excess supply of housing that sooner or later will have to be reflected in lower prices. Toronto, for example, is at the top of the world when it comes to the number of condo buildings under construction.
Canada’s high house prices in relation to incomes, combined with record household debt levels and overinvestment in residential construction, combined with a slowdown in demand, will cause a severe correction in the real estate market. This time it is not different. It never is.

Source
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe...article549440/

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

It's a good article. I think the relatively unique factor in Canada's hot housing markets (Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto) is the constant stream of foreign money underpinning demand. Both as investment from overseas and as a result of immigration. Canada is a safe haven politically as well as economically so as long as the condo market continues to attract investment the housing market should avoid a crash. IMO. As ExKiwi says, no one actually knows! Especially the realtors, they're the last ones to know.

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

Indeed .. But demand exceeds supply here And we don't have the excess land or physical space within the GVA to build on ..condo heights are also restricted within COV. Plus the money from Asia keeps jacking up prices for those properties that are available .. When people come in as cash buyers and offer eel over listing price.

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

from my realtor friend i hear it's still mulitple offers on houses in East Van.

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

Yup .. Still getting regular approaches (?) from realtors and just notes in door from people wanting to buy in area.

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2013/09/5...e-transaction/

$55 million for a condo !

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

The buyer should have used his/her money to buy something more impressive...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24271487

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

It's not very probable that the buyer paid in cash, as claimed, though it is an amusing image.

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

Yeah.. They should have had a pic with all the wonga! I suppose a wire transfer of full amount .. No mortgage..Counts as a cash sale?

Re: Vancouver RE: update
 

Yeah, most things count in real estate adverts.