ExKiwilass

no decent stats on it, no one really knows.

withabix

Demand (and net immigration!). Certainly outside Vancouver. Perhaps those selling in Vancouver are moving outwards to get more for their money?

Perhaps those SFHs and townhouses are being bought as buy-to-let, but are still being lived-in. That seems to be the case with townhouses in Yorkson - I know quite a few people who are renting new units from homeowners.

You just need to look at Yorkson in Langley, various bits of Surrey, Maple Ridge and as far out as Aldergrove and Abbotsford to see that new townhouses and SFHs are selling as fast as they can throw the sticks up.

They aren't getting any cheaper.

There does seem to be a 'must buy' panic going on.

Hopefully that will stop in the next few months and result in a downward correction (preferably before we buy one). But we can all hope.

scrubbedexpat091

Nobody seems to know 100%, but based on an article this past weekend that says 75% of Vancouver residents don't make enough to buy in the city, it seems there is a good chance its foreign investment, and when you add in all the condos and such that are owned but sitting empty and not used, kind of points to that as well.

You can't own a home in Vancouver on an average wage anymore.

ExKiwilass

the fact that townhouse/condo values are flat is interesting to me. That may indicate foreign money driving up SFH prices.

januarymix

I looked at condos, I didn't realize I would need to pay maintenance fees PLUS tax.

That really increases the cost of condo as a choice.

But its a smaller capital outlay.

Townhouses are OK but again the strata point is similar, i.e. due diligence etc.

This market makes no sense to me at all, houses and new developments are being snapped up, developments are increasing, where the beep is everyone funding this all from in this low income environment?

Drives me bonkers.

januarymix

Anyone have realtor recommendations for the Tri cities by the way?

ExKiwilass

you're competing with a lot of people with a lot of money. oh well.

Shard

Have you looked at Langley? There used to be a guy on here that recommended it highly. Condos/townhouse make sense if you're actually in town, in which case the fees are a necessary evil for being central, out in the burbs, not so sure.

Tootlepootle

I have a great realtor. PM me and i will provide his details

withabix

1) China
2) Blueberries (and probably mushrooms)
3) Everything is on credit. EVERYTHING.

I believe that Canada is heading for the personal credit precipice that we saw back home. The oil price is going south (they are talking about $70 next year, which is the point at which Fort Mac operations supposedly cost more than the revenue they can generate) and LNG is going to become a white elephant. Albertans will suddenly start feeling the pinch. Foreign cash can't keep this going if Canadians overextend themselves - here are some quotes from last Friday:

Car loans have increased from $16 billion in 2007 to $64 billion last year — an increase of 20 per cent a year, on average, Moody's said in a report Thursday. That's much faster than the growth seen in red-hot mortgages, credit cards and others loans, and reason for concern.

In 2009, less than 20 per cent of Canadian car loans were for longer than five years. Today, that figure is closer to 50 per cent.

They mentioned in the same news story that something like 20% of car loans are taken over EIGHT YEARS!

I bought a new car for cash in April. The Dealer Principal looked at me like I had two heads. And a unicorn's horn. It felt like I was stealing from him because he wasn't getting a credit commission.

What is going to happen when those car loans, boat loans, RV loans, pleather sofa loans and mortgages become more than the assets they are secured against....

What is going to happen when those mortgage rates go up to 6 or 7%....

As for house prices - I've got a decent job and we are looking at the $600k mark around the lower mainland. Anywhere around Abbotsford/Maple Ridge/Langley. There are only two of us, but we don't want a condo, anything on a strata or a town house, so the choice seems to be a SFH of about 2500-3500q ft or nothing! In the UK, our SFH was a massive.....800 square feet!

Working in the construction industry, I cannot see where the value is in the houses or the land in most areas. The houses are made of crap and built by idiots. Construction densities are TOO high. 3500q ft of house on less than 5000q ft of land is just not the right balance. Don't people like gardens? It is only when you get to Abbotsford south of the river and Mission north of the river that I feel that you are actually getting something like value.

ExKiwilass

Most people don't want to commute that far, that's why they are cheaper

scrubbedexpat091

Plus there is more land... But I do agree with you, if your working in the city, the Fraser Valley commute gets tiring real fast, and now add in the toll for the stupid bridge, the cost really adds up, and gas wont be getting any cheaper either.

I know some say it's not a bad commute, but the once or twice a year I have to go from Vancouver to Abbotsford, I hate the drive with a passion. I do hate commuting though and the thought of spending an hour or more in the car one way everyday just isn't something I would consider fun.

Rather rent then own and commute.

ExKiwilass

to me it seems really far. Even MR seems really far just from Burnaby, I can't imagine doing that every day.

withabix

Fortunately many of us don't need to live in Vancouver! (or Surrey, for that matter!).

Why we have to pay for the Vancouver residents commuter transit system though....

It should be in the ticket price, not local taxation on fuel as far out as 272St. I haven't seen a Skytrain out that far....

withabix

It's excellent value*, compared to the delays beforehand as is the Golden Ears toll, where queuing and a ferry ride or a long detour were the previous options.


*other bridges are available