700k budget
 

Where to buy a house with this budget around the GVA?

Re: 700k budget
 

Re: 700k budget
 

Is that your deposit?

Re: 700k budget
 

15 years ago you could have bought the Province of Saskatchewan with that :rofl:

Re: 700k budget
 

500K can be a deposit...

Re: 700k budget
 

Maybe I should rephrase - where would you buy with a firm $500K deposit plus extension by another 200-400 (lower the better)

Family with 2kids...etc...low crime, nice surroundings haha

Re: 700k budget
 

Where's that magic wand? :lol:

Re: 700k budget
 

So in Oakville, where I am (and I'm just using this as an example since I know the market here), most houses for a family like yours would probably go for $700-$1M, depending on the area and how lavish a house you want.

So with $500k as your downpayment, you won't have any issues. As a new immigrant, expect to have to put down 20-30% (depending on the bank). So even on a $1M house, 30% is "only" (I use that loosely) a $300k down payment. So $500k gives you quite a bit to work with.

Hope that helps!

Re: 700k budget
 

I have a friend who just bought a house in Tsawwassen which is technically in the Metro Vancouver region, was 705,000.

Re: 700k budget
 

Where in Greater Vancouver do you want to be though?

If you're talking as far east as 275st, your budget will get you a very nice house. Glen Valley, Fort Langley, Brookswood, South Langley etc, or on the other side of the Fraser in north Maple Ridge towards Alouette/Golden Ears Park.

Re: 700k budget
 

500k is quite a lot but personally prefer inner Vancouver ...i hear east is actually ok too

Re: 700k budget
 

700k
Townhouse on westside van
Detached house on busy street in east van burnaby, or tear down
House in better street coquitlam
Even better Poco
Lovely house Langley, parts of surrey, maple ridge but potential long commute
Delta, tsaw.

Re: 700k budget
 

I think Maple Ridge would suit this OP (based on the detailed info he has provided). :lol:

Re: 700k budget
 

Sarcastic Shard strikes again

ExKiwi- thanks, we looked at coquitlam on the weekend. Found it a bit too far out..edging back north but the prices are too high and don't particularly want to carry a huge loan

Re: 700k budget
 

:rofl: I try.

I don't understand why people who genuinely desire information reduce their chances of getting it by providing sketchy details.

Re: 700k budget
 

a townhouse/condo might be a better option then? Not as $$$ as single family and would give you more choice about where to buy.

Re: 700k budget
 

I believe that the only disadvantage, per se, of townhouses is it is usually a strata set up. Therefore, one doesn't have full land ownership, and there are strata fees. But as ExKiwiLass says, it is usually a lot less money upfront.

Re: 700k budget
 

Depends on the setup of the townhouse and how it's managed; worth looking into the specifics.

For example, I had cousins who lived in a gated townhouse community. They paid a monthly fee for things like snow removal and maintenance of the public greenspaces in the area, as well as a little playground. Each owner owned the land the townhouse was on, and they were responsible for keeping it manicured. They could garden or plant as they wanted. The only exterior work that was covered was the roof, since they wanted the roof to match across the whole townhouse block, not to have each unit doing their own thing - bit tough to only replace a section of a roof anyway. EVerything else exterior was the responsibility of the owner, including the windows.

Some are more strict or have higher fees and cover more, others cover very little. So it just depends on the setup. :)

Re: 700k budget
 

Very informative. And interesting. Thanks.

Re: 700k budget
 

It depends on your province how these things are set up legally. In BC townhouses can be strata (most common), freehold row homes (not common) or fee simple which sounds like what schnook described. It pays to do your homework because each type has different ramifications for you as the property owner.

Re: 700k budget
 

We were up at Silver Valley (Maple Ridge on way to Golden Ears Park) today having a look around at houses generally.

They've done a good job up there in terms of leaving forest greenways between the developments and there are excellent views from some of the best lots.

Seems to be a good location and 20 minutes to HW1 via Abernathy Connector and Golden Ears Bridge.

$700k would get you an excellent house up there.

Re: 700k budget
 

I do Coquitlam (The bit squeezed between Port Moody and Port Coquitlam towards Westwood plateau in any time between 35 and 55 minutes. It isn't as far as you think......

Re: 700k budget
 

I think the OP should get a move on quackish. With what's going on in Hong Kong at the moment I suspect that the Vancouver housing market may have a perhaps unwanted new inflow of offshore investment.

Re: 700k budget
 

Or maybe you are just rude, Shard?

Re: 700k budget
 

Thanks, I have been looking around. So we are liking places near nature but Coquitlam seems a bit far

Townhouses are affordable at this budget, as are condos, but I still wonder about the retention value (something theoretically ignored for home buyers)

I saw a CBC article where one woman said house prices in Vancouver are perfect. Some people are pretty obnoxious...

Does anyone else know if it is true that condos and townhouses don't retain their value, only single family homes i.e those with land, appreciate considerably?

Re: 700k budget
 

Do you really have to throw your toys out of the pram twice?
See post #14.

Re: 700k budget
 

You are right that it is land that is valuable. Buildings eventually deteriorate. However, good maintenance can go a long way to postpone the deterioration for many, many years. When buying strata property it is wise to check that planned maintenance is carried out, what major projects are on the horizon, and if the strata has sufficient funds to carry these out. If it doesn't maintenance gets pushed beyond "should be done by" dates or the owners get an assessment.

In a strata development you do own the land in a round about way but collectively with the other owners. Therefore you still benefit if land prices appreciate. However, there are so many price drivers in a market like Vancouver that I would not worry too much about the relative rates of appreciation (or depreciation) of single family lots vs strata ownership. When the market is hot all properties seem to go up. When it is weak all properties go down.

As always with real estate (and most other things) it is a question of supply and demand. If someone builds too many condos their relative value will decline but I don't see this at the moment. Long-term I don't see any sign of a significant decline in demand in The Lower Mainland. Short-term things go up and down all the time. The most important thing is to be sure you can service your mortgage if interest rates go up 3%-4%.

Re: 700k budget
 

That is what happened with my GF's mom's condo, the strata went more or less bankrupt and had no money and then the pipes needed to be replaced, and every unit had to fork over 50k for it. Put her underwater in a bad way on the place.

Re: 700k budget
 

RIGHT NOW, single family homes are increasing more in $$$ and detaching from multi-family. Condo/TH values are flat in comparison right now and haven't really increased for 6 years. For example, a TH we looked at in 2008 is still selling for the exact same price now in 2014, whereas family homes in our area have increased from 6-700k to 8-1.1 million k. But in the past it has varied.

I agree with everything JBE said. If you buy a condo, you just need to do your homework - check depreciation report, make sure the building has a good contingency fund, be wary of buildings with low strata fees, and read every single page of the strata minutes.

Re: 700k budget
 

What's driving the detached home price, is it external investment or Vancouver families moving up?

Re: 700k budget
 

no decent stats on it, no one really knows.

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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.

Re: 700k budget
 

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.

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

Re: 700k budget
 

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.

Re: 700k budget
 

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

Re: 700k budget
 

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

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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.

Re: 700k budget
 

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

Re: 700k budget
 

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.