scrubbedexpat091

My girlfriend works in a real estate office (not an agent) and the agents there keep urging her to looking into buying an apartment (wont happen for several years at the earliest anyhow) and while the numbers the real estate agents provide looks good on paper, still not convinced owning an apartment/condo is worth it in the long run vs renting.

Yes the strata+ mortgage payment on one of the older buildings is the same as we pay now for rent, but over the past 4 years using this agencies data, apartments/condos have been doing nothing but slipping in median selling price.

Median selling price by year:

2009- 260,000
2010- 257,200
2011-239,000
2012-251,000 (some new builds finished this year)
2013- 215,000

There was an uptick in 2012 when several new buildings opened and sold, but other then 2012, the median has done nothing but fall.

Like I said, its nothing thats going to happen anytime soon, but I am wary of buying an apartment and getting stuck with it and only seeing its value drop, or is this the up and down of real estate.

For comparison here is the previous 4 years for homes:

2009-500,000
2010-496,000
2011-490,000
2012-500,000
2013-501,000

For attached homes:

2009-344,000
2010-365,000
2011-353,000
2012-357,000
2013-362,000

Shard

Is this in Squamish?

scrubbedexpat091

Yeah.

Shard

Squamish has always struck me as a weird property market. If you're not planning to be there long term (as you have suggested in past posts on employment) I would hesitate on buying there.

scrubbedexpat091

It's a weird everything...lol... Its the little town that doesn't know what it wants. Went from a railroad and forestry town to an identity crises once all those industries left and closed up shop.

Shard

It's surprising there is such a drop in median price of apartments. Could be less attractive units (smaller, inferior location) given the limited size of the real estate market in Squamish. It might not reflect general property trends.

dishwashing

My 'issue' with condo purchases (I guess this applies to townhouses too) is that sometimes the strata is so high, it's almost equivalent to rent.

Or are land taxes so high that it's on par too.

I would have thought one of the advantages or property purchase is you have your own plot, and you don't have so many monthly outgoings (by saving on rent) but if strata is so high, what is the advantage?

dishwashing

I read recently that condos are falling or staying stable because there are SO many new ones giong up all the time..

Jingsamichty

I got the impression you'd leave Squamish at the drop of a hat... well, the drop of a better job offer at least.

If you don't plan on staying, you'd be nuts to buy in a stagnant/declining market.

scrubbedexpat091

In this case mortgage+taxes/strata is less the market rent for the same apartment. Rent is high is Squamish. These are older buildings so strata fee is minimal. (No idea what the new builds charge though)

I would certainly prefer to own a house on land, but that is never gonna happen, prices for detached homes are way way above what we could ever possibly afford, so next best thing is an apartment if the monthly cost with everything included is the same or lower then market rent for the same unit. I'd not buy if the unit would cost more to own it vs renting it.

Buying a house while a dream, its not something that can be reality unless the market crashes, but then we would probably have no jobs.

scrubbedexpat091

The trend downward did indeed appear to start when the new builds were built a few years back, currently nothing is being built, well there are a couple houses being built, but condo wise there are none currently being built and its been a couple years now since any were, but even the new buildings seem to have a large number of units for sale, so likely does bring down the prices of everything in the long run.


Only thing keeping me here is my girlfriend.

BristolUK

I can't believe I only just noticed there's no 'i' in your name.

acer rose

A friend lives in a condo with lowish strata fees. The strata council has recently been looking into getting some much-needed repairs done. Each unit will be required to come up with $80,000. Yes, each unit. Admittedly the friend lives in a high-rise and for sure when we were looking there were a few older, self-maintained side-by-side duplex-type strata offerings that didn't have fancy gym/pool facilities that could probably justify the low strata fee but I'd be looking very closely at the contingency fund when it comes time to buy.

scrubbedexpat091

Yes, I agree with you. Its one of many reasons why I am iffy on buying anything such as a condo/townhouse and strata. I know someone who had to come up with 50,000 when her condo building needed new pipes, and it was only a 3 story building but made up of several buildings in total, not sure of the total number of units in the complex however. Wiped out a good portion of her retirement savings.

I am iffy on owning in general, but want a dog and aquarium most places in BC are not pet friendly in the lower price ranges.

Shard

What about the Fraser Valley or beyond. Prices must more affordable there. That is assuming you have to stay in the People's Republic of BC (which I think you have said in the past that for medical reasons you do). Strata is not the way to go unless it's a temporary stepping stone, and even then, only in a robust market.