abner

Why then don't the provincial figures in the table reflect that, except for NB??

One would expect the national figure to be a (weighted) average of the provincial averages.

dbd33

I think one can make a case that property in Canada, at least in the GTA and Vancouver, is still reasonably priced.

https://www.standard.co.uk/homesandp...s-b930646.html

That's 1.85 Canadian to buy the average house in East Finchley. The average price of a detached house in Etobicoke is $569,132

https://www.point2homes.com/CA/Real-...l(%24518%2C000).

JamesM

The prices in north Etobicoke must drag down the average for the houses in the south side. Although with the north not being any less, or any more, desirable you could argue it is a bargain.

I'm actually surprised at how cheap they are but, these days, when a house looks well priced in the GTA it usually needs to be rebuilt. I couldn't say what build quality is like in East Finchley.

Siouxie

That depends on your definition of reasonable. This is about Canada - not the UK.. and we have always said it's unhealthy and unrealistic to compare the 2.

For someone earning under $40,000 a year - with the 2nd 'wage earner' having lost their income due to Covid, they appear totally unreasonable - and definitely unachievable... if you are earning $140k a year with property to sell, perhaps not so much of a strain on the finances!

dbd33

I don't see that at all. I was priced out of London and, faced with having to buy beyond the North Circular, thought I might as well go abroad. I assume most people look at Canada in terms of house purchasing power. They'd look at other countries too but Brits aren't welcome in many places anymore. It's largely a choice of here or there and people don't move here for the climate, do they? It's only worth coming if you can buy a lot more house, which is a function of income vs. house prices.

Well, yes, you need a good job, or two good jobs, to buy a house. If houses are too expensive relative to income, and buying one is important to you, you have to go somewhere else. So, someone in London might look at Watford instead of Canada. Someone renting in Oakville might look at buying in Tilsonburg or going home.

DMajor

I hear renting in Toronto is a lot cheaper these days.
Market forces at work.
Too many empty condos, not enough people as folk move out to other areas and work from home.

dbd33

Housing isn't a free market. Some people have some choice but, in the main, the price of houses is set by government policy. If the mortgage interest rates doubles tomorrow, from amazingly low to very low, then the price of houses will collapse. The rate is influenced by events in other countries but the government has a lot of control over it. Beyond that, the government controls the supply of houses, deciding how many new houses will be built and where, and so controls local markets. The best one can say is that there are influences on house prices other than government policy but, even in the context of covid, it's government policy to shut businesses that's dropped the price of renting.

Jerseygirl

It does seem to be cheaper, around us a couple of hundred per month cheaper. There does seem to be quite a few empty units, I was surprised there are only 13 for rent in our building. Nearby condos seem to be selling quickly for top dollar.

DMajor

You've lost me, please explain

DMajor

Developers build where there is demand, surely?

Siouxie

Some of us didn't move to Canada for economic reasons... and have little choice about returning. This is the reality for many people.


In the present economic climate it's almost impossible to get one good job let alone 2, for many people. That is the reality.

As to 'having to go somewhere else' - unfortunately this is the exact reason prices in Hamilton and other 'transit cities, towns and villages' have gone through the roof - because people are moving from the GTA to Hamilton (and further out) having been priced out of their original location - so they move to a cheaper area -- and push the prices up there.. It's getting to the point where many local people can no longer afford to rent let alone buy property. Suggesting they move isn't necessarily feasible - because this is where their jobs are / families are / they don't have the financial cushion to be able to do so.

I'm feeliing more and more that the housing situation (and this thread) is becoming a case of 'them and us' .. those that earn a pretty penny and already have property - and those that don't.. there appears to be little empathy for the other camp..

dbd33

In a very broad sense, yes, the SE of England or anywhere commutable to Toronto but not specifically. For example, there's a new green belt around Toronto so Greater Brampton can't expand forever, instead there's massive development in illogical places just outside the green belt. Shelburne, Grand Valley, Dundalk are examples. But for the government's policy, no one at all would set foot in Scumdalk, still less live there. The developers choose the location within the legislative framework.

scrubbedexpat091

For BC anyhow the going somewhere else is becoming less and less an option if one wants or needs to remain in BC, even the burbs are pushing 800k+ these days, and even small towns can be 400k-500k if they are close enough to Kelowna or Vancouver, Squamish for example is just as expensive as Vancouver now, but you will get larger lot and nicer house in Squamish for 1 million than you will in Vancouver so I guess there is that.

I do wonder how many Canadians would even realistically have the option to move country, probably isn't in the cards for a good chunk of the population.

I can only choose between 2 countries realistically speaking, US or Canada, there isn't anywhere else in this world where I could relocate to really, I'd like to live in Australia, but it's certainly not something remotely possible. lol

My wife could go to Switzerland I think, she has Swiss Citizenship although her Swiss German is a little rusty.

Problem is when you have a situation like BC, where there is already a limited number of city's, and even smaller number of city's with reasonably good employment options and there becomes a point where there isn't a whole lot of affordable options left.

dbd33

What other reason could there be?


If people are poor they can't buy a house, that's not a consequence of the current price boom. Your example of someone earning $40,000 isn't reasonable as that wasn't enough to buy a house when I moved here, never mind recently. If people have limited funds but are not poor then, yes, they're in a bind, a couple of years ago they could afford a distant suburb, Oakville for example, now they can't. They can wait out the boom or move further out; I didn't pluck Tillsonburg from the air but from another thread. If the commute is unattractive then another city, Regina, Halifax, Moose Jaw, Moose Factory, anywhere with Moose in the name has to be cheap.

I don't think "because their family is there" is much of an argument, most people on the board are not where their families are. Growing up and moving away is normal and healthy.

Inability to get a good job has two possible remedies, move somewhere that your skills are wanted or develop saleable skills. Again, old news, nothing to do with the price of houses.

dbd33

One of my children lives in Switzerland, another is tax resident there. Neither speaks Swiss-German.