Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[StylinRed]

Originally Posted by Mr.HappySilp

I take the skytrain to and from work everyday. Only takes 40mins vs driving would take at least an hour.

Originally Posted by Mr.HappySilp

Live in BBY(around BCIT) and work around Science World.

how the hell does it take 'at least an hour' from bcit to science world... I don't even think the bus takes that long... and $300 in gas for that trip?!

Anyways, damn

[the_law82]

Originally Posted by SumAznGuy

What neighbourhood are you looking at?
I am going to assume you are looking at a condo or townhouse at this price level?

I live in a condo up on SFU and for whatever reasons, the prices are abnormally low compared to houses and town homes at the bottom of the hill.

With that being said, we bought to live in so the price changes doesn't really bother us too much, other than if the assessments went down so we pay less property taxes.

I believe that has something to do with the condos being on leased land and not freehold. SFU and UBC (I think) both lease land to these developers for 99 years or something.

[CRS]

Originally Posted by the_law82

I believe that has something to do with the condos being on leased land and not freehold. SFU and UBC (I think) both lease land to these developers for 99 years or something.

I don't think so. UBC properties have insane prices.

[Traum]

As if we didn't already know this already:

from the Vancouver Sun:
75% of Metro Vancouver neighbourhoods too costly for average family: Sun database

[sonick]

Some golden quotes here: How young Vancouver buyers are crashing the real estate party - The Globe and Mail

“There’s definitely sacrifices. I budgeted. I didn’t eat out. Some could say I missed some life experiences. But if you have that [home ownership] as your goal, anything is possible.”

The anti-multicartual?

“This was the first step of being an adult,” said Mr. Richards, 30, who said he and his 29-year-old wife chose Richmond because that’s where they grew up and where their parents still live.

They saved enough for most of the 20-per-cent down payment needed for their $300,000 townhouse – “a real fixer-upper, 43 years old, near Garden City and Williams” – and got over the hump with the help of Ms. O’Donnell’s father. (That saved them extra costs that get tacked onto a mortgage with a less-than-20-per-cent down payment.)

Apparently being an adult means borrowing money from parents to own a shithole, er, 'fixer-upper'.

And lastly:

Some young homeowners have become slightly evangelical about the need for others to realize it’s possible if they stop being so clueless about money.
...
“They don’t know anyone who owns, they don’t understand money, they just don’t think it’s possible. I keep telling them: “It’s a conspiracy to keep you as renters. Then you can pay someone else’s mortgage.’”

[SumAznGuy]

Originally Posted by the_law82

I believe that has something to do with the condos being on leased land and not freehold. SFU and UBC (I think) both lease land to these developers for 99 years or something.

That *MAY* have something to do with it, but then again the lease was signed for 99 years and I believe that leaves at least another 85-90 years left in the lease.

I know some parts of Vancouver is lease hold but you couldn't tell by the prices.

Also, I know it's just looking for examples on MLS, but some house boats are asking as much as a condo and are the same size as a condo but you get no land or water in this case as you still have to pay docking fees.

[SupraMan604]

Originally Posted by SumAznGuy

That *MAY* have something to do with it, but then again the lease was signed for 99 years and I believe that leaves at least another 85-90 years left in the lease.

I know some parts of Vancouver is lease hold but you couldn't tell by the prices.

Also, I know it's just looking for examples on MLS, but some house boats are asking as much as a condo and are the same size as a condo but you get no land or water in this case as you still have to pay docking fees.

A lot of FI's will not finance property on leaseland. That in part reduces the value of these properties. I am not sure about the UBC area but alot of the properties around SFU is leased land. I know someone who wanted to buy a condo up there on one of the new developments to rent out to students but a lot of FI's wouldnt give him a mortgage as it was leasehold.

[EvoFire]

So question for everyone, cell reception. We've started doing some research, and looked at a few places since our landlord is selling the place we are living at right now.

I've noticed a lot of newer condo buildings have problems with cell reception. Are there anyways to fix this issue. I've seen some cell signal repeaters, and really aren't sure if I want to use something like that.

[N8]

Originally Posted by EvoFire

So question for everyone, cell reception. We've started doing some research, and looked at a few places since our landlord is selling the place we are living at right now.

I've noticed a lot of newer condo buildings have problems with cell reception. Are there anyways to fix this issue. I've seen some cell signal repeaters, and really aren't sure if I want to use something like that.

If you (and others) complain enough then the cell company will most likely do something about it. But I'd think you'd probably have to suffer for a while before it gets better

[miss_crayon]

UBC is also leased land for those asking.

SFU is cheaper (besides the obvious lease land)) because well..,it's on a mountain!! Although they've built a great community up there there, convenience (to and from) is really the reason why there is such a price gap when you come back down to a centralized location such as Lougheed/Brentwood area.

[iEatClams]

Interesting article:

Opinion: Kowtowing to communists wrong approach for B.C.

highlights:

According to a survey by the Bank of China, more than half of China’s instant millionaires are either considering emigrating or have already taken steps to do so, worried that China’s economic growth will be derailed by high inflation, a real estate bubble, and a sharp slowdown in external consumer demand. Millions of Chinese people are also dying of cancer thanks to intense pollution. These concerns have resulted in a huge increase in the number of newly rich Chinese people secretly buying high-end real estate in major western cities like Los Angeles, London and Vancouver — all financed by western consumers.

Another report by the Bank of China titled How Corrupt Officials Transfer Assets Overseas estimated that as many as 18,000 Communist party officials have fled from China with hundreds of billions of dollars. Each official looted, on average, an estimated $7 million. No bureaucrats in Canada seem to question where all these instant fortunes have somehow emanated.

Singapore has placed a “stamp tax” on foreign buyers. Australia permits foreigners to buy only new housing, requires temporary residents to sell properties when they leave, and has launched an official inquiry into offshore investment. British politicians are proposing a levy on overseas buyers who leave their properties empty. Vancouver city hall? Nothing.

Kowtowing to rich foreign investors who have substantially raised the cost of living in Lotus Land may be convenient politics this month, but it doesn’t make for good long-term policy.

[iEatClams]

Australia set to help China seize assets of corrupt Chinese officials: reports | Reuters

Australia set to help China seize assets of corrupt Chinese officials: reports

(Reuters) - Australian police have agreed to assist China in the extradition and seizure of assets of corrupt Chinese officials who have fled with hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit funds, the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported.

The operation will make its first seizure of assets in Australia within weeks, the newspaper quoted Bruce Hill, manager of Australian Federal Police (AFP) operations in Asia, as saying in an interview.

China announced in July an operation called Fox Hunt to go after corrupt officials who have fled overseas with their ill-gotten gains. The campaign is part of President Xi Jinping's broader crackdown on graft.

Getting cooperation from Australia would be a coup for Beijing, which has struggled to get its hands on suspects in Western countries, whose governments have been reluctant to hand over wanted Chinese over concerns whether they would get fair trials back home.

The United States, Canada and Australia are the three most popular destinations for suspected Chinese economic criminals, Chinese state media have said.

Australia and China have agreed on a priority list of alleged economic fugitives who have taken up residence in Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald said.

Among the suspects identified by the AFP were naturalized Australian citizens and permanent residents who had laundered money for years in the guise of genuine investment or funds of business migrants from China, it added.

The priority list agreed between China's Ministry of Public Security and the AFP was culled from a broader list of "less than a hundred people", Hill told the paper, adding that the assets China was pursuing in Australia were in the "many hundreds of millions of dollars".

A spokeswoman for the Australian Federal Police told Reuters on Tuesday that Canberra had already successfully confiscated the proceeds of crime from Chinese economic fugitives and would continue to do so.

"The AFP cooperates with Chinese authorities in assisting to trace and restrain illicit assets in Australia on behalf of Chinese authorities," she said on condition of anonymity, in line with official procedure.

Australia and China do not have an extradition pact, but the Australian attorney-general can consider extradition requests for offences under the U.N. Convention against Corruption, to which Canberra and Beijing are both parties.

"We only see what's on face value, this person has committed an offense," Hill said. "There is a human rights side; we need to make sure that we're monitoring that as well, that this is not done for political expediency, where we can."

An official of China's Ministry of Public Security hailed the arrangement in an interview with a state-run newspaper, the China Daily.

"In recent years, Chinese and Australian police have strengthened judicial cooperation in sharing intelligence and case investigations," said the official, who was not identified by the newspaper.

"We will boost cooperation with our Australian counterparts in the hunt for corrupt officials who flee to Australia, and we will seize their illegally transferred assets," he said.

The sums of money believed to have been spirited out of China from all types of malfeasance are staggering. The Washington-based Global Financial Integrity group, which analyses illicit financial flows, estimates that $1.08 trillion illegally flowed out of China from 2002 to 2011.

Last week, Australia took steps to boost a visa scheme aimed at luring investment from wealthy Chinese, including speeding up approvals and expanding investment avenues.

[sonick]

Scumbag Poloz. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repor...ticle21439305/

Creates one of the least affordable cities to live in.. has the nerve to suggest people work for free when growth stagnates and jobs are minimal.

On a related note, a friend of mine who works at CMHC says the president is going to be announcing the employees tomorrow in what he says is "the most anticipated memo in CMHC history." Possibly massive 'restructuring'. This comes three weeks after firing 6 senior management personnel.

[Spoon]

Twitter

[Carl Johnson]

Originally Posted by sonick

Scumbag Poloz. Poloz?s prescription for unemployed youth: Work for free - The Globe and Mail

Creates one of the least affordable cities to live in.. has the nerve to suggest people work for free when growth stagnates and jobs are minimal.

On a related note, a friend of mine who works at CMHC says the president is going to be announcing the employees tomorrow in what he says is "the most anticipated memo in CMHC history." Possibly massive 'restructuring'. This comes three weeks after firing 6 senior management personnel.

When China's economy and real estate regress to the mean, Canada will go down the shitter with it.

[multicartual]

Originally Posted by sonick

Scumbag Poloz. Poloz?s prescription for unemployed youth: Work for free - The Globe and Mail

Creates one of the least affordable cities to live in.. has the nerve to suggest people work for free when growth stagnates and jobs are minimal.

Hahaha... one guess how this guy grew up:

Rich

OR

Poor

[blkgsr]

what are peoples thoughts for mortgage rates in the coming months....i'm up for renewal in April

[twdm]

I'd probably go with another variable. Given that the feds don't plan to increase rates for a while, it doesn't give the BoC much wiggle room to raise rates.

[4444]

Originally Posted by twdm

I'd probably go with another variable. Given that the feds don't plan to increase rates for a while, it doesn't give the BoC much wiggle room to raise rates.

i wonder about this. bc next year the US will raise rates (unless something totally unexpected happens), which will kill the CAD if the BoC doesn't follow suit, and i'm not sure the BoC wants that (personally, i'd want that all day long as we have commodities, and need to restart our manufacturing economy).

then again, rates are so ugly low, i'd potentially see what a 10 year is, and if i can afford it, lock in knowing that in 5 years, chances are my 10 year will be a bargain...

but then again, i'd never have a mortgage in canada, too many risks (no 30 yr mortgages, huge fees to break mortgages)

[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by sonick

Scumbag Poloz. Poloz?s prescription for unemployed youth: Work for free - The Globe and Mail

Creates one of the least affordable cities to live in.. has the nerve to suggest people work for free when growth stagnates and jobs are minimal.

On a related note, a friend of mine who works at CMHC says the president is going to be announcing the employees tomorrow in what he says is "the most anticipated memo in CMHC history." Possibly massive 'restructuring'. This comes three weeks after firing 6 senior management personnel.

They should ask him what he did when he was young, and what his first job was. Sounds almost like he advocates taking advantage of the younger generation, which is a bad, really bad, moving forward.

[UFO]

Maybe some of you are reading too much into the 'story'. His original comments seemed to be geared more toward youth (generally high school aged and below), not the ones who are doing unpaid internships. I don't read any of this taking advantage of the younger generation at all in the story.

The way I read it, and nowadays with how competitive getting into certain schools and programs can be, kids/youth are doing lots of volunteer work and this and that to pad their resumes and gain some life experience anyways. This isn't really anything new, its been going on for years and years. Even once you're into your career, you continue to do what it takes to further and advance yourself above your peers, to make yourself a more valuable asset compared to your colleagues in order to earn a better living, if that's what you want to do with your career. If you aren't willing to make those sacrifices, you can't sit on the sideline and cry no fair; life moves on.

When someone brought up unpaid internships, he simply replied yeah if the opportunity is there take it if you can, understanding not everybody will have equal access to that opportunity. Just like how not everybody can afford a university education. Or how not everybody can afford even a college or diploma education while working to pay rent, food, daycare, etc etc.

There seems to be a sense of entitlement, not dissimilar to the sense of entitlement a lot of younger people feel that they should be able to afford and buy a detached house because that's the way they grew up. Basically boils down to if you want something, you have to be willing to work for it.

[Adrenaline Rush]

Originally Posted by blkgsr

what are peoples thoughts for mortgage rates in the coming months....i'm up for renewal in April

Best I could get is a 5 year fixed for 2.99% and that's for a 30 year. It appears that they're to be going up a bit in the next little while...

[blkgsr]

that a renewal or new? what bank?

[Mr.HappySilp]

Originally Posted by UFO

Maybe some of you are reading too much into the 'story'. His original comments seemed to be geared more toward youth (generally high school aged and below), not the ones who are doing unpaid internships. I don't read any of this taking advantage of the younger generation at all in the story.

The way I read it, and nowadays with how competitive getting into certain schools and programs can be, kids/youth are doing lots of volunteer work and this and that to pad their resumes and gain some life experience anyways. This isn't really anything new, its been going on for years and years. Even once you're into your career, you continue to do what it takes to further and advance yourself above your peers, to make yourself a more valuable asset compared to your colleagues in order to earn a better living, if that's what you want to do with your career. If you aren't willing to make those sacrifices, you can't sit on the sideline and cry no fair; life moves on.

When someone brought up unpaid internships, he simply replied yeah if the opportunity is there take it if you can, understanding not everybody will have equal access to that opportunity. Just like how not everybody can afford a university education. Or how not everybody can afford even a college or diploma education while working to pay rent, food, daycare, etc etc.

There seems to be a sense of entitlement, not dissimilar to the sense of entitlement a lot of younger people feel that they should be able to afford and buy a detached house because that's the way they grew up. Basically boils down to if you want something, you have to be willing to work for it.

That's where you are wrong. People shouldn't have to work for free to gain experience. Image a young graduate with 30k of student loan debt living on his/her own, have rent to pay, bills to pay, food to buy can they afford to work for free? Is not a sense of entitlement when all you want to do is work in the field you graduate in and work your way up.

What Poloz said is basically encouraging more companies to use the "Work for free but we give you reference/experience" in turns more companies start doing this and cutting pay on actually hiring people or even cutting back on their current employee.

Remember a few years back a very famous Vancouver tech start up basically did the same thing with interns? Basically making them work for free but have no intention of ever paying them or even actually filling that position up with paid positions.

Also if our youth generations(not just youth by the whole work force for that matter) why are still allowing thousands and thousands of TFW into Canada every month? Shouldn't we try to protect our own citizens first? Shouldn't we give our youth a chance instead of kissing ass to all the companies who love to TFW to take advantage of them? To be honest I feel this whole TFW is totally BS we have enough people wanting work and jobs.

[hud 91gt]

I just renewed at 2.99 for 5 year fixed about a month ago. Only 32 years left