Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[Ferra]

Originally Posted by 4444

cheap as fuck relative to vancouver, and given you will earn 25-50% more there, price/earnings are reasonable.

price/earnings in the US are within reason almost everywhere. canada ain't special, canada just has lax rules and turns a blind eye.

Canada is special because foreigners with money can easily move here and bring their wealth with them (and many did)
also extra thanks to shithead quebec for ripping the rest of the country off by continuing with their Immigrant Investor program...

And tbh, work and income aside, Vancouver is a much nicer city than Seattle to live in.

[68style]

^
That's just your opinion though, I know an awful lot of people that emigrated to Seattle for jobs at Microsoft or Mack Trucks, etc... and they love it and never want to come back. Some areas of Seattle are pretty greasy, but it's not like Vancouver has areas that nobody wants to walk around in either.

I spent a tonne of time down there when I had a gf living there and there are a lot of cool areas and things to do... more than Vancouver I'd say... but I wouldn't want to live there because it would have to be in the suburbs and Seattle traffic makes Vancouver traffic look charming by comparison.

[ziggyx]

Originally Posted by westopher

Didn't they also have like 10k people line up for 70 jobs?
That's a pretty good indicator of our "booming" tech industry.
But congrats on the job creation Gregor and crusty!

Haha, Didn't Gregor want to focus more on the tech industry because he wants Vancouver to be more "green"?

I remember hearing a segment about people with computer and technology related backgrounds moving out of the city because the pay sucks and housing is too expensive.

[4444]

Originally Posted by Ferra

And tbh, work and income aside, Vancouver is a much nicer city than Seattle to live in.

if work and income weren't an issue - i still wouldn't live in vancouver - there are better places to be rich!

what a dumb thing to say given that 99% of us need to work to support our lifestyles!

[adambomb]

Doesn't like Vancouver.
Doesn't want to invest in Vancouver.
Posts opinions in a Vancouver forum on a daily basis.

[Ferra]

Originally Posted by 68style

^
That's just your opinion though, I know an awful lot of people that emigrated to Seattle for jobs at Microsoft or Mack Trucks, etc... and they love it and never want to come back. Some areas of Seattle are pretty greasy, but it's not like Vancouver has areas that nobody wants to walk around in either.

I spent a tonne of time down there when I had a gf living there and there are a lot of cool areas and things to do... more than Vancouver I'd say... but I wouldn't want to live there because it would have to be in the suburbs and Seattle traffic makes Vancouver traffic look charming by comparison.

true...that's entirely my opinion, and i've only been to seattle a few times...just from my experience I didn't think the city is as nice as vancouver.
And I haven't lived in Vancouver for 10yrs (moved away for work, but I usually go back once a year) so my view is probably very outdated and biased.

Originally Posted by 4444

if work and income weren't an issue - i still wouldn't live in vancouver - there are better places to be rich!

what a dumb thing to say given that 99% of us need to work to support our lifestyles!

lol what a dumb thing to say..given only 65% of our population are in the labor force.
and you must not haven been to Richmond

you made your point hating Vancouver pretty clear...not sure why you kept coming back to the local discussion on it tho.

[GLOW]

Originally Posted by 4444

cheap as fuck relative to vancouver, and given you will earn 25-50% more there, price/earnings are reasonable.

to add to that, some technical jobs actually pay less in vancouver compared to the rest of canada, i can only assume b/c vancouver is more desirable to live in people are willing to take a pay cut. or there's saturation of people here looking for work.

eg. one firm with offices across north america has an office in TO and 1 in vancouver. TO's office pays according to the statistical average for x position. same position in vancouver pays iirc roughly 20% less.

[4444]

Originally Posted by adambomb

Doesn't like Vancouver.
Doesn't want to invest in Vancouver.
Posts opinions in a Vancouver forum on a daily basis.

i like vancouver fine, i visit often.

it's just not nearly as good as the locals keep on banging on about.

as for investing, you're right - wouldn't touch with a barge pole.

[4444]

Originally Posted by Ferra

true...that's entirely my opinion, and i've only been to seattle a few times...just from my experience I didn't think the city is as nice as vancouver.
And I haven't lived in Vancouver for 10yrs (moved away for work, but I usually go back once a year) so my view is probably very outdated and biased.


lol what a dumb thing to say..given only 65% of our population are in the labor force.
and you must not haven been to Richmond

you made your point hating Vancouver pretty clear...not sure why you kept coming back to the local discussion on it tho.

i would imagine 99% of ppl on this forum either are in school and will work, do currently work, or are looking to work.

[meme405]

Originally Posted by 4444

it's just not nearly as good as the locals keep on banging on about.

I don't know about what these other locals you talk to "bang on about", but for me it's very clear why this is like the greatest place:

1. Vancouver is mountain biking mecca. The north shore and whistler is where we all journey to every springt/summer/fall.

2. Skiing/Boarding - 3 local mountains - all world class, and once again whistler is right fucking there, which is top 10 in the world no matter how you slice or dice it.

3. Average all year round, it ain't 45 degrees in the summer and it ain't -30 in the winter. And that's perfect for me.

4. The ocean is right there, tons of lakes, and rivers. Go fishing, crabbing, boating. All without the worry of it being ridiculous packed. I mean sure Cultus might get pretty busy, but just drive to Alice lake, or lake okanagan, or cristina lake, or whatever, you've got a huge pick.

5. everything else - bitches, beaches, food, etc. Sure some nights I might get bored and think what the fuck theres nothing to do in this town, but that's complete non-sense, there is always something going on. It's a metropolis with millions of people who live here, if you can't find some way to entertain yourself thats a problem with you, not vancouver.

[MarkyMark]

I bet many places are fun to live when you take money out of the equation.

[Timpo]

Originally Posted by MarkyMark

I bet many places are fun to live when you take money out of the equation.

If you take money out of the equation, you have no money how is that fun to live?

[fliptuner]

^^^^^^^^

[Hondaracer]

Is construction not a job sector?

Are all the associated fields related to construction not?

Yea, construction is basically a prosperity fueled field but to ignore the construction work force while bitching about how some goof can't get a job doing web design seems to completely miss the mark.

Guaranteed construction in Vancouver employes wayyyy more people than Boeing, Microsoft, their tech sectors etc does in the Seattle area.

Not to mention all the jobs related to infascturue etc. Go elsewhere in Canada and the states, there isn't half the infrastructure work there is here. Those are all good jobs, good careers. And these sectors envelope MASSIVE groups of companies and industries.

Plop 5000 high tech jobs into Vancouver, people are still gonna spend all day crying, that's what they do.

4444 still going on about "better places to live" when in the UK brexit thread Asian friends/family members of RS members in the UK having bricks thrown through their windows.

The "better places to be" are drying up in a hurry imo.

[Nssan]

Weekly new home sales surge 21% | Shanghai Daily

Don't think the market will cool in light of this news..

[GLOW]

construction is for sure creating lots of jobs. my worry is when a big lull comes similar to post olympics.

[capt_slo]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Is construction not a job sector?

Are all the associated fields related to construction not?

Guaranteed construction in Vancouver employes wayyyy more people than Boeing, Microsoft, their tech sectors etc does in the Seattle area.

Fairly accurate. Construction in BC carries around 200,000 jobs. MS & Boeing combine to employ just under 122,000 people in Washington State.

The rest of their tech sector may just get them to/over the 200,000 mark. And WA has 7.1M people vs BC's 4.7M.

[Ludepower]

people complaining about no industry and wages...when did Vancouver have one anyways? Yet prices keep soaring while inventory and land is scarce.

Accept that fact that Vancouver is a world class beautiful city that will keep attracting the rich..
The poor locals must commute 2 hours to work like every other major metropolitan city.

[GS8]

I don't see a 'beautiful' city but I certainly see a livable city. The city only attracts the rich because of how easy it's become to funnel money from one country to another and use property as a safe vault to secure the money.

Fuck, this shit's been talked about for years. IF (not when) rules ever clamp down hard enough on all the shady tactics, then expect the rich launderers to pack up their money, sell the properties off at a minimal loss and move to another 'world class' city to continuing hiding their wealth from their mother countries. You think they give a shit about the actual city? Hah, I'd wager their looking for safe spaces where they can't be disturbed. A city where they can strut around, be the envy of everyone and never feel afraid of the big bad CRA coming after them.

It's greed that's driving up prices, it's greed that's allowing the rich to have such a stronghold on the market and it's greed that non-rich people leverage out their asses in mortgage payments and risk poverty every day.

[Great68]

Originally Posted by Hehe

But there's a reason why Seattle is expensive. They've got Boeing...


...stable jobs.

Boeing isn't exactly stable.
At least not for the assembler grunts that laid off by the 1000's when an order is complete.

No one remembers in the late 1999 & 2000 they cut 48,000 jobs.

[IGTBAR]

.

[will068]

Originally Posted by IGTBAR

I disagree with the above. Have worked in the Vancouver tech industry for about 10 years (not a developer) and my experience has been the complete opposite. I'm not sure where you're getting your anecdotal information from, but there are plenty of employers in Vancouver who will pay a fair and equal wage to our American counterparts. Especially if the company has offices or HQ in San Francisco, Seattle, LA, New York, Boston, etc.

Yes, you'll have your HootSuite and startup stories, but for the most part, there are some really interesting and well paying tech jobs in Vancouver, especially considering the shortage of qualified people.

The whole "climb the ladder fast" mentality is bullshit - you need to pay your dues and have enough experience to be able to justify the 6 figure salary. I would never hire someone who went from entry level specialist to director in a short period of time without the proven track record to back it up.

Also, just because someone has an MBA and 5 years of experience doesn't automatically guarantee them a better job or make them a better hire than someone else. There is something to be said about hiring for cultural fit (nobody wants to work with the asshole) and soft skills that just can't be taught no matter how many abbreviations you have after your name on your resume.

As far as the benefits listed above go, all of the tech companies that I've worked for have RRSP matching, full health benefits, stock purchase plan + yearly bonus + additional stock bonus/options for ALL employees regardless of level - just want to give some positive news to those who are looking to get into the tech industry in Vancouver.

It IS possible, there ARE great paying jobs with EXCELLENT benefits.

Difference companies, different experiences.

I'm in tech. 10 years this year as well.

I work in a 40 billion dollar multi-national. Our branches here in the lower mainland have gone through around 10 restructures since I got hired. From our last restructure 2 years ago, I saw a couple of our former developers switching to real estate as agents.

I'm surprised I'm still here. I guess, if you have cheap labour, you keep them lolol. I've been stuck in the 100k range forever. Is that good ? well, I have gratitude for what I have. BUT, from our company, my american counterparts get paid much more (even if USD=CAD).

Keep in mind, there are tons of talent in the lower mainland for tech. We have remnants of the Tech bubble burst from 15 years ago who never got back to tech.

[will068]

Originally Posted by Nlkko

Van "tech industry" pay is shit, it's nothing new. Have always been.
- Pay 30% minimum below industry standard. Check.
- Garbage health benefits. Most don't pay full MSP. Check.
- Vacation below standard. What's PTO? Check.
- No RSP matching. What's that? Check.
- No stock options. Unless you are the 1% performer with an influential manager (director & C level) who actually gives a shit about you enough to submit your name to the board for approval, fuhgettaboutit. Also check.

But they've got ping pong tables, bean bag chairs and cheap Costco snacks. It's hip.

The amount of underachievers in this city is staggering, especially visible in the tech industry (not sure about other industry). Dudes with 5-10 years experience fighting with new grads kids for jobs paying 70k and below. It's hard for guys starting out to climb up fast unless they got lucky and found a mentor willing to take them under their wings (speaking from personal experience here). I mean why hire a new grad when you can hire some dude (god forbid with pro education like MBA) who has 5 years experience and willing to take the same money. A few years back when I was at my second year at a local tech company, I had a mind fuck moment when I found out my coworker who has a Master degree, 5 years experience was doing a similar job as I was.

That 5-10 years underachiever will one day wake up with the need to buy a place and found out that their pay can probably afford a 400sqft condo but then got outbidded instantly by some Chinaman. Fucking life is cruel, aint it?

A couple of colleagues that report to me have PHD's in Comp Sci and Engineering. It really humbles you.

I remember some new grads we hired a few years back, they were getting paid 35k contract (meaning no benefits). I was like wtf, they're getting paid almost as bad as new grad accountants. This was around 2010.

Currently, we laid off our QA department and replaced them with newly hires straight from India (which were brought to our office here). I'm happy for them that they got out of India and to a better place. But makes you wonder, who's next ? Now, make yourself poorer, lose your job, then all of a sudden, your "national pride" has increased tenfold.

[Armind]

I'm in tech for about 4.5 years (designer).

Current company i'm with is extremely competitive in terms of salary. Benefits are good and are in the process of looking into RRSP matching.

That being said we have a HQ in Germany as well and is rapidly expanding (our office expansion just completed).

But, during my life-time of job hunting, the pays are shit.

New grad? Expect $15/hr if lucky. People are cheap here for designers.

[flagella]

lol, sounds like SAP.